Little Stoat, Short-Legged One lyrics and meaning

Tu šermuonėli trumpasaikojėli,
ta ta to tonarėlio.

Nešokinėki po viešų kelalį
Ba atajoja raitelių pulkelis
Sumindžios tavi žirgai padkavėlėm
Sukapos tavi broliai kančiukėliais
Bane aš kokį iškadų padariau
Bane per kviečius takelį numyniau

Little Stoat, Short-Legged One: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "ta ta to tonarėlio" can be understood as a song about a small animal caught in danger. At the beginning the singer addresses the short-legged little stoat and asks it not to jump along the public road. The public road can be interpreted as an open, dangerous place.

Then it is warned that a band of riders is coming; their horses with little horseshoes will trample it, and the brothers will cut it with whips. These images can be understood as a threat approaching a small creature.

At the end the stoat defends itself, saying that it has done no damage and has not trodden a path through the wheat. This defense can be interpreted as the complaint of an innocent creature under threat, perhaps also carrying an image of human fate behind it. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of danger and innocence are clear.

Little Stoat, Short-Legged One: symbols and phrases

Short-legged stoat
The small animal jumping along the road. It marks a weak, vulnerable creature.
Public road
The open place where the stoat runs out. It marks a dangerous space.
Band of riders
Approaching riders with horses and whips. They mark the threat.
"I did no damage"
The stoat's defense of its innocence. It marks the complaint of a creature threatened without cause.

Little Stoat, Short-Legged One: song history

"Little Stoat, Short-Legged One" belongs to songs about animals, close to children's and game repertory: the short-legged stoat is addressed, warned to take care, and allowed to defend itself. The recurring refrain "ta ta to tonarėlio" after the first lines is a typical feature of play songs, sustaining rhythm. The stoat here is an image of a weak, vulnerable creature threatened by an approaching band of riders.

The exact place and time of recording are not stated on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features; the language is dialectal (trumpasaikojėli, kelalį, kančiukėliais). The stoat's defense, that it has done no iškada, or damage, and has not trodden a path through the wheat, forms the emotional core of the song - the complaint of an innocent creature under threat.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • P. Jokimaitienė. Lietuvių liaudies vaikų dainos, Vilnius 1970
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 t., Vilnius 1972-1986

Little Stoat, Short-Legged One: sources