Love Pledge lyrics and meaning

Ateik, mergyte,
Pavasarėly,
Kai dyvai žydės
Močiutės darže:
Aplink lysates
Žalės rūtatės,
O viduryje
Vis lelijatės.

Aš tada skysiu
Margą kvietkatę
Ir nusiųsdysiu
Savo bernačiui.
Ne pati nešiu,
Nei kitai duosiu,
Šiaurių vėjačiu
Aš nupūsdysiu.

Ateik, bernyti,
Pavasarėly,
Kai dyvai žydės
Tėvo daržely:
Aplink sodatį
Žali čiepačiai,
O viduryje
Vis obelatės.

Aš nusiskysiu
Du obuolaičiu
Ir nusiųsdysiu
Savo mergatei.
Ne patsai nešiu,
Nei kitam duosiu,
Pietų vėjačiu
Aš nupūsdysiu.

Love Pledge: song interpretation

Spring is the season of the pledge in this song. Rue, lilies, and apple trees bloom in the gardens, and the lovers speak to each other through plants and winds. It is a subtle language of love, in which the gift matters because of the path by which it reaches the other.

The north and south winds create directions between the young woman and the young man. They carry not only gifts, but trust: the pledge must cross distance without being placed into someone else's hands.

Love Pledge: symbols and phrases

Pledge
A promise of love, expressed in the song through flowers and fruit.
Rue and lilies
Plants of the young woman's garden, linked with beauty, purity, and youth.
Apples
The young man's answering gift. They suggest reciprocity, fruitfulness, and a mutual bond.
Winds
Carriers of the pledge. They let the love signs travel without human intermediaries.

Love Pledge: song history

"Love Pledge" appears in Liudvikas Rėza's collection as a spring song of promise. Although the exact title is not especially prominent in modern catalogues, Rėza's text clearly preserves a dialogue structure: the young woman and the young man each promise to send signs to one another.

The song is distinctive because the pledge is not handed over directly. The young woman sends a variegated flower on the north wind, while the young man sends apples on the south wind. In this way the promise becomes part of nature's movement.