There on the Hill lyrics and meaning

Ten ant kalno ant žvyrynėlio
Oi vyna vyna žaliausia

Ten stovėjo nauja seklyčia
Ten gyvena graži mergužė
Atėja mergel žlugtelį velėt
Žlugtelį velėj rankelas plaudė
Rankelas plaudė žiedelį nulaid
O ir atėja trys bernužėliai
Trys bernužėliai trys ribokėliai
Užmeskit upel šilkinį tinklal
Sugaukit mana auksa žiedelį
Ką mums duosi ką dovanosi
Vienam berneliui mėtų šekelį
Antram berneliui rūtų šakelį
Trečiam berneliui aš pati būsiu

There on the Hill: song interpretation

This song with a refrain about the greenest wine can be understood as a song about a lost ring and courtship. At the beginning, on a hill, on gravelly ground, stands a new parlor where a beautiful young woman lives. This image can be interpreted as a picture of the maiden's home.

Then the maiden comes to wash laundry, and while washing her hands she lets her ring fall. Three young men, three fishermen, arrive and are asked to cast a silk net and catch the golden ring. Dropping the ring can be understood as a loss often associated with a betrothal sign.

At the end, when asked what she will give, the maiden promises one young man a sprig of mint, another a sprig of rue, and to the third she herself will belong. This answer can be interpreted as her pledge to the one who catches her ring. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of the lost ring and courtship is clear.

There on the Hill: symbols and phrases

New parlor on the hill
The young woman's house standing on gravelly ground. It marks the maiden's home.
Dropped ring
The golden ring lost while washing hands signifies loss and the sign of betrothal.
Three young fishermen
The three fishers asked to catch the ring act as helpers in the courtship scene.
"To the third young man, I myself will be"
The promise to the one who catches the ring signifies the maiden's pledge.

There on the Hill: song history

"There on the Hill" belongs to love and courtship songs: while washing laundry, the maiden lets a golden ring fall into the water, and three young fishermen are asked to catch it with a silk net. The loss and recovery of the ring become a courtship image, while the refrain about the greenest wine sustains the round-dance movement of the song.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre features; the motifs of the lost ring, its capture, and the choice among three young men are typical of love and youth songs. Variants of such songs exist in different parts of Lithuania.

sources

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

There on the Hill: sources