Support the Lietuva.love project

The Little Dove Coos lyrics and meaning

On this page
Čiulba ulba karvelėlis Lakiodamas, Verkia manįs tėvulis Ieškoda(mas). Oi, aš eisiu čystam lauke Pavaikščiotie, Savo mielo sūnelio Paieško(tie). Stovi palši jauteliai Ir žagrelė,- Mano mielo sūnelio Ir tį nėra. Čiulba ulba karvelėlis Lakiodamas, Verkia manįs motulė Ieškodama. Oi, aš eisiu lygioj lankoj Pavaikščiotie, Savo mielo sūnelio Paieškotie. Stovi plieno dalgelė Ir aslelė- Mano mielo sūnelio Ir tį nėra. Čiulba ulba karvelėlis Lakiodamas, Verkia manįs seselė Ieškodama. Oi, aš eisiu stonelėj Pavaikščiotie, Savo mielo brolelio Paieškotie. Stovi šyvas žirgelis Ir balnelis --- Mano mielo brolelio Ir tį nėra. Čiulba ulba karvelėlis Lakiodamas, Verkia manį mergužėlė Ieškodama. Oi, aš eisiu Vilniaus mieste Pavaikščiotie, Savo mielo bernelio Paieškotie. Radau savo bernužėlį Žaunierėliu. Visi gražiai parėdyti --- Jis gražiausias. Visų aukštos kaškietėlės --- Jo aukščiausios. Už tos aukštos kaškietėlės Gromatėlė. Toj margojoj gromatėlėj Parašyta, Kad man jaunai mergužėlai Šliūban stotie.

Meaning

This song can be understood as a recruit ballad about a son sought by his family and found as a soldier. Throughout the song the little dove flies, cooing and calling, while the father, mother, sister, and finally the young woman weep as they search for their beloved. The dove is a bird of longing and news, binding the separate stanzas together.

The father seeks the son in the field near oxen and a plough, the mother in the meadow near a scythe, and the sister in the stable near the horse, but he is nowhere there: only tools and animals remain without their master. These images can be read as the emptiness of everyday life after the son's departure.

Only the young woman, going to Vilnius, finds her beloved as a soldier. He is the most handsome of all, with the highest military cap, and behind that cap is tucked a little letter. In that letter it is written that the young woman must stand for church marriage. This ending can be understood as the meeting of soldier and beloved turning into marriage. That is one possible meaning, but the motifs of separation, searching, and love are clear.

Symbols

Little dove
The dove that flies and coos through the searching stanzas. It is a bird of longing and news.
Oxen, plough, scythe, horse
Tools and animals left without their master. They mark the emptiness of life after the son's departure.
Žalnierius and military cap
The soldier and his high cap, which the beloved has become. They mark the military service into which he has been taken.
Gromatėlė and šliūbas
The little letter tucked behind the cap and the church marriage it announces. They end the song with a sign of love and marriage.

History

"The Little Dove Coos" belongs to military-historical songs, specifically a recruit ballad about a son searched for by his family and found as a soldier, or žalnierius. The song is arranged as a repeating chain: each time, the little dove flies and coos; then the father, mother, sister, and finally the young woman search in tears. The dove is a bird of longing and news, joining the song's separate parts.

No specific recording place or date is given on this page, so the song is presented through its genre features. The father finds only oxen and a plough, the mother a scythe, and the sister a horse without its master; the tools and animals remain without the son. Only the young woman finds the beloved soldier in Vilnius, with a high cap and a letter tucked behind it inviting her to enter marriage, so separation, search, love, and military service converge.

Sources