Little Hare, Lilima lyrics and meaning

Tu kiškeli, lilima,
Trumpakojeli, lilima,

Ko tu smūtnas, lilima,
Ko markatnas, lilima?
Kaip man būti, lilima,
Dai ne smūtnam, lilima,
Dai ne smūtnam, lilima,
Ne markatnam, lilima:
Gili žiema, lilima,
Trumpos kojos, lilima
Nei iššokcie, lilima,
Nei išbėgcie, lilima,
Kas takelis: , lilima,
Tai gančelis, lilima,
Kas kelmelis, lilima,
Tai strielčelis, lilima.

Little Hare, Lilima: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "lilima" can be understood as a song about a little hare troubled by fear in winter. At the beginning the short-legged hare is asked why it is sad and downcast. The question can be interpreted as sympathy for the sorrowful animal.

The hare answers that it cannot help being sad: winter is deep, its legs are short, and it can neither jump out nor run away. These images can be understood as helplessness before cold and danger.

At the end, every path becomes a hound and every stump becomes a hunter. These images can be interpreted as danger waiting on all sides, perhaps also lying hidden behind an image of human fate. That is one possible meaning, but the little hare's fear and surrounding danger are clear.

Little Hare, Lilima: symbols and phrases

Short-legged little hare
The sad hare unable to escape marks a helpless and vulnerable creature.
Deep winter
The cold, deep winter marks a difficult and threatening season.
"Neither jump out nor run away"
The hare's inability to flee marks helplessness before danger.
Hound and hunter
Every path and stump becomes a dog or hunter, marking danger from all sides.

Little Hare, Lilima: song history

"Little Hare, Lilima" belongs to children's and game songs about animals, where a small helpless creature becomes the object of conversation and sympathy. The repeated refrain "lilima" after each line is typical of play songs and ring games: it sustains rhythm and allows alternating singing, while the song itself is built as a question-and-answer dialogue with the short-legged hare.

The exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented by genre traits; animal play songs with repeated refrains exist in various Lithuanian regions. The little hare's helplessness before deep winter and dangers from every side, the dog and the hunter, form the emotional core of the song.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • P. Jokimaitienė, Lietuvių liaudies vaikų dainos, Vilnius 1970
  • Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

Little Hare, Lilima: sources