Oh, Yesterday Evening lyrics and meaning

Oi aš vakar vakarėlį
Pyniau rūtų vainikėlį,
Pyniau rūtų vainikel.

Ir nupyniau, nudabinau,
In galvelas užsidėjau,
In galvelas užsidėj.

Siuntė mani matinėla
Dunojėlin vandenėlia,
Dunojėlin vandenėl.

Kai papūtė šiaurus vėjis,
Ir nupūtė vainikėlį,
Ir nupūtė vainikel.

Ir nupūtė vainikėlį
Anan šonan dunajėlia,
Anan šonan dunajėl.

Anam šoni dunajėlia
Stovi pulkas bernužėlių,
Stovi pulkas bernužėl.

Bernužėlij sakuolėlij,
Ar nematėt vainikėlia,
Ar nematėt vainikėl?

O jei matėt, pasakykit,
O jei radot, atiduokit,
O jei radot, atiduok.

Ką mum duosi, davanosi,
Mergužėla lelijėla,
Mergužėla lelijėl?

Vienam duosiu šilka skarą,
Antram duosiu aukso žiedą,
Antram duosiu aukso žied.

O už trečia patekėsiu,
Vainikėlį paliudėsiu,
Vainikėlį paliudės.

Vainikėlis plaukte plaukia,
Bernužėlis gvoltu šaukia,
Bernužėlis gvoltu šauk.

Vainikėlia in kraštelia,
Bernužėlis in dugnelia,
Bernužėlis in dugnel.

Vainikėlia tik lapelij,
Bernužėlia tik kaulalij,
Bernužėlia tik kaulal.

Oh, Yesterday Evening: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a ballad-like song about a lost wreath. At the beginning, a rue wreath is woven in the evening and placed on the young woman's head. In Lithuanian songs, the rue wreath is a sign of maidenhood. The mother sends the girl to the waters of Dunojėlis, and a north wind blows the wreath to the other side of the river.

On the far side stands a group of young men, and the girl asks them to return the wreath. They ask what she will give: to one she promises a silk scarf, to another a gold ring, and for the third she promises to marry and entrust the wreath to him. This exchange can be interpreted as courtship tied to the loss of maidenhood.

At the end, the wreath keeps floating while the young man cries out in distress: the wreath is by the bank, but the young man is at the bottom; only leaves remain from the wreath, and only bones from the young man. This tragic transformation can be understood as death suffered while trying to reach the wreath. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of the lost wreath and disaster are clear.

Oh, Yesterday Evening: symbols and phrases

Rue wreath
The wreath woven and placed on the head. It marks maidenhood.
Blown to the other side of Dunojėlis
The wind carries the wreath across the river. This marks the loss of maidenhood and a passage toward marriage.
Group of young men
The young men standing on the far side of the river. They mark possible suitors.
Young man at the bottom
The young man who drowned while reaching for the wreath, with only bones remaining. He marks tragic death.

Oh, Yesterday Evening: song history

"Oh, Yesterday Evening" belongs to ballad-like youth songs about a lost rue wreath. In Lithuanian songs, the rue wreath is a sign of maidenhood and chastity, so its weaving, placement on the head, and later loss in water form the core of the song. The repeated final line of each stanza, shortened by one syllable, is a singing formula that allows the text to be performed as a chain.

The song is written in a strong dialect, and the exact recording place and date are not given on this page, so it is presented through its genre features. Dunojėlis here is not the actual Danube River, but a frequent Lithuanian song formula for water, boundary, and danger. The wreath floating to "the other side" and the young man's death while trying to retrieve it give the song a ballad-like, tragic ending.

sources

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

Oh, Yesterday Evening: sources