See Me Off, Sister lyrics and meaning

Palydėk sesula,
Jin žalių girelį,
E-e-ei, užkukuos gegulė,
Bus ramu širdelėj.

Tai tu tadu grįši
In tėvulio dvarų,
E-e-ei, o aš jaunas josiu
Jin karaliaus žemį.

Tai duos man karalius
Geruosius rūbelius,
E-e-ei, an mano petelių
Ankštų mundurėlį.

Ant mano petelių
Ankštų mundurėlį,
E-e-ei, ant mano galvelės
Aukštų kaškietėlį.

Ant mano rankelių
Sunkių muškietėlį,
E-e-ei, prieg mano šalalai
Šviesųjį kardelį.

See Me Off, Sister: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a recruit's farewell song. At the beginning the brother asks his sister to see him off into the green grove, where a cuckoo will call and his heart will be calm. This seeing-off can be interpreted as a farewell before departure.

Then it is said that the sister will return to the father's manor, while he, still young, will ride to the king's land. This contrast can be understood as the parting of family paths: one returns home, the other goes to serve.

At the end the clothes and weapons given by the king are listed: a tight uniform, a high cap, a heavy musket, and a bright sword. These images can be interpreted as the soldier's dress and weapons, marking a new life of service. That is one possible meaning, but the recruit's farewell is the clear motif.

See Me Off, Sister: symbols and phrases

Seeing off into the grove
The sister is asked to accompany her brother. It marks the farewell before departure.
Cuckoo's call
The cuckoo calling in the grove and calming the heart. It marks the comfort of home just before leaving.
King's land
The land to which the brother rides to serve. It marks military service far from home.
Uniform, cap, musket, sword
The clothes and weapons given by the king. They mark the soldier's fate and new life.

See Me Off, Sister: song history

"See Me Off, Sister" belongs to military-historical songs, specifically recruit farewell songs. The brother's request that his sister accompany him to the green grove, the image of the cuckoo's calling, and the contrast between staying at home and serving in the "king's land" are typical motifs of the genre.

No exact recording place or time is given on this page, so the song is presented through genre features. The second half turns into a listing of the soldier's clothing and weapons - tight uniform, high cap, heavy musket, bright sword. Such enumeration of the clothes "given by the king" usually marks entry into a foreign and difficult life of service, and many variants of such recruit songs exist in different regions.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956

See Me Off, Sister: sources