Swim, Little Duck, Across the Lake lyrics and meaning
Plauki pileli per ežereli
Lendrynus lunkstydam
Parein strėlčelis per žuli lunk
Strielbeli siūbaudams
Ar tu siūbauji ar nesiūbauji
Tu munis nenušausi
Pati palieksiu vaikus pasliepsiu
Lendrymo vidureli
Parein strielčelis per žuli lunk
Jau munis neberund
Siūban lendrelis po ežerel
Aš veina po vargeli
Meaning
This song can be understood as a song about a bird protecting its children. At the beginning, a little duck swims across the lake, bending the reed beds, while a hunter comes along the shore, swinging his gun. This image can be read as looming danger from a hunter with a firearm.
The duck then says that the hunter will not shoot it, because it will remain itself and hide the children in the middle of the reeds. This image can be understood as maternal protection and defense of the young.
At the end the hunter comes, but no longer shoots, while the reed sways on the lake, and the song says: I am alone in my trouble. This image can be read as loneliness and hardship, perhaps lying behind the bird image. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of danger and protecting children is clear.
Symbols
- Swimming little duck
- The duck swimming across the lake marks a bird, perhaps a mother, protecting her children.
- Hunter with a gun
- The hunter walking along the shore with a firearm marks approaching danger.
- Children hidden in the reeds
- The duck hides its children in the middle of the reed bed. This marks maternal protection.
- Swaying reed
- The reed swaying on the lake and lonely trouble mark a mood of solitude and grief.
History
"Swim, Little Duck, Across the Lake" belongs to lyrical nature songs in which the life of a bird, a wild duck among reeds, and the threat from a hunter are transferred into the field of human feeling. The short, laconic song turns around danger and the hiding of children in the reed bed. The closing line, "I am alone in my trouble," reveals that behind the bird image there is the mood of a lonely, suffering person.
The text is written in dialectal forms such as "pileli," "lendrynus," "strėlčelis," and "veina," but the exact recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features. The opposition of bird and hunter, and the motif of maternal defense of children, are widespread in Lithuanian lyric.
Sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: Lithuanian folk songs
- LLTI: Lithuanian Folk Songbook
Common questions
Swim, Little Duck, Across the Lake: what kind of song is this?
It is a lyrical nature song about a wild duck protecting its children from a hunter; beneath the bird image is the mood of a lonely, suffering person.
Who are the pilelis and strėlčelis?
Pilelis is a wild duck or little duck, while strėlčelis, or strėlčius, is a hunter with a strielba, a firearm. The song sets up the contrast between them.
What does hiding the children in the reeds mean?
The duck says it will remain itself and hide the children in the middle of the reed bed. It is an image of maternal protection and sacrifice.
What does the last line "I am alone in my trouble" mean?
A human layer breaks through the bird image: beneath it is the complaint of a lonely, burdened person. "Veina" is dialectal for "alone" or "one."