Through This Whole Night lyrics and meaning
Šią naktelę per naktelę
Nemigau nemigau,
Su broleliu obelėlę
Sodinau sodinau.
Prigyk prigyk, obelėle,
Valyvai valyvai,
Nokink savo obuolėlius
Raudonai raudonai.
Aš priskinsiu obuolėlių
Raudonų raudonų
Ir nunešiu bernužėliui
Dovanų dovanų.
Mergužėle lelijėle,
Kur buvai, kur buvai,
Kad šią naktį jaunimėly
Nebuvai nebuvai.
Šią naktelę per naktelę
Nemigau nemigau,
Su broleliu obelėlę
Sodinau sodinau.
Through This Whole Night: song interpretation
This song can be understood as a song about a love gift ripening in an apple tree. At the beginning the singer says she did not sleep through the whole night, but planted an apple tree with her brother. This night work can be read as the girl's careful labor.
The apple tree is then urged to take root and ripen little apples red, because the girl will pick red apples and carry them as a gift to the young man. The red apples can be understood as a sign of love, a gift for the beloved.
At the end the girl is asked where she was, since she was not at the youth gathering that night, and the answer returns to planting the apple tree with her brother. This image can be read as the girl's explanation for missing the young people's gathering. This is one possible meaning, but the motif of the apple tree and love gift is clear in the song.
Through This Whole Night: symbols and phrases
- Planting an apple tree at night
- The apple tree planted through the night with the brother. It marks the girl's careful labor.
- Red apples
- Apples ripening red. They mark love and a gift.
- Gifts for the young man
- The apples carried to the beloved. They mark a courtship gift of love.
- Youth gathering
- The gathering of young people that the girl missed. It marks shared youth sociability set aside because of work.
Through This Whole Night: song history
"Through This Whole Night" belongs to love songs in which a love gift is ripened in an apple tree. The song is composed with emphatic word repetitions at the ends of lines, such as "I did not sleep, did not sleep," "I planted, planted," and "redly, redly," creating a gentle lyrical rhythm. The apple tree planted through the night with the brother is urged to take root and ripen red apples, which the girl will carry to the young man as a gift.
The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre features, especially the motif of the apple tree and red apple as a love gift. At the end the girl is asked where she was, since she was not at the youth gathering, and the song again repeats that she was planting the apple tree with her brother, joining love's care with an explanation for missing the gathering.
sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
Through This Whole Night: sources
Through This Whole Night: frequently asked questions
What kind of song is this?
It is a love song in which the love gift, red apples, is ripened in an apple tree the girl has planted herself.
What do the red apples symbolize?
The ripening red apples mark love and a gift for the beloved; the girl promises to pick them and carry them to the young man.
Why does the song repeat words at the ends of lines?
Repetitions such as "did not sleep, did not sleep" and "redly, redly" create a gentle lyrical rhythm suited to sung love lyric.
What is jaunimėlis?
Jaunimėlis is a gathering or evening party of young people. The song ends with the girl's explanation that she missed it because she was planting the apple tree.