Willow on the Hill lyrics and meaning

Džium džium džium

Ant kalno gluosnys, pakalnėj šulnys
Ten stovėjo mergužėlė pati sau viena

Jojo bernelis, žirgo girdyti
Sustok, palauk, mergužėle, duok žirgui vandens

Negaliu stovėt, su tavim kalbėt
Šalta rasa, o aš basa, nušals kojelės

Še tau skrandutė, vyniok kojeles*
Kai duos Dievas jomarkėlį, pirksiu kamašus

Tu nepirki man, nusipirki sau
Turiu tėvą ir momutį --- nupirks man dvejis

Willow on the Hill: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a playful courtship or love song in which a young woman standing by a well meets a young man who has ridden up to water his horse. The opening refrain, "Džium džium džium," gives the song a rhythmic, lively sound. The scene, with a willow on a hill and a well below, creates an everyday rural setting in which the young people's conversation begins.

The young man asks the young woman to stop and wait, and to give his horse water, but she refuses: the dew is cold, she is barefoot, and her feet will freeze. This refusal may be read as polite delay, or as a sign of the young woman's self-possession. The young man offers her a sheepskin coat or pelt to wrap around her feet and promises to buy her gaiters at the jomarkas, the large fair or market.

The young woman's answer is notably dignified: she tells him not to buy them for her but for himself, because she has a father and mother who will buy her even two pairs. The line can be understood as pride in her own household and independence. That is one possible reading, but the gentle flirtation and the young woman's autonomy are clear in the song.

Willow on the Hill: symbols and phrases

Willow
A tree growing near water and shaping the rural landscape. Here it marks the meeting place by the well.
Dew
The cold morning dew that makes the barefoot young woman fear for her feet. It emphasizes both the early hour and her delay.
Skrandutė
A sheepskin coat or piece of pelt offered as a wrap for the young woman's feet. It becomes the young man's gesture of care and courtship.
Jomarkas
A large fair or market. The young man promises to buy her gaiters there, so the market becomes a place of promises and gifts.

Willow on the Hill: song history

The song belongs to Lithuanian love and courtship songs; its action is a meeting by a well, one of the most common places of acquaintance for young people in Lithuanian song. A young man, having ridden up to water his horse, addresses a young woman, but she delays and finally declares with dignity that her father and mother will buy her the shoes.

The playful refrain "Džium džium džium" and the everyday details - dew, a sheepskin garment, the jomarkas market, gaiters - point to an ordinary village environment. No exact recording data are given on the page, so the song is presented by genre.

sources

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

Willow on the Hill: sources