Oh Trouble, My Trouble lyrics and meaning
Oi, varge varge, vargeli mano
Kada aš tave varge išvargsiu /x2
O kad aš ėjau viešu kelaliu
Mano vargelis vidury kelio /x2
Žiūriu atjoja šimtas brolalių
Keturi šimtai žirgų kojelių /x2
Aš paprašysiu savo brolalių,
Kad sumindžiotų mano vargelį /x2
Mindžiot mindžiojo, kardais kapojo,
Mano varglis nieko nedbojo /x2
Oh Trouble, My Trouble: song interpretation
This song can be understood as personifying trouble as an inescapable companion. At the beginning, the singer asks when they will be able to out-suffer their trouble, and while walking along the public road, the trouble lies in the middle of the way. This image can be read as hardship that blocks the road and constantly follows the person.
Then a hundred brothers and four hundred horse legs appear, and they are asked to trample the trouble. These images can be understood as an attempt to destroy hardship with gathered strength.
At the end, the trouble is trampled and cut with swords, but it pays no heed. This image can be read as the unconquerability of trouble, which even the brothers' strength cannot defeat. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of personified, inescapable trouble is clear.
Oh Trouble, My Trouble: symbols and phrases
- Personified trouble
- Trouble shown as a living obstacle in the road marks inescapable hardship.
- Public road
- The road blocked by trouble marks the path of life.
- A hundred brothers and horse legs
- The arriving brothers and horses mark gathered help and force against trouble.
- "Trouble paid no heed"
- The trouble ignores trampling and sword blows, marking the unconquerable nature of hardship.
Oh Trouble, My Trouble: song history
"Oh Trouble, My Trouble" belongs to songs in which vargas, trouble or hardship, is personified and becomes an independent actor. The song addresses trouble directly, asking when it can be "out-suffered," and then pictures it lying in the middle of the public road. Such objectification of an abstract idea, and the hyperbolic image of a hundred brothers and four hundred horse legs, belongs both to sorrowful and semi-humorous folk lyric.
The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to its dominant motif. The final image, where the trouble is trampled and chopped with swords but "pays no heed," emphasizes through exaggeration the undefeatable nature of hardship. A formula in which even gathered force cannot overcome misfortune is common in songs, with variants found in different regions.
sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
Oh Trouble, My Trouble: sources
Oh Trouble, My Trouble: frequently asked questions
What kind of song is this?
It is a song in which trouble is personified and shown as a living, inescapable obstacle in the road, which even the brothers' strength cannot overcome.
Why does trouble lie in the middle of the road?
The public road marks the path of life, and trouble lying in its middle marks misfortune that constantly blocks the way and cannot be avoided.
What do the hundred brothers and four hundred horse legs mean?
They are hyperbole: a great gathered force called to trample trouble. The exaggerated number shows how difficult hardship is to overcome.
What does it mean that trouble "paid no heed"?
Even trampled and cut by swords, trouble remains unaffected. This exaggerates the stubborn, unconquerable nature of hardship and adds bitter humor.