With a Fish-Scale Comb lyrics and meaning
Žuvų šukelėm galvų šukuoja *
Žuvų šukelėm galvų šukuoja
Galvų šukuoja, plaukus laiduoja.
Plaukit, plaukeliai, per Dunojėlį,
Kur mano mielas vandenį semia.
Vandenį semia, žirgelį girdo ---
Žirgelis palvas, aukselio balnas.
arba: žuvų šakelė galvų šukuoja
Meaning
This song can be understood as a love song with an unusual combing image. At the beginning it says that the head is combed with a fish scale, and the hair is released. The fish scale can be interpreted as a playful, unexpected detail.
Then the hair is asked to float across the little Danube to the place where the beloved draws water and waters his horse: the horse is dun-colored and has a golden saddle. These images can be understood as the symbolic sending of the hair to the beloved.
The hair floating across the river to the beloved can be interpreted as an image of love-longing. In folk songs, the Danube is often used as a symbol of a distant place, war, or separation. That is one possible meaning, but the motif of longing and symbolic distance is clear.
Symbols
- Fish scale comb
- An unusual fish scale used to comb the head, marking a playful and unexpected image.
- Hair floating across the Danube
- Hair sent toward the beloved marks a symbolic message of love-longing.
- Beloved drawing water and watering the horse
- The beloved by the Danube, drawing water and watering his horse, is the distant but clear target of love.
- Dun horse, golden saddle
- The beautiful dun horse with a golden saddle marks the beloved's nobility.
History
"With a Fish-Scale Comb" belongs to love lyric in which combing the hair and sending it by water become a sign of longing. The opening image, combing the head with a fish scale and releasing the hair, is playful and unusual, introducing the poetic hair motif.
The exact recording place and time are not given on the page, so the song is discussed by genre traits. The request that the hair float across the little Danube to where the beloved draws water and waters a dun horse with a golden saddle is the symbolic sending of a love message; in Lithuanian songs the Danube often marks a distant place, war, or separation, so the hair crossing the river gains the meaning of longing and distance.
Sources
- Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, vols. 1-23, Vilnius 1980-2011 (LLTI)
- Catalogue of Lithuanian Folk Songs, 6 vols., Vilnius 1972-1986
- Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia: Lithuanian folk songs
- LLTI: Lithuanian Folk Songbook
Common questions
With a Fish-Scale Comb: what kind of song is this?
It is a love song in which combing hair and sending it across water become signs of longing and a love message.
What does the fish scale mean?
It is an unusual, playful detail: the head is imagined as being combed with a fish scale, introducing the poetic hair motif.
Why is the hair sent across the Danube?
The hair is asked to float to where the beloved draws water. It is a symbolic love message sent across distance.
What does the Danube mean in songs?
In Lithuanian songs the Danube often marks a distant place, war, or separation. Here it strengthens the sense of love-longing and distance.