Oh, You Peony lyrics and meaning
Oi, tu, bijūn, bijūnėli,
Nežydėkie galy lauko. /2x
Tcik žydėkie tėvo dvary,
Tėvo dvary, rūtų daržy. /2x
Ain anyta per dvarelį,
Neša rankoj kančiukėlį. /2x
Pamokysiu sau martelį,
Sau martelį in darbelį. /2x
Vėlai gulcis, anksti kelcis,
Plonai verpcie, tankiai auscie. /2x
Nemušk manis, anytėla,
Mušė manį motinėla. /2x
Šilko vygėj vygiuodama,
Aukso raktais bovydama. /2x
Oh, You Peony: song interpretation
This song can be understood as a daughter-in-law's song about a strict mother-in-law. At the beginning, the peony is addressed and asked not to bloom at the far end of the field, but only in the father's manor, in the rue garden. The peony and rue garden can be interpreted as the young woman and her protected home.
Then the mother-in-law walks through the manor carrying a little whip and promises to teach the daughter-in-law work: to go to bed late, rise early, spin fine thread, and weave densely. These images can be understood as the harsh, heavy lot of a daughter-in-law.
At the end, the daughter-in-law asks the mother-in-law not to beat her, remembering that her own mother beat her only while rocking her in a silk cradle and amusing her with golden keys. This contrast can be interpreted as the opposition between loving birth home and the mother-in-law's roughness. That is one possible meaning, but the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship is clear.
Oh, You Peony: symbols and phrases
- Peony
- The peony urged to bloom only in the father's manor. It marks the young woman and her home.
- Rue garden
- The rue garden in the father's manor. It marks maidenly chastity and a safe space.
- Mother-in-law with a whip
- The mother-in-law walking through the manor with a whip. She marks a strict, rough in-law.
- Silk cradle and golden keys
- The daughter-in-law's memory of gentle childhood. They mark the loving birth home, opposed to the mother-in-law's severity.
Oh, You Peony: song history
"Oh, You Peony" belongs to family songs depicting the relationship between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. The song has a two-part structure: the first part addresses the peony, urged to bloom not at the field's edge but in the father's manor, in the rue garden; the second shows the foreign household, where the mother-in-law carries a little whip and promises the daughter-in-law hard labor. Such pairing of plant imagery (peony, rue) with the young woman, and the contrast between birth home and husband's home, are among the clearest features of family lyric.
The specific place and date of recording are not given on the page, so the song is presented through its genre features. The closing contrast - "do not beat me, mother-in-law; my mother beat me in a silk cradle" - ironically compares the mother's gentle "beating" while rocking the child with the mother-in-law's harsh severity. This figure is common in songs about the daughter-in-law's lot, variants of which have been recorded in many Lithuanian regions.
sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
Oh, You Peony: sources
Oh, You Peony: frequently asked questions
What kind of song is this?
It is a family song about the relationship between a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law, showing the hard lot of a married young woman in another household.
What do the peony and rue garden signify?
The peony and the father's rue garden are associated with the young woman, her chastity, and the safety of her birth home; the wish that the peony bloom only there expresses the longing to remain at home.
What does the mother-in-law with a whip mean?
The whip in the mother-in-law's hand marks a strict, rough in-law who promises hard work: late to bed, early to rise, fine spinning, and dense weaving.
Why does the daughter-in-law say her mother beat her?
It is an ironic comparison. The mother only "beat" her by rocking her in a silk cradle and playing with golden keys, emphasizing the loving birth home against the mother-in-law's harshness.