The Little Sun Rises lyrics and meaning

Užteka saulužė, daulėliu lėliu,
Aplinkui dangužį, daulėliu.

Apeiki, sauluže, daulėliu lėliu,
Aplinkui oružį, daulėliu
Paskaityk, sauluže, daulėliu lėliu,
Ar visos žvaigždutės, daulėliu
Jau skaitau neskaitau, daulėliu lėliu,
Jau vienos ir nėra, daulėliu
Šviesiausios žvaigždužės, daulėliu lėliu,
Kur anksti užtekėjo, daulėliu
Kur anksti užtekėjo, daulėliu lėliu,
Ir vėlai nusileido, daulėliu

Užteka saulužė, daulėliu lėliu,
Aplinkui dangužį, daulėliu
Apeiki, motuše, daulėliu lėliu,
Aplinkui dvaružį, daulėliu
Paskaityk, motuše, daulėliu lėliu,
Ar visos dukružės, daulėliu
Jau skaitau neskaitau, daulėliu lėliu,
Jau vienos ir nėra, daulėliu
Vyriausios dukružės, daulėliu lėliu,
Kur anksti atsikėlė, daulėliu
Kur anksti atsikėlė, daulėliu lėliu,
Ir vėlai atsigulė, daulėliu
Linelių verpėjėlės, daulėliu lėliu,
Drobelių audėjėlės, daulėliu
Šienelio grėbėjėlės, daulėliu lėliu,
Rugelių pjovėjėlės, daulėliu.

The Little Sun Rises: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "daulėliu lėliu" can be understood as a parallel song comparing the sun and the mother. At the beginning, the little sun rises around the sky, and it is asked to circle the sky and count whether all the little stars are there. It answers that one is missing: the brightest star, which rose early and set late. This image can be read as a picture of heavenly order.

Then the same structure is transferred to the mother: she is asked to circle the manor and count her daughters, and one is missing: the eldest daughter, who rose early and lay down late. These images can be understood as a parallel between the brightest star and the most hardworking daughter.

The flax spinner, linen weaver, and hay raker can be read as the image of the hardworking daughter who has married away or been lost, compared with the missing star. This is one possible meaning, but the parallel between sun and mother is clear.

A second interpretation reads the same parallelism through a mythological lens. In the Baltic worldview, the Sun is often imagined as a heavenly mother and the stars as her daughters. The sun counting stars and missing one is then not only a beautiful comparison, but an image of a heavenly family, where the earthly mother and her daughters repeat cosmic order. This remains an inference based on the logic of the images, but it explains why the sun and mother stanzas are arranged in such exact parallel structure.

The Little Sun Rises: symbols and phrases

Little sun counting stars
The sun circling the sky and counting stars is parallel to the mother counting daughters.
Missing brightest star
The star that rose early and set late, but is gone, is parallel to the missing daughter.
Eldest daughter
The daughter who rose early and lay down late marks the hardworking daughter no longer at home.
Flax spinner, linen weaver, hay raker
The daughter's tasks, spinning, weaving, and raking, mark her diligence.

The Little Sun Rises: song history

"The Little Sun Rises" belongs to family songs built on parallelism: the images of the sun and the mother are set beside one another stanza by stanza. In the first part the sun is asked to circle the sky and count the stars, and it turns out that the brightest one is missing. In the second part the same structure is transferred to the mother, who counts her daughters and misses the eldest, most hardworking one: the spinner of flax, weaver of linen, and raker of hay. This parallel between heaven and family, together with the repeated refrain "daulėliu lėliu," is a clear feature of sung lyric.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on the page, so the song is presented according to genre features. The missing brightest star, which "rose early and set late," is compared with the hardworking daughter no longer at home. Such parallelism allows the song to be read as lyric of separation, marriage away, or loss.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

The Little Sun Rises: sources