Elettii enne meillä

SKVR III1 745·Narvusi·1881·Collector: Porkka, Volmari

In the SKVR edition: Narvusi, Kaipaala. Volmari Porkka. II 150. 1881-83. Porisan Anni.

SKVR textEnglish

1Elettii enne meillä,We lived before here,

2Elettii ojan takanna,We lived behind the ditch,

3Oijan puita poltettii,The ditch's trees were burned,

4Katteelalla raiattii,Cleared with a cover/tool,

5Kirveellä keitettii,Boiled/chopped with an axe,

6Reellä merellä käytii,A sled was used on the sea,

7Venneellä puita veettii.Trees were floated by boat.

8Miesparvi, mesiäisparvi,A swarm of men, a honey-swarm,

9Naisparvi, harakkaparvi,A swarm of women, magpie-flock,

10Poikaparvi, koiraparvi,A swarm of lads, dog-pack,

11Piikaparvi, siikaparvi.A swarm of maids, whitefish-school.

12Tulin miä liiaksi isälle,I became too much for father,

13Tulin liiaksi emolle,I became too much for mother,

14Isyt sylellä syleli,Fathers embraced in arms,

15Emyt potki polven luonta.Mothers kicked from their laps.

16Mihi neito, kuhu neito?Where, maiden, where's the maiden?

17Mänin meron rantuelle,I went to the sea's shore,

18Panin sormet soutimeksi,Made my fingers into oars,

19Kämmenet käsimeloiksi;My palms into paddles;

20Sousin Suomen rantuelle.I rowed to Finland's shore.

21"Tyttäret, sisarueni,"Daughters, my little sisters,

22Kassapäät katikanani,Cat-headed ones, my kittens,

23Tuumitkaa me yksi tuuma,Devise for me one plan,

24Yksi tuuma ja hyväne,One good and proper plan,

25Kaksi tuumaa kaunokkaista:Two plans most beautiful:

26Ostamma orihevosenLet us buy a stallion-steed,

27Vetämää vesihakoja,To pull water channels,

28Viemmä linnan liivakoilla.To haul the castle on sands.

29Siintä kulkoot kuninkaat,From there let kings walk,

30Vaeltaat linnan vanhat.Let elders roam the castle.

31Kuningas kysyttellöö:The king asks repeatedly:

32"Kenen tää ihana linna?""Whose is this wondrous castle?"

33Miä vaite vastaelin:I answered him thus:

34"Ei oo linna eikä riiko,"It's no castle nor structure,

35Tää on miun kotini,This is my home,

36Pään varjo vaisen lapsen."A poor child's head's shelter."

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.