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Rue, Green Rue lyrics and meaning

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Uoj rūta, rūta Rūtela žalioji Kodėl nežaliuoji Žiemą vasarėl Todėl nežaliuoju Žiemą vasarėlį Kad sesė pasėjo Ne ten kur norėj Man sesiulė sėjo Aukštuose kalnuose Aukštuose kalnuose Tuose dirvonuose Kur nei lietus lyja Nei vėjelis pučia Nei šviesi Saulalė Nigdei neužais Uoj tatuši mano Tatuši širdeli Kodėl mani nulaidai Už seno našlal Kodėl mani nulaidai Už seno našlalio Už seno našlalio Prie didžio vargel Kodėl mani nelaidai Už jauno bernelio Už jauno bernelio Ant didžio dvarel

Meaning

This song can be understood as a parallel song comparing rue and a young woman. At the beginning, the green rue is asked why it does not flourish in winter or summer, and it answers that the sister sowed it where it did not want to be: in high hills and fallow fields, where no rain falls, no wind blows, and no sun ever rises. This image can be interpreted as rue planted in a barren, bleak place.

The same thought is then transferred to the young woman: she reproaches her father for having given her to an old widower, into great hardship, instead of to a young man on a great estate. These images can be understood as the picture of an unhappy marriage arranged against her will.

The rue in barren soil and the young woman married to an old widower can be interpreted as parallel images of a bleak lot, with a reproach directed at the father. This is one possible meaning, but the parallel between rue and the young woman is clear in the song.

Symbols

Rue that does not flourish
Rue planted in a barren place and unable to grow. It is parallel to the unhappily married young woman.
High hills and fallow fields without rain or sun
The bleak place where the rue is sown. It marks an infertile, sorrowful lot.
Old widower
The difficult old husband to whom the young woman is given. He marks an unhappy marriage.
Young man and great estate
The desired young bridegroom and wealthy estate. They mark the hoped-for but unrealized fate.

History

"Rue, Green Rue" belongs to family songs about the unhappy lot of being married off, built on the principle of parallelism. The green rue does not flourish because it was sown not where it wanted, but in high hills and fallow fields where no rain falls and no sun rises. The same pattern is then transferred to the young woman, who reproaches her father for sending her to an old widower rather than to a young man. This comparison of rue and girl, and the reproach to parents for a bad lot, is characteristic of family songs and songs about a young woman's fate.

The exact place and time of this recording are not given on the page, so the song is presented according to genre features. Rue here is a symbol of youth and the unmarried girl, while the barren-land image, hills and fallow fields without rain or sun, gives parallel meaning to a bleak, hard marital lot.

Sources