The Oak's Branches Bent lyrics and meaning
Užuolėlio šakos linko, /3x
Kai mus jaunus karan rinko
Užuolėlio šakos linko,
Kai mus jaunus karan rinko
Ir surinko surikiavo /3x
Šautuvėliais apginklavo
Ir surinko surikiavo
Šautuvėliais apginklavo
Šautuvėliai kieto plieno, /3x
Nukaus priešus ligi vieno
Šautuvėliai kieto plieno,
Nukaus priešus ligi vieno
In vagonus susodino, /3x
Kur mus veža nieks nežino.
In vagonus susodino,
Kur mus veža nieks nežino.
Vagonėly sėdėdami, /3x
Pro langelį žiūrėdami
Vagonėly sėdėdami,
Pro langelį žiūrėdami
Matyc kloniai ir kalneliai, /3x
Bet nematyc ma šalelė.
Matyc kloniai ir kalneliai,
Cik nemacyt ma šalelė.
Meaning
This song can be understood as a modern-era war or conscription song. At the beginning it says that the oak's branches bent when we, the young, were gathered for war. The bending branches can be interpreted as a sign of sorrow as young men are taken into war.
The gathered men are then lined up, armed with hard-steel rifles, and seated in railway wagons, with no one knowing where they are being taken. These images can be understood as mass conscription and transportation into uncertainty by rail.
At the end, sitting in the wagon and looking through the window, they see valleys and hills, but do not see their own land. This image can be interpreted as separation from the homeland. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of conscription into war and longing for the homeland are clear in the song.
Symbols
- Bending oak branches
- Oak branches bending as young men are taken to war. They mark sorrow.
- Gathering the young for war
- Young men being taken into military service. It marks forced conscription.
- Hard-steel rifles
- Steel rifles given to the conscripts. They mark the weapons of war.
- Railway wagons
- Train wagons carrying the men into the unknown. They mark removal far from home.
History
"The Oak's Branches Bent" belongs to military-historical songs, more precisely to a later layer reflecting the experience of modern mass war. A traditional lyric image - the bending branches of the little oak - is placed beside the taking of young men "to war," and then joined with new twentieth-century realities: steel rifles, formation, railway wagons, and transportation into the unknown. This combination of old nature imagery and new technical realities is typical of newer conscription songs.
The exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented by genre signs and theme; the images of railway wagons and rifles of "hard steel" allow it to be connected cautiously with First World War or later conscription. The repeated refrain pattern and the closing image - valleys and hills seen through the wagon window, but not "my land" - strengthen the motif of separation from home.
Sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: Lithuanian folk songs
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: military-historical songs
- LLTI: Lithuanian Folk Songbook
Common questions
The Oak's Branches Bent: what kind of song is this?
It is a military-historical conscription song from a later layer, joining old folk imagery with the realities of modern mass war.
What period might this song reflect?
The exact date is not given, but railway wagons and hard-steel rifles allow a cautious link with First World War or later conscription.
What do the bending oak branches mean?
The bending oak is a sign of sorrow, placed beside the taking of young men to war, as in older war-song imagery.
Why is "my land" no longer visible at the end?
Through the wagon window they see valleys and hills, but not the homeland; the image marks separation from home and homesickness.