Oli ennen nel'l'ä neittä

SKVR I2 1224·Kontokki·1904·Collector: Niemi, A. R.

In the SKVR edition: Akonlaksi. Niemi n. 191. 04. Out'i Nykäńi.

SKVR textEnglish

1Oli ennen nel'l'ä neittä,There were four maidens before,

2Koko kolme morsientaAltogether three brides,

3Yhen niityn niittäjeä.Mowers of one meadow.

4Mi niitettih, se harattih,What was mowed, that was raked,

5Kaikki karhella vejeltih.All was tossed roughly.

6Löyvettih hyö lemmen lehti,They found the leaf of love,

7Lemmen lehti, tammen lastu,The leaf of love, the oak's splinter,

8Vietih moalla kasvamah,Taken to the earth to grow,

9Aholla ylenemäh.To rise on the glade.

10Siihi kasvo kaunis tammi,There grew a fair oak,

11Vesa verratoin yleni,A sapling peerless rose,

12Oksat ilmoilla ojenti,Branches stretched to the skies,

13Lehvät ilmoilla levitti,Foliage spread through the airs,

14Pietti pilvet pyörimästä,It stopped clouds from swirling,

15Hattarat hatšertamasta.Mist from scattering.

16Yksi peäsi pitkä pilvi,One long cloud escaped,

17Pilvess' on pisarat suuret,In the cloud are large droplets,

18Pisaroiss' on loajat lammit,In droplets, wide ponds,

19Lammiss' on veno punaset,In ponds, red boats,

20Venoloiss' on nuoret sulhot,In boats, young suitors,

21Nuoret sulhot naimattomat,Young suitors unwed,

22Viel' ollah viinan juomattomat.Still undrunk of wine.

23Punotah punaista köyttä,A red cord is braided,

24Rautaköyttä rahnikoijahA clanking iron rope,

25Meren sivuo situo,To bind the sea's flank,

26Kannanlahta koakistoa,To calm Kannanlahti bay,

27Jotta meri tyynenä pysyis',That the sea stay calm,

28Kannanlaksi kaunehenaAs a fair headdress,

29Viiäh Vienan neitosia.To escort Viena's maidens.

30Eikä neittä tukulla myyvä,Maidens aren't sold with dowries,

31Oravoja tukulla myyäh,Squirrels are sold with dowries,

32Revot kansoin kaupotellah,Foxes traded among folks,

33Kaupitah kotikanoja.Domestic hens are bartered.

English translations by DeepSeek R1, provided by Lidia Pivovarova (University of Helsinki). AI-generated translations may contain inaccuracies.

The text is that of the SKVR digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), with these changes:

The edition’s line numbers are replaced by a number on every verse, counted as in the poem reader.

Source

Text: SKVR (Suomen Kansan Vanhat Runot), the digital edition of the Finnish Literature Society (SKS), licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.