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Young Soldier lyrics and meaning

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Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Kur tavo nameliai, Kur tavo namel. Aukštam danguj tamsus gojus, Aukštam danguj tamsus gojus, Tai mano nameliai, Tai mano namel. Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Kur tavo tėvulis, Kur tavo tėvul. Aukštam danguj šviesus mėnuo, Aukštam danguj šviesus mėnuo, Tai mano tėvulis, Tai mano tėvul. Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Kur tavo motulė, Kur tavo motul. Aukštam danguj šviesi Saulė, Aukštam danguj šviesi Saulė, Tai mano motulė, Tai mano motul. Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Kur tavo brolelis, Kur tavo brolel. Aukštam danguj sietynėlis, Aukštam danguj sietynėlis, Tai mano brolelis, Tai mano brolelis. Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Kur tavo sesulė, Kur tavo sesul. Aukštam danguj šviesi žvaigždė, Aukštam danguj šviesi žvaigždė, Tai mano sesulė, Tai mano sesul. Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Bernužėli, žalnierėli, Kur tavo mergelė, Kur tavo mergel. Aukštam danguj šviesi aušra, Aukštam danguj šviesi aušra, Tai mano mergelė, Tai mano mergel.

Meaning

This song can be understood as a mythological song in which the soldier's family is made of heavenly bodies. It is built as a chain of questions and answers: the young man, the žalnierėlis or little soldier, is asked where his home, father, mother, brother, sister, and beloved are. Each answer points to the high sky.

His home is a dark grove in the sky; his father is the bright moon; his mother is the bright sun; his brother is the Pleiades; his sister is a bright star; and his beloved is the bright dawn. These answers can be read as an old worldview in which the heavenly bodies are imagined as one family. The soldier seems to have no earthly home, so his kin are in the sky.

Such a song may also reflect the fate of a warrior separated from home, or even dead, when the sky becomes the only remaining family. This is one possible meaning, but the mythological image of a heavenly kin-group is very strong in the song.

Symbols

Dark grove in the sky
A dark grove high in the sky, named as the soldier's home. It marks that he no longer has an earthly home.
Moon and sun
The bright moon and sun, called father and mother. They reflect an old image of a heavenly family.
Pleiades and star
The Pleiades and a star, called brother and sister. They continue the image of the celestial household.
Dawn
The bright dawn, called the soldier's beloved. It is the heavenly counterpart of the young woman or bride.

History

"Young Soldier" belongs to an old mythological layer of Lithuanian songs in which relatives are equated with heavenly bodies: sun, moon, stars, the Pleiades, and dawn. The song is built as a question-and-answer chain: the žalnierėlis, the little soldier, is asked where his home, father, mother, brother, sister, and beloved are, and each answer directs the listener to the high sky. His home is a dark grove; his father is the bright moon; his mother the sun; his brother the Pleiades; his sister a star; and his beloved the dawn.

Folklorists connect this image with an archaic mythologeme of a heavenly family or heavenly wedding, known from many Lithuanian and other Baltic songs in which the sun, moon, and stars are imagined as one family. The exact place and time of recording are not given on this page, so the song is presented according to genre features. The motif itself is widespread and well known to folklorists, while the figure of the soldier joins the mythical heavenly kinship image with the fate of a person separated from home, or perhaps fallen.

Sources