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Our Brothers Married lyrics and meaning

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Ženijosi mūsų broliai, Ženijosi mūsų broliai, Parves mačių labai gražių. Marčios kasos sulig juosta, Marčios kasos sulig juosta, Iš kaselių Saulė teka. Iš kaselių Saulė teka, Iš kaselių Saulė teka, Iš vainiko rasa krinta. Marčios grėblys maliavotas, Marčios grėblys maliavotas, Dieverėlio dovanotas. Vai ko stovi, ko negrėbi? Vai ko stovi, ko negrėbi, Ar tau gaila žalios lankos? Ar tau gaila žalios lankos, Ar tau gaila žalios lankos, Ar baltųjų dobilėlių? Nei man gaila žalios lankos, Nei man gaila žalios lankos, Nei baltųjų dobilėlių. Tik man gaila jaunų dienių, Tik man gaila jaunų dienų Ir rūtelių vainikėlio.

Second version

Žanijosi mūsų brolis, žanijosi mūsų brolis, parves marcių labai gražių. Marcios kasos sulig jusotai, marcios kasos sulig juostai, nuo kaselių Saulė teka. Nuo kaselių Saulė teka, nuo kaselių sualė teka, nuo vainikų rasa krinta. Eikiem, broliai, lygion lankon, eikiem, broliai, lygion lankon, lygion lankon šieno grėbcie. Marcios grėblis maliavotas, maricios grėblis maliavotas, dzieverėlio dovanotas. O tu marcia, ko tu stovi, o tu marcia, ko tu stovi, ko tu stovi, ko negrėbie? Ar tau gaila lygios lankos, ar tau gaila lugios lankos, ar pievelės dobilėlių? Nei man gaila lygios lankos, nei man gaila lygios lankos, nei pievelės dobilėlių Cik man gaila jaunų dienų, cik man gaila jaunų dienų, žalių rūtų vainikėlio

Meaning

This song can be understood as a wedding song about the new daughter-in-law. At the beginning, the joyful announcement is made that the brothers are marrying and will bring home a very beautiful bride: her braids reach her belt, the sun rises from her braids, and dew falls from her wreath. These images can be interpreted as praise of the bride's beauty.

The song then emphasizes the bride's rake, painted and given by the dieverelis, the husband's brother, and asks why she is standing and not raking. This question can be understood as the presentation of the new family's expectations.

At the end, the daughter-in-law answers that she does not grieve for the green meadow or the white clover, but for her young days and rue wreath. These words can be interpreted as the bride's mourning for lost maidenhood as she leaves her natal home. This is one possible meaning, but the motifs of the bride's beauty and lost youth are clear in the song.

Symbols

Braids to the belt, sun from the braids
Long braids reaching the belt and shining like the sun. They mark praise of the bride's beauty.
Dew from the wreath
Dew falling from the young woman's wreath. It marks maidenhood and purity.
Rake given by the husband's brother
The painted rake given by the dieverelis, the husband's brother. It marks new family ties.
"I grieve for young days and the rue wreath"
The bride's mourning for lost maidenhood. It marks the passage from maiden to daughter-in-law.

History

"Our Brothers Married" belongs to wedding songs about the young bride brought into the household. The opening, a joyful announcement that the brothers have married and brought home a very beautiful daughter-in-law, whose braids reach her belt, "the sun rises from her braids, dew falls from her wreath," is a traditional formula praising the bride's beauty, in which sun and dew connect the girl with light and purity.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on the page, so the song is discussed according to genre features. The second part, with the painted rake given by the dieverelis and the reproach "why are you standing, why are you not raking," introduces the expectations of the new family. The daughter-in-law's answer, that she does not grieve for the green meadow but for her young days and rue wreath, reveals the bride's mourning for lost maidenhood and her natal home, one of the most important motifs of wedding lyric.

Sources