Two Hundred Rode Out lyrics and meaning

Du šimteliai jojo
Ir numandravojo,
Tiktai vienas bernelis
Tai nuliūdęs jojo. /2×2

Tai nuliūdęs jojo,
Dūmelį dūmojo
Ar aš rasiu tėvelį,
Senų motinėlį, /2×2

Ar rasiu tėvelį,
Senų motinėlį,
Ar aš rasiu mergelės
Rūtų vainikėlį? /2×2

Jei nerasiu tėvo-
Mišias užpirkdysiu,
Jei nerasiu mergelės-
Galvelį guldysiu. /2×2

Du šimteliai jojo
Ir numandravojo,
Tiktai vienas bernelis
Tai nuliūdės jojo. /2×2

Tai nuliūdęs jojo,
Prie dvaro sustojo:
-Labas rytas, uošveli,
Kur jauna mergelė? /2×2

-Oi žente ženteli,
Ženteli sūneli,
Du šimteliai buvo-
Nei už vieno nėjo,
O šį rudenėlį
Jauna ištekėjo

Grąžinsiu žirgelę
In sunkių vainelį,
Guldysiu galvelį
Po švaitriu šoblali. /2×2

-Oi žente ženteli,
Ženteli sūneli,
Negrųžink žirgelio
Ant sunkios vainelės,
Neguldyk galvelės
Po švaitriu šoblali.

Two Hundred Rode Out: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a soldier's song about return and a lost beloved. At the beginning, two hundred rode out and went proudly on their way, but one young man rode sorrowfully. His sadness immediately sets him apart from the whole troop and turns the song toward a personal drama.

The young man wonders whether he will find his father, his old mother, and the young woman's rue wreath. He even says that if he does not find his father he will have Masses paid for, and if he does not find the girl he will lay down his head. These words can be read as an extreme fear of losing both family and beloved.

Stopping by the manor, he learns from his future father-in-law that the girl married that autumn. The young man wants to turn his horse back into heavy war and lay his head beneath a sharp sabre, but the father-in-law calms him and asks him not to do it. The ending can be understood as a moment of despair and consolation. This is one possible meaning, but the motifs of lost love and the soldier's lot are clear.

Two Hundred Rode Out: symbols and phrases

Two hundred riders
A large group of mounted men among whom one rides sorrowfully. They emphasize his loneliness within the troop.
Rue wreath
The young woman's wreath, which the soldier hopes to find. It signifies the beloved and her maidenhood.
Masses and laying down the head
Masses for a dead father and laying down one's head for a lost girl express extreme loss and the threat of despair.
Sharp sabre
The sharp sword beneath which the young man wants to lay his head. It is a sign of the death wish from which the father-in-law dissuades him.

Two Hundred Rode Out: song history

"Two Hundred Rode Out" belongs to military-historical songs about a soldier's return and a lost beloved. The opening formula - from a large troop, "two hundred," one sorrowful young man stands out, wondering whether he will still find his father, mother, and the girl's "rue wreath" - is typical of military songs. When the soldier stops at the manor, he learns from his prospective father-in-law that the girl married that autumn, and he threatens to return his horse to heavy war and lay his head beneath a sharp sabre.

The specific recording place and time are not given on this page, so the song is presented by genre. The pairing of the soldier's fate with lost love, as well as the father-in-law's calming words, is common in military-historical songs; dialectal forms such as "numandravojo," "šoblali," and "vainelį" point to an Aukštaitian background, and variants of such songs have been recorded in different regions.

sources

  • Lithuanian Folk Songbook, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
  • D. Krištopaitė, Lithuanian Military-Historical Songs, Vilnius 1956

Two Hundred Rode Out: sources