The ancient meaning of this song comes from a serenade played by musical instruments accompanying a solo voice.
The bitinada (similar word for morning) sung in Rovigno (Rovinj) is an expression of popular song where the singers replace the accompanying musical instruments with a sort of rhythm  polyvocality with onomatopoeic syllables that form the armonic and rhythmic basis for the solo’s song. This unusual accompaniment gives the name and is characteristic of bitinada.
The lyrics, mostly anonymous and folksy, are performed in Italian, while the twentieth-century songs by native authors are usually sung in the Rovinj dialect (called Istrioto).
Every sort of Mediterranean song could be played using this particular technique. Actually it is possible to find a similar model of instrumental imitation in several Italian popular songs ( the Sardinian tenores of Bitti for example or in Liguria, but also in Tuscany around Mount Amiata).
A classic piece among the Rovinj’s bitinade is “Spunta il sol” (The sun rises) and it comes from a 1860 patriotic song by Pier Paolo Parzanese (published with some revisions in 1866 and the title “L’addio del garibaldino” -The garibaldian’s farewell) instead a very famous song is “Tu non vedi che l’albero pende” (you don’t see the tree is leaning).
The modern bitinada is born among the Rovinj fishermen and there are curious similarities to the Ligurian trallalero of the Genoan seafarers; they replace the accompaniment to the solo singer with a vocal imitation of many musical instruments because they have busy hands during fishing activities. And falsetto would correspond to the deckhand’s white voice.
There’s a meaningful track left in the 1930s by two choirs of Rovinj’s Manifattura Tabacchi (tobacco factory) coordinated by Giovanni Pellizzer.

Tu non vedi che l’albero pende

Tu non vedi che l’albero pende
e le foglie cadono giù
e per contentar ste done
e per contentar ste done
tu non vedi che l’albero pende
e le foglie cadono giù
e per contentar ste done
si vorebe la gioventù
lala lala làla …………..
e per contentar ste done
e per contentar ste done.

Voglio andare su le alte montagne
a sentire a cantare li uceli
canterini quei fringueli
canterini e quei fringueli
lala lala làla ……………
canterini quei fringueli
d’ogni sorte e di qualità.