The Young Man and the Maiden lyrics and meaning

Bernelis mergelį, ne tiek jų mylėjo
Ne tiek jų mylėjo, kiek jų šėnavojo.

Išvedė žirgelį gražiai pabalnotų;
Išnešė kardelį in karužę joti.

Išnešė kardelį in karužę joti,
O mano mergelė pradėjo raudoti.

Cit neverk mergela, balta lelijėla,
An treciu metelių pas tavį sugrįšiu.

Praėjo meteliai, praėjo ir antri,
An trecių metelių bernelio nebėra.

Atjoja ulonų šimtas milijonų,
O mano bernelio tik žirgelį veda.

Tarė pulko vadas ši meilų žodelį:
Išsirink bernelį iš viso pulkelio.

Dėkui pone vade už meilų žodelį,
Nėr šitam pulkely kap mano bernelis.

Plaukeliai geltoni, veideliai raudoni,
Akelės mėlynos, o kap dailiai kalba.

The Young Man and the Maiden: song interpretation

This song can be understood as a war ballad about faithful love that outlasts even death. At the beginning, the song says that the young man did not so much love the young woman as šėnavoti her, that is, cherish and protect her. Yet he leads out a beautifully saddled horse and carries a sword to ride to war.

The young woman begins to weep, and the young man consoles her, promising to return after three years. One year passes, a second passes, and in the third year the young man is not there. A troop of uhlans rides in, but of the young man they lead only his horse, without its rider. This image can be interpreted as a sign of the soldier's death, because only the horse returns.

The commander offers the young woman the chance to choose another young man from the whole troop, but she refuses, saying that there is no one in this troop like her beloved: with yellow hair, red cheeks, blue eyes, and graceful speech. This refusal can be understood as fidelity to the dead beloved. It is one possible meaning, but the motif of faithful love and loss in war is clear in the song.

The Young Man and the Maiden: symbols and phrases

Sword and war
The sword and the war to which the young man rides begin the story of a soldier's departure and death.
Riderless horse
The young man's horse returning without its master. It marks the soldier's death in battle.
Uhlan troop
The arriving cavalry troop among which the young man is absent. It emphasizes the young woman's loss.
Refusal to choose another
The young woman rejects the offer to choose another man from the troop. This marks her fidelity to the dead beloved.

The Young Man and the Maiden: song history

"Bernelis mergelį" belongs to military-historical songs, more precisely to their ballad-like layer, where the soldier's departure, death, and the beloved's fidelity form a complete narrative. The song is built through a chain of actions: the young man saddles his horse and rides to war with a sword, the young woman laments, he promises to return "in the third year," but when the time comes, only the horse is led back without its rider. This is a traditional sign of a soldier's death in Lithuanian songs.

The specific place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features. The commander's offer that the young woman choose another young man "from the whole troop," and her refusal, "there is no one in this troop like my young man," is a common formula in military songs, emphasizing fidelity to the fallen man; the beloved's portrait, with yellow hair, red cheeks, and blue eyes, belongs to the typical song language of beauty.

sources

  • Lietuvių liaudies dainynas, t. 1–23, Vilnius 1980–2011 (LLTI)
  • D. Krištopaitė. Lietuvių karinės-istorinės dainos, Vilnius 1956

The Young Man and the Maiden: sources