Lylio Lelijo lyrics and meaning

Lylio lelijo,
Kas ti gražiai žydėja?

… Liepa gražiai žydėja.
… Kas tų liepų nukirta?
… Brolis liepų nukirta.
… Sese žiedus surinka,
… Vainikėlį nupynė,
… Jaunimėlin nuėja.

Variant with a different ending (church and thanks to the mother)

Lylio lelijo,
Kas ti gražiai žydėja?
Liepa gražiai žydėja.
Kas tų liepų nukirta?
Brolis liepų nukirta.
Sese žiedus surinka,
Vainikėlį nupynė,
Bažnytėlan nuveja.
Dekavosiu matutei,
Kad man mažų augina.

Lylio Lelijo: sutartinė interpretation

This sutartinė, with the refrain "lylio lelijo," can be understood as a song about cutting down a flowering linden and weaving a wreath. At the beginning the singers ask what was blooming so beautifully, and answer that it was a linden; then they ask who cut that linden, and answer that it was the brother. The image sets beauty beside its loss.

The sister then gathers the blossoms, weaves a little wreath, and goes either to a youth gathering or to the little church. These images can be understood as the transformation of the blooming linden into a wreath carried into a festive or sacred setting, linking the song with maidenhood and celebration.

A second reading treats the blooming linden cut by the brother as the girl herself, and the whole chain as an image of wedding ritual. The linden-maiden is "cut down," meaning taken from her home; from her blossoms a wreath is made, suggesting the bridal wreath; and the wreath is taken to church, suggesting the wedding. The variant in which the sister thanks her mother "for raising me small" strengthens this reading: it is a bride's farewell and thanksgiving motif, common in wedding songs. The brother's role, as the one who "cuts" the linden, echoes the ritual role of a brother who gives away or accompanies his sister at marriage.

Lylio Lelijo: symbols and phrases

The beautifully blooming linden
The flowering tree cut down by the brother marks the bride or maiden with whom the linden is identified.
The brother cutting the linden
The brother's cutting of the linden echoes his wedding role as the guardian who gives away or accompanies his sister.
The wreath of blossoms
The wreath woven from linden blossoms symbolizes maidenhood and the bridal wreath.
Thanks to mother
The sister's thanks to her mother for raising her is a bride's farewell and gratitude motif.

Lylio Lelijo: sutartinė history

"Lylio lelijo" is a trejinė sutartinė with the refrain "lylio lelijo," built as a chain of questions and answers about a blooming linden, its cutting down, and the weaving of a wreath. At least two endings have been recorded: in one, the sister with the wreath goes to jaunimėlis, a youth gathering; in another, she goes to the little church and thanks her mother for raising her from childhood. Such small differences in endings are typical of the oral tradition of sutartinės.

In Lithuanian poetics, the linden is a feminine tree associated with maiden and mother; the wreath is a sign of maidenhood and festivity. Sutartinės flourished in northeastern Aukštaitija from the 16th to the 19th century and were inscribed in 2010 on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

sources

  • Z. Slaviūnas. Sutartinės, vols. 1-3 (1958-1959)
  • D. Račiūnaitė-Vyčinienė. Sutartinės: Lithuanian Polyphonic Songs (2002)

Lylio Lelijo: sources