In the Dark Night lyrics and meaning
Tamsioj naktelėj
Tamsioj naktelėj
Vilkeliai staugia
Vilkeliai staugia
Vilkeliai staugia
Staukit nestaukit
Staukit nestaukit
Staukit nestaukit
Mes jūs nebijom
Mes jūs nebijom
Mes jūs nebijom
Mes tiktai bijom
Mes tiktai bijom
Mes tiktai bijom
Tamsios naktelės
Tamsi naktelė
Tamsi naktelė
Skiria mus jaunus
Skiria mus jaunus
Skiria mus jaunus
Nuo tikro tėvelio
In the Dark Night: song interpretation
This song can be understood as a song about separation hidden behind the image of night. At the beginning, wolves howl in the dark night. The wolves' howling can be interpreted as an obvious, visible danger.
Then the song says: howl or do not howl, we are not afraid of you. These words can be understood as courage before a visible threat.
At the end it is revealed that the only thing feared is the dark night, because it separates the young from their true father. This turn can be interpreted as a deeper fear: not of wolves, but of separation from the father, which the night signifies. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of separation from the father is clear in the song.
In the Dark Night: symbols and phrases
- Howling wolves
- Wolves howling in the dark night. They mark an obvious, visible danger.
- "We are not afraid of you"
- Defiance before the wolves. It marks courage against a visible threat.
- Dark night
- The only true source of fear. It marks separation and uncertainty.
- "It separates us from our true father"
- The night separates the young from their father. It marks the deeper fear of being cut off from kin.
In the Dark Night: song history
"In the Dark Night" belongs to family songs about separation. Its structure is based on stepped repetition, where the end of each line begins the next stanza: wolves howl, howl or do not howl, we are not afraid of you, we fear only, the dark night. This chain movement gradually leads from the visible danger - howling wolves - to the true fear: the dark night that separates the young from their true father.
No exact recording place or time is given on this page, so the song is presented by genre features. The motifs of night and separation from the father, together with the stepped repetitive structure, are characteristic of family songs. Variants of such songs exist in different Lithuanian regions.
sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
In the Dark Night: sources
In the Dark Night: frequently asked questions
What kind of song is this?
It is a family song about separation: behind the image of night lies the fear of being separated from the true father.
Why do the lines repeat this way?
The song uses stepped repetition, where the end of one line begins the next stanza. This movement leads from wolves to the real fear.
What do the howling wolves mark?
The wolves are an obvious, visible danger that the singers boldly say they do not fear.
Why is only the dark night feared?
Night becomes the true source of fear because it separates the young from their father. Separation is more frightening than the visible threat.