Two Brothers Wrote a Letter lyrics and meaning

Žaliojoj girelėj sieras akmenėlis,
Du brolaliai sakuolėliai gromatėlį rašė
Du brolaliai sakuolėliai gromatėlį rašė

Du brolaliai rašė, tracias pračytojo,
Kodel mūsų sasiułė viešniu neatvažuoja.

Ar kelio nežino, ar žirgų neturi,
Ar už savo dzidzio vargo motułį užmiršo.

Ir kelalius žino, ir žirgelius turi,
Cik už savo dzidzio vargo motułį pamiršo.

Aisiu pas motulį, aisiu pas širdelį,
Kai daaisiu sraunių upį, raiks upelį bristi

Ėjau aš kelaliu, daėjau upelį
Ir atradau lieptelį, lipau per lieptelį,

Lipau per lieptelį, inpuoliau upelin,
Ojojoj Dzievuliau, kų aš dar darysiu.

Bridau sulig juostos, plaukiau palik kaklo
Ir išajau iš upelės an upės kraštelio.

Tai išsikracysiu, rūbelius išgrįšu
Ir nuveisiu pas motułį, tai išsidžiovysiu,

Tai išsidziovysiu, tai išsivėdzysiu,
Kolei savo vargelį motulai porysiu.

Two Brothers Wrote a Letter: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a song about a sister who has forgotten her mother. At the beginning two falcon-brothers write a gromatėlė, or letter, asking why the sister does not come as a guest: whether she does not know the road, lacks horses, or has forgotten her mother because of her great hardship. The brothers' concern can be interpreted as the importance of family bonds.

Then the sister answers: she knows the roads and has the horses, but because of great hardship she forgot her mother, and she herself sets out to go to her mother. These images can be understood as an awakening of conscience.

At the end the sister reaches the stream, falls into the water from the footbridge, wades up to her waist, swims up to her neck, comes out onto the bank, intends to shake out and dry her clothes, and to tell her mother about her hardship. These images can be interpreted as the difficult journey back to the mother, one that no obstacle can stop. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of family bond and the sister's duty is clear.

Two Brothers Wrote a Letter: symbols and phrases

Falcon-brothers writing a letter
Brothers compared with falcons as they write the letter. They mark guardians of the family bond.
"Because of great hardship she forgot her mother"
The sister's hardship as her explanation. It marks everyday burden overcoming the family bond.
Wading and swimming through the stream
The swift water that must be waded up to the waist and swum up to the neck. It marks the hard but determined way to the mother.
Telling the mother her hardship
The sister's intention to tell her mother about her troubles after arriving. It marks the mother's importance as a point of support.

Two Brothers Wrote a Letter: song history

"Two Brothers Wrote a Letter" belongs to family songs about the bond among brothers, sisters, and mother. The opening image - in the green forest, by the gray stone, two falcon-brothers write a gromatėlė, or letter - is a traditional lyrical formula; in the letter they ask why the sister does not visit the mother: whether she does not know the road, has no horses, or has forgotten her because of great hardship.

The exact place and time of recording are not stated on the page, so the song is discussed according to genre features. The second part - the sister's journey to her mother across a swift river, her fall from the footbridge, wading up to the waist and swimming up to the neck - strengthens the motif of family duty: no obstacle stops the return to the mother, to whom the sister will finally tell her hardship. Dialectal language (gromata, sasiūlė, dzidzio, daaisiu) suggests Aukštaitian or eastern Lithuanian origin.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • Lietuvių liaudies dainų katalogas, 6 t., Vilnius 1972-1986

Two Brothers Wrote a Letter: sources