Original script/version:
Latvian Lullaby
Aija zuzu / laca berni
Pekainam(i) / kajinam(i)
Tevs aizgaia / bisu kapt(i)
Tevs parnesa / medus poudu,
Mate uogu / vaceliti
Tas mazam(i) / berninam(i)
Par mierigu / gulesanu
Translation:
Lully, lully, / getting sleepy,
Tiny wee(ee) / baby bear(ie)!
While daddikins / looks for honey,
Mummy hunts for raspberries (ie)
And daddikins / will bring honey,
And your mummy / will bring berries
For darling (ie) / babykins (ie)
Sweet, sweet, sweetly / getting sleepy.
”My brothers and I all grew up hearing the same Latvian lullaby every night before we went to bed; it is called “Aija Zuzu” It’s about a little bear cub and his parents. Every Latvian kid in my family(immediate and extended) heard that song every night before they went to bed. I’ll probably sing it to my kids when I get old.” -Kate
This is a neat, if incomplete, Latvian lullaby. This is all Kate could remember, and with the help of the internet, we pieced together the translation. This is only the first verse, so there are 2-3 verses missing.
The main theme in this portion of the lullaby is the parents supporting their child. The parents get food for the baby while it sleeps. This seems an appropriate theme for a childs bedtime song. The use of Daddikins because in American culture, you dont hear that used often.
For further reference in texts, see:
Leonovich, Mikhail. A History of European Versification. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. Pg. 12.
Archivist Additional Annotation (April 27, 2020): https://youtu.be/HGNeIVyOsig