The Bargaining lyrics and meaning
Ui, ui, Dieve, Dieve mano,
Ką aš jaunas veiksiu?
Privelijo man mergytę,
Kuri niekam neverta.
Ai mergate, lelijate,
Kuo mudu užklosiva?
Nėr verpimo, nėr audimo,
Nėr nei paklodėlės.
Ai bernyti, raitelyti,
Tu tai neatboki.
Dar klėtelėj trys maišeliai:
Vieną dėsiva po galveliu,
Antrą dėsiva po šoneliu,
Trečią užsiklosiva.
Ai mergate, lelijate,
Kuo mudu gyvensiva?
Nėr duonelės, nėr druskelės,
Nėr nei uždaračio.
Ai bernyti, raitelyti,
Tu tai neatboki.
Auga grybai, baravykai,
Muma uždaratis.
Rink, rink, mergužėle,
Rink žalius baravykus.
The Bargaining: song interpretation
The comedy of this song comes from the mismatch between love and household reality. The young man complains that a worthless girl has been matched to him, but the conversation quickly turns to sheets, sacks, bread, salt, and mushrooms. Love is tested not by feeling, but by the question of how the couple will live.
The young woman's answers are practical and almost teasing. If there is no bedding, there will be sacks; if there is no relish or food accompaniment, there will be boletus mushrooms. The song can therefore be read as folk satire on poor marriages, where ingenuity temporarily replaces wealth.
The Bargaining: symbols and phrases
- Three sacks
- A poor substitute for sheets and bedding. They create the comic scene of domestic negotiation.
- Bread and salt
- The minimum basis of subsistence. Their absence shows that the worry about marriage is intensely material.
- Boletus mushrooms
- A gift of the woods in place of ordinary food. They turn poverty into an ingenious but comic solution.
- Lelijate
- A tender form of address that contrasts with the rough, practical situation of the song.
The Bargaining: song history
In Rėza's edition, "The Bargaining" is presented as a song of Lithuania Minor, connected with the Valtarkiemis Jordan manuscript. The commentary itself stresses that the text was awkward for an idealized image of folk-song morality: it is not a gentle lyric love song, but a somewhat rough comic dialogue about beginning married life without woven cloth, bedding, bread, or salt.
The title "Bargaining" is precise here: the young people negotiate not romantic feeling but domestic conditions. Such a song belongs to the humorous layer of folk song, where marriage is shown as a matter of very concrete objects, food, and work.
The Bargaining: sources
The Bargaining: frequently asked questions
Is "The Bargaining" a real folk song?
Yes. It is presented as a song in Rėza's collection. The title is broad, however, so archives also contain other bargaining motifs in tales and legends.
Why does the song sound comic?
It talks about marriage through an inventory of poverty: no sheets, no bread, no salt. Such concrete domestic detail undermines the romantic expectation.
What is "uždaratis"?
It is something eaten with bread or a meal, like a relish, side, or accompaniment. In the song, boletus mushrooms are meant to replace it.
Why are there forms from Lithuania Minor in the text?
Rėza's songs are largely connected with Lithuania Minor, so the language shows regional spelling, dialect, and manuscript features.
Is the song sympathetic to the young woman?
It is more satirical than sentimental. The young woman is shown answering the young man's fears practically rather than suffering silently.
Why preserve a rougher text like this?
It shows that the world of folk song is not only idealized. It also contains irony, social criticism, poverty, and everyday humor.