Past the Little Forest lyrics and meaning
Pro girelę, pro žaliąją
Saulutė tekėjo,
Lygiais keliais, vieškelėliais
Daug brolelių ėjo. /2×2
Visi linksmai dainuodami
Į vakarus traukia,
Kur mirtis ir pražuvimas
Jų jaunystės laukia. /2×2
Į klėtelę, į aukštąją
Aš, jaunas, eidamas,
Savo mielai mergužėlei
Sudiev sakydamas. /2×2
Imk, mergele, aukso žiedą
Mano atminimui,
Jeigu žūsiu šitoj karėj,
Eikie už bernelio. /2×2
Jeigu žūsiu šitoj karėj,
Eikie už bernelio,
Padėk aukselio žiedelį
Ant mano kapelio. /2×2
Jau netoli rudenėlis,
Negrįžta bernelis,
Reikės padėti an kapo
Aukselio žiedelį. /2×2
Past the Little Forest: song interpretation
This song can be understood as a war song about men going to battle and saying farewell to a beloved young woman. At the beginning, the sun rises past the green forest, and many brothers move westward along smooth roads and highways, singing cheerfully, toward the place where death and ruin await their youth. This image can be read as young men going to war, from which many will not return.
Then the young man, going into the high storehouse, says farewell to his beloved maiden and gives her a gold ring in remembrance, telling her that if he dies in this war, she should marry another young man. The gold ring can be understood as a sign of love and memory.
At the end, as autumn draws near, the young man does not return, and the gold ring must be placed on the grave. This image can be interpreted as the young man's death and the maiden's mourning. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of wartime farewell and death are clear.
Past the Little Forest: symbols and phrases
- Brothers moving west
- Young men marching to war. They mark departure toward death.
- Gold ring in remembrance
- The ring given to the maiden. It marks love and memory.
- "Marry another young man"
- Permission for the maiden to marry another if he dies. It marks farewell and the renunciation of love.
- Ring on the grave
- The gold ring placed on the grave. It marks the young man's death and mourning.
Past the Little Forest: song history
"Past the Little Forest" belongs to military-historical songs about men going to war, farewell to a young woman, and death. The song is built around the gold ring motif: as he leaves, the young man gives the maiden a ring in remembrance and asks that, if he dies, she marry another man and place the ring on his grave. Such a ring, changing from a sign of love into a sign of mourning, is a frequent image in military songs.
The specific place and date of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented through its genre features. The opening contrast - brothers singing cheerfully as they go toward the place where death and ruin await their youth - immediately introduces the tragic foreboding confirmed by the ending: autumn approaches and the young man has not returned.
sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956
Past the Little Forest: sources
Past the Little Forest: frequently asked questions
What kind of song is this?
It is a military-historical song about a young man going to battle, saying farewell to his beloved, and dying, as witnessed by the gold ring placed on the grave.
What does the gold ring mean?
At first the young man gives the ring to the maiden as a sign of love and remembrance. After his death, it is placed on his grave, so the love token becomes a mourning token.
Why does the young man tell the maiden to marry another?
Foreseeing possible death, he gives the maiden permission to marry another. It is a motif of noble farewell and renunciation of love, common in military songs.
How do we know the young man died?
At the end, autumn is near and the young man has not returned, so the gold ring must be placed on the grave. This indirectly announces his death.