Lintu lensi alta linnan
In the SKVR edition: [Kattila], Rantakaipala. Oskar Groundstroem. n. 19 a. 1861.
SKVR textEnglish
1Lintu lensi alta linnan,A bird flew from under the castle,
2Sulka valkea vaelsi,A white feather journeyed,
3Tuo toi sotasanomet,That brought war tidings,
4Sotaviestit vieretteli.Rolled out the war news.
5Kenen on sotae mennä?Whose lot is to go to war?
6Vet ei kenen ku sisaren.None but the sister’s kin.
7Emyt mielille pahoille,The in-law to wicked minds,
8Syvämille surkeille,To the deepest sorrows,
9Isyt mielille hyville,The in-law to good minds,
10Syvämille lämpymille.To the deepest warmth.
11Alkoi hirret hengäellä,Logs began to creak,
12Kuningatki kummitella:The queen too haunted:
13Ei o noita ennen kuultu,Such sorcery was never heard,
14Ennen kuultu, ennen nähtyNever heard, never seen
15Sormus sormie soassa,A ring on fingers in war,
16Linttipäitä alla linnan,Bird-heads beneath the castle,
17Tanupäitä tappelussa!Helmets in the fray!
18Lintu lensi alta linnan,A bird flew from under the castle,
19Sulka valkea vaelsi.A white feather journeyed.
20Kenen on sotaen mennä?Whose lot is to go to war?
21Veljen on sotaen mennä.The brother’s kin must go.
22Isyt miellille pahoille,The in-law to wicked minds,
23Syämille surkehille.To the wretched hearts.
24Siso saunan lemmitteli,Sister warmed the sauna,
25Lämmitti sotasen saunan,Heated the warrior’s bath,
26Sotaselle vellolle.For her warrior brother.
27Vello kylpi lautasella,Brother bathed on the bench,
28Siso neuvo kynnyksellä:Sister advised at the threshold:
29"Oi vello emäni lapsi,"Oh brother, my mother’s child,
30Kuin saat sota menemät,When you go to war,
31Älä o uhkea soassa,Don’t be proud in battle,
32Aivan tarkka tappelussa!Nor too precise in fight!
33Älä mää eteen muista,Don’t recall me foremost,
34Älä jää jälestä muista;Nor last in your thoughts;
35Kiery keskellä väkeä,Stay midst the ranks,
36Liki lipun kantajaa,Near the standard-bearer,
37Lipun kantaja kavala!"The bearer’s cunning!"
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 editors’ signs inside the verses ([ ], ⌈ ⌉, *, [!], [?]) are left out, as in the poem reader; the letters they enclose are kept.
- 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-007490 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.