Ennen päivättä elettiin
In the SKVR edition: [Soikkola t.Narvusi]. J. Länkelä. v. III 1 a 1858.
SKVR textEnglish
1Ennen päivättä elettiin,In the time before sunlight, they lived,
2Kuun valotta kuukkaeltiin,They wandered without the moon's glow,
3Käsin maita etsittiin,With hands, lands were sought,
4Käsin maita, sormin teitä,With hands the lands, with fingers the roads,
5Varpailla vaon väliä.With toes, the space between furrows.
6Paha on päivättä elää,Harsh it is to live sunless,
7Kuun valotta kuukkaella.To wander without moonlight.
8Turo tuima, mies kavala,Turo the fierce, man cunning,
9Se keri unon kerälle,He wound sleep into a coil,
10Otti mettä makeaista,Took honey from sweetness,
11Pisti luisen karmantoon,Placed the bony one in a sheath,
12Istus mustalle urolle,Sat on a blackened stump,
13Liina harjalle hevolle,Linen on the horse's mane,
14Ajo Viipurin mäelle.Rode to Vyborg's hill.
15Yks' oli aittanen mäellä,A small granary stood on the hill,
16Kolt oli neittä aittasessa,Three maidens within it,
17Yksi päivyttä piteli,One held the sun,
18Toinen kuuta kuivaeli,Another dried the moon,
19Kolmas armoja Jumalan.The third, God's graces.
20Turo tuima, mies kavala,Turo the fierce, man cunning,
21Se viskas uno keräisen,Threw the coiled sleep,
22Nukutti kolmen neiokkaisen.Stilled the three young maidens.
23Turo tuima, mies kavalaTuro the fierce, man cunning,
24Kuun otti käteen kukaksi,Took the moon as a hand-flower,
25Päivän präskäksi kypärän,The sun as helmet's plume,
26Otti armot armollisen,Took the Gracious One's mercies,
27Toi päivän omille maille,Brought the sun to his lands,
28Pani päivän maan perille.Set the sun at earth's edge.
29Se päivä Jumalan luoma,That sun, God-created,
30Se paisto isällisille,Shone on the fathered,
31Se paisto isättömille.Shone on the fatherless.
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.
Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-007177 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.