Mother, My Mother lyrics and meaning

Motula mano, motula,
Motula mano, širdela,
: O kap norėtau, sena motula,
Už bemelio išait. :

Už bernužėlio šokančio,
Už bernužėlio griežiančio,
: Už to bernelio, katro kepurė
Kvietkeliu padabint(a). :

Dukrela mano, dukrela,
Dukrela mano, čiestinta,
: Jilgai nešoksi ir neuliosi,
Kvietkelis greit nuvys.:

Neperkalbɛsi, motula,
Neperšnekėsi, širdela,
: An to bernelio širdelė gula
Akelės padėtos. :

Mother, My Mother: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a courtship song about a daughter's love for a lively young man and her mother's warning. At the beginning, the daughter addresses her mother, saying how much she would like to marry the young man. This desire can be read as youthful determination in love.

The daughter describes the young man as dancing and playing music, with his cap decorated with a little flower. These traits can be understood as a merry, charming youth who attracts the girl's heart.

The mother warns that he will not dance and carouse for long, because the flower will soon wither. The daughter answers that she cannot be talked out of it, because her heart rests on that young man and her eyes are set on him. The mother's warning can be read as a reminder that charm passes, and the daughter's answer as firm love. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of a daughter's love and a mother's warning is clear.

Mother, My Mother: symbols and phrases

Dancing, fiddling young man
A merry, music-making youth. He marks a charming, lively suitor.
Cap with a flower
The young man's flower-decorated cap marks youthful charm and festivity.
"The flower will soon wither"
The mother's warning that the flower will fade marks a caution that charm passes.
"Heart rests, eyes are set"
The daughter's attachment to the young man marks firm, unpersuadable love.

Mother, My Mother: song history

"Mother, My Mother" belongs to love and courtship songs shaped as a conversation between daughter and mother. The daughter asks to marry a merry, music-playing young man whose cap is decorated with a flower, while the mother warns that "the flower will soon wither," meaning charm and revelry pass. This dialogic combination of the daughter's resolve and the mother's counsel is a common structure in youth and courtship songs.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features, while Dzūkian forms such as "norėtau," "kvietkelis," and "an to bernelio" point to southeastern Lithuanian dialect. The song's core is the flower symbol: in the cap it marks youthful charm and festivity, while in the mother's words it becomes a warning about transience. The daughter's answer, "the heart rests, the eyes are set," confirms firm, unpersuadable love.

sources

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

Mother, My Mother: sources