Where Have You Been, My Old Man lyrics and meaning

Vai kur buvai, dzieduk mano,
Vai kur buvai, dūšia mano,
Vai kur buvai, tu mano,
Raibas sakalėli mano?

Vilniuj buvau, bobut mano,
Vilniuj buvau, dūšia mano,
Vilniuj buvau, tu mano,
Raiboji gegele mano.

Ką ten veikei, dzieduk mano

Where Have You Been, My Old Man: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a playful dialogue song of an old couple. At the beginning the old woman asks the old man where he has been, calling him her soul and speckled little falcon. These affectionate addresses can be interpreted as signs of tenderness.

The old man answers that he was in Vilnius, calling the old woman his soul and speckled cuckoo. This answer can be understood as playful conversation between spouses.

The questioning about what he did there can be interpreted as teasing but affectionate dialogue in an old couple. This is one possible meaning, but the playful, loving character of the conversation is clear.

Where Have You Been, My Old Man: symbols and phrases

Old man and old woman
An elderly husband and wife addressing each other. They mark an old couple.
Speckled little falcon and speckled cuckoo
Affectionate bird names used by the spouses. They mark tenderness and play.
Vilnius
The place the old man says he visited. It marks the journey being questioned.
Questioning
The old woman's questions about where he was and what he did mark playful couple dialogue.

Where Have You Been, My Old Man: song history

"Where Have You Been, My Old Man" belongs to playful dialogic songs in which two speakers sing alternately, here an old couple, the old woman and the old man. The entire song is built from a repeated question and answer: the old woman asks where the old man has been, calling him "soul" and "speckled little falcon," while he answers that he was in Vilnius and calls her a "speckled cuckoo." This exchange of addresses and affectionate bird epithets is typical of humorous and play songs.

The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented through genre signs. Dialectal forms such as "dzieduk" and "dziedukas" show Dzūkian or southern Aukštaitian pronunciation. The song is written down unfinished, with the last line beginning a new question, "What did you do there, my old man," so it most likely continued as further teasing conversation between the pair.

sources

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

Where Have You Been, My Old Man: sources