On the Lagoon Shore lyrics and meaning

Ant marių krantelio statyčiau laivelį. /2x
Viliočiau mergelę trylikos metelių. /2x

Neviliok, berneli, baltas dobilėli. /2x
Duok man jaunai augti pas savo močiutę. /2x

Bepig tau, mergele, pas močiutę augti. /2x
Vargas man berneliui svetimoj šalelėj. /2x

On the Lagoon Shore: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a courtship and enticement song in which the young man's wish meets the girl's youth. The young man says he would build a little boat on the shore of the marios and entice a girl of thirteen years. The building of the boat and the act of enticing create a courtship or seduction image.

The girl answers by asking him not to entice her and to let her, still young, grow up beside her mother. This answer can be interpreted as the girl's awareness that she is still too young to marry, and also as attachment to her birth home. The age of thirteen stresses that she is still a child.

The young man replies that it is easy for her to grow up beside her mother, while for him, a young man, there is hardship in a foreign land. This contrast can be understood through a common thought in songs: once married, the girl will leave home and live elsewhere, so there should be no rush into marriage. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of guarding youth and postponing courtship is clear.

On the Lagoon Shore: symbols and phrases

Marios
A broad body of water, often marking distance, a foreign land, or a life change in songs. The courtship boat is built on its shore.
Little boat
The boat being built is a sign of courtship and enticement. It represents the young man's intentions.
"Thirteen years"
The girl's very young age, stressing that she is too young to marry. It justifies her request to be allowed to grow up.
Foreign land
The distant place into which the girl would enter after marriage. It marks separation from her birth home.

On the Lagoon Shore: song history

"On the Lagoon Shore" belongs to love and courtship songs, especially songs of enticement: the young man speaks of building a boat and enticing a girl, while the girl answers by asking him not to entice her and to let her, still young, grow beside her mother. The repeated "/2x" after each line points to a dialogic, antithetical structure typical of lyrical enticement songs, where the young man's desire is set against the girl's modesty.

The exact place and time of recording are not stated on the page, so the song is presented according to its genre features. Images of the marios, the boat, and the "foreign land" are common in love songs, where water and a distant country mark a change in life and separation from the birth home; the girl's age of "thirteen years" emphasizes that she is still too young to marry.

sources

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

On the Lagoon Shore: sources