Varraa on varis jalolla

SKVR III1 675·Narvusi·1881·Collector: Porkka, Volmari

In the SKVR edition: Narvusi, Kaipaala. Volmari Porkka. II 78. 1881-83.

SKVR textEnglish

1Varraa on varis jalolla,Early is the crow on its legs,

2Enne muita musta lintu,Before others, the black bird,

3Vielä varemmas miun emoniEven earlier, my mother

4Niitti ruokoo mäellä,Reaped grass on the hill,

5Mingän niitti, sen kokosi,What she reaped, she gathered,

6Ajoi ruot kokkoo,Drove the grass into a stack,

7Sytytti ruot tulella,Lit the grass with fire,

8Ajo tuhat kokkoo,Drove a thousand stacks,

9Teki liukkaan lipiän,Made a slippery trough,

10Missä pesi pojuen päätä.Where she washed the children's heads.

11Mäni Konnulle vieraisse,Went to Konnu as guests,

12Konnun korpi tyttölöjä,Konnu's swamp of girls,

13Pojan vei männessää kossii.Took the boy on the way to the rapids.

14Akka aitasta tullooThe old woman comes from the granary,

15Kuive vakka kainalossa.A dry basket under her arm.

16Alko akalta kysellä:Began to ask the old woman:

17"Onoh neittä myötävännä?""Is there a maiden to bring along?"

18Akka vaite vastaeli,The old woman answered,

19Vaite vastaa saneli:Answered and said:

20"Tupakkaa turulla myyää,"Tobacco is sold at the market,

21Varsoi laatalla kaupitaa,Foals are traded on a board,

22Neion kaupat kammarissa."The maiden's dealings are in the chamber."

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.