Swing and Lift Me lyrics and meaning

Supkit, meskit mane jaunų
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Kad užvystčiau aukštų kalnų
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Aukštų kalnų, žalių girių
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Žalių girių, užuolinių
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Žali lapai nubirėjo
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Per upelį nutekėjo
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Teka upė rūdymuosna
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Duoda mane vargeliuosa
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Ir nudavė in vargelį
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Išbalino, kaip drobelį
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Išdžovino, kaip žuvelį
Ucia lylia lyliutėla.

Swing and Lift Me — second version lyrics

Supkit meskit,
Supkit meskit
Mane jauną,

Kad užvysčiau,
Kad užvysčiau
Aukštą kalną,

Aukštą kalną,
Aukštą kalną,
Žalią girią.

Ant aukšto kalno,
Ant aukšto kalno -
Vilniaus miestelis.

Dai aš nueisiu,
Dai aš nueisiu
Vilniaus miestelin,

Dai aš nuspirksiu,
Dai aš nuspirksiu
Aštrias žirkleles.

Dai aš nueisiu,
Dai aš nueisiu
Žalion girelėn,

Aš pakarpysiu,
Aš pakarpysiu
Aukštus medelius,

Aukštus medelius,
Aukštus medelius,
Žalius lapelius,

Maž aš užvysiu,
Maž aš užvysiu
Tėvelio dvarą.

Tėvelio dvare,
Tėvelio dvare
Treji varteliai.

Pro vienus vartus,
Pro vienus vartus
Saulutė teka;

Pro kitus vartus,
Pro kitus vartus
Mėnulis leidžias;

Pro trečius vartus,
Pro trečius vartus
Sesulę lydi.

Swing and Lift Me: song interpretation

This song with the refrain "ucia lylia" can be understood as the lament of a girl married far away. At the beginning she asks to be swung and thrown upward while still young, so she might glimpse the high hill, the green forest, and the oak woods. Swinging high enough to see the hill can be interpreted as longing to see the natal home.

Then the green leaves fall and flow across the stream, and the stream runs into rust-colored lowlands and gives the girl over to hardship. These images can be understood as the fading of youth and surrender to a difficult lot.

At the end it is said that she was given into hardship, whitened like linen cloth, and dried like a fish. These images can be interpreted as a woman worn down and exhausted by suffering. In the second version, the three gates of the father's manor, through which the sun rises, the moon sets, and the sister is escorted, give the wedding farewell a cosmic dimension. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of the married-away girl's hardship is clear.

Swing and Lift Me: symbols and phrases

Swinging to glimpse the hill
The request to be swung high enough to see the high hill signifies longing for the natal home.
Fallen green leaves
Leaves that fall and flow away signify the fading of youth.
Whitened like linen, dried like a fish
The image of a woman worn down and exhausted by hardship marks the difficult married lot.
Three gates: sun, moon, sister's escort
The father's manor gates in the second version give the wedding farewell a cosmic ritual dimension.

Swing and Lift Me: song history

"Swing and Lift Me" belongs to wedding farewell songs in which a girl married far away sings of her fate: she is swung ever higher so she may look toward her birth home, and then come images of hardship, whitened "like linen" and dried "like a fish." The motif of swinging connects the song with youth and spring, especially Easter swing customs, but the content, the pain of marriage departure, brings it close to family and wedding songs; the refrain "ucia lylia lyliutėla" sustains the rocking rhythm.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre features. In the second variant, the image of the father's manor with three gates is developed further: through them the sun rises, the moon sets, and the sister is escorted away. This gives the farewell a cosmic, ritual measure often found in wedding songs.

sources

  • Lithuanian Folk Songbook, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • A. Juška. Lithuanian Wedding Songs, 2 vols., Vilnius 1955
  • Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986

Swing and Lift Me: sources