It Has Been Long lyrics and meaning

Seniai buvau,
Seniai buvau
Pas tėvulį kiemi./3×2

Jau užaugo
Tie kelaliai
pilkais akmenėliais. /3×2

Aš tuos pilkus
akmenėlius
rankelėm prarisiu. /3×2

O aš dėl tą
Pas tevutį
kemelin nuveisiu. /3×2

Seniai buvau,
seniai buvau
pas matutį kiemi /3×2

Jau užaugo
Tie kelaliai
baltais dobilėliais. /3×2

Aš tuos baltus
dobilėlius
po kojelį minsiu. /3×2

O aš dėl tą
Pas motulį
kemelin nuveisiu. /3×2

Seniai buvau
seniai buvau
Pas brolalį kiemi. /3×2

Jau užaugo
Tie kelaliai
žaliu beržyneliu. /3×2

Aš tuos žalius
beržynėlius
kirveliu pakirsiu. /3×2

O aš dėl tą
Pas brolalį
kemelin nuveisiu. /3×2

Seniai buvau
seniai buvau
Pas sesutį kiemi. /3×2

Jau užaugo
Tie kelaliai
žaliojom rūtytalam. /3×2

Aš tas žalias
Rūtytėlas
rankelėm išskirsiu. /3×2

Tai aš dėl tą
pas sesutį
kemelin nuveisiu. /3×2

It Has Been Long — second version lyrics

Seniai buvau, seniai buvau, pas močiutį kiemį
Ažuaugo tie takeliai baltais dobilaliais
Ažukrito tie takeliai pilkais akmenėliais
Ažužėlė tie takeliai žaliaisiais krūmeliais
Ažusruvo tie takeliais skaudriu vandenėliu
Aš tuos baltus dobilalius dalgeliu nupjausiu
Ir tuos pilkus akmenėlius šonan prasvaidysiu
Ir tuos žaliuosius krūmelius kirveliu nukirsiu
Ir tuo skaudriu vandenėliu žirgelį girdysiu
Ir vis eisiu kol nueisiu pas močiutį kiemį

It Has Been Long: song interpretation

This song can be understood as being about long separation from the native home and the desire to return to kin. At the beginning, the singer says it has been long since being in the father's yard, and the paths are already overgrown with grey stones. The overgrown paths can be interpreted as a sign of long absence and estrangement.

The same structure then repeats for each family member, with a different obstacle each time: the paths to the mother are overgrown with white clover, to the brother with a green birch grove, and to the sister with green rue. These obstacles can be understood as the distance separating the singer from each relative.

Each time, the singer resolves to remove the obstacle: to roll the stones with the hands, tread the clover underfoot, cut the birch grove with an axe, and part the rue with the hands in order to reach the loved one. This resolve can be interpreted as the desire to overcome every barrier and return to the family. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of separation and return to kin are clear.

It Has Been Long: symbols and phrases

Overgrown paths
The paths leading to relatives are covered by obstacles. They signify long separation.
Grey stones and white clover
Different obstacles on the paths to father and mother. They mark distance from each relative.
Clearing obstacles by hand and axe
Rolling stones, cutting birches, and parting rue signify the resolve to overcome separation.
Journey to father, mother, brother, sister
The sequential return to each close relative signifies the longing to rejoin the family.

It Has Been Long: song history

"It Has Been Long" belongs to family songs about separation from the native home and the longing to return to close relatives. The song is composed in a chain-like, cumulative structure: the same stanza is repeated four times - for the father, mother, brother, and sister - each time changing the obstacle that has overgrown the path, such as grey stones, white clover, a green birch grove, and green rue, and changing how that obstacle will be overcome.

The exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre features, above all through the formula of overgrown paths and the determination to clear them. The dialectal text, with forms such as "kemelin," "kelaliai," and "matutį," and the presence of a second independent version show that this song has a broad circle of variants; the second text here is shaped as a single stanza in which obstacles - clover, stones, bushes, and water - are listed in sequence.

sources

  • Lithuanian Folk Songbook, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

It Has Been Long: sources