Flax, Flax, Flax Blossom lyrics and meaning
Lino, lino,
Lino žiedas,
Ai tuto, tuto.
Mėlynas lino žiedas,
Ai tuto, tuto.
Lino, lino,
Lino žiedas,
Tuto, tuto.
Variant from the Slaviūnas collection (SlS III-1574, recorded 1936 in Galvokai)
Užtarimas:
Lino, lino,
Lino žiedas, ai tuto,
Plačialaiškis, ai tuto.
Patarimas:
Lineliai, liniukai,
Lino žiedeliai,
Lino žiedeliai.
Flax, Flax, Flax Blossom: sutartinė interpretation
The flax blossom blooms blue for only a short time, yet from it the path leads to fiber, thread, and cloth. In the sutartinė that path is compressed into a single image: blossom, repetition, refrain.
"Ai tuto" works as a rhythm of labor and dance. Through repetition flax becomes not only a plant, but also a symbol of voices interweaving in community.
A second reading turns to Slaviūnas's variant, where the song is made of užtarimas and patarimas - two voice parts - and mentions not only the blossom but also the broad-leaved flax and the diminutive "lineliai, liniukai." The blue flax flower can be read as a sign of a girl's youth: like flax, she blooms briefly, and then faces the long path of labor and weaving toward dowry cloths. The performance note saying that the sutartinė can also be danced suggests that it may have sounded at youth gatherings or flax-pulling work bees, where work, dance, and song flowed together. The contrast between the fragility of the flax flower and the durability of linen cloth becomes a quiet song about time, maturity, and women's work.
Flax, Flax, Flax Blossom: symbols and phrases
- Flax
- An important Lithuanian farm plant connected with fiber, linen cloth, dowry, and women's work.
- Flax blossom
- A brief blue flowering from which the poetic path moves toward fiber, thread, and cloth; it may also symbolize a girl's youth.
- Ai tuto
- A rhythmic refrain that supports the movement of voices and dance.
- Užtarimas and patarimas
- Two voice parts in Slaviūnas's variant, marking the structure of a keturinė or trejinė sutartinė.
Flax, Flax, Flax Blossom: sutartinė history
"Lino, lino, lino žiedas" is marked in Slaviūnas's collection as volume III, no. 1574. According to the source data, it was recorded in 1936 in Galvokai, Vabalninkas parish, Biržai county, by St. Paliulis from the singer Viktė Našlėnienė, about 80 years old. The text includes a rare performance note: "Three and four. If fast, four can sing and dance. But it can also be done standing, three." This shows that the same sutartinė could be sung as a trejinė or as a keturinė, with or without dance.
In Lithuanian culture flax is both a plant and a sign of cloth, labor, dowry, and women's handiwork. The Biržai-Vabalninkas area from which this recording comes is one of the most important sutartinės regions; many sutartinės were written down there by A. Sabaliauskas and St. Paliulis.
sources
- Z. Slaviūnas. Sutartinės, vols. 1-3 (1958-1959), III-1574
- Zenonas Slaviūnas sutartinės collection (sutartines.info)
- D. Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė. Sutartinės: Lithuanian Polyphonic Songs (2002)
Flax, Flax, Flax Blossom: sources
Flax, Flax, Flax Blossom: frequently asked questions
Why is flax important in Lithuanian songs?
Flax was central to farming, clothing, and dowry textiles, so it easily became a symbol of labor and women's world.
What does the flax blossom mean?
It marks brief flowering and the beginning of the long path toward fiber, thread, and linen cloth; it can also symbolize a girl's youth.
Is this a trejinė or a keturinė?
The singer's note says that when sung fast it can be a keturinė and danced, while standing still it can be a trejinė. On this site it is classified as a keturinė.
Who recorded it?
St. Paliulis recorded it in 1936 in Galvokai, Biržai county, from Viktė Našlėnienė.
What is "tuto"?
It is a refrain syllable important for sound and structure, rather than for direct lexical meaning.