Paha vaimota eleä

SKVR IV1 1480·Kaprio·1861·Collector: Groundström, Oskar

In the SKVR edition: Hevaa, Väskylä. O. Groundstroem. n. 138. 1861.

SKVR textEnglish

1Paha vaimota eleä,Evil to live with a wife,

2Paha paijan sotkiata,Evil to soil a shirt,

3Hiki hipiän leikkajaa,Sweat cuts through the skin,

4Hiki hipiän, ruoste rauvan.Sweat on skin, rust on iron.

5Ivana Kojoisen poika,Ivana, son of Kojonen,

6Itse Ivana KojoinenIvana Kojonen himself

7Meni Tuonelta tytärtä,Went to Tuoni for a daughter,

8Manalalt morsianta.From Manala, a bride.

9Ajoi Tuonen tanhavalle,Rode to Tuoni's yard,

10Tuonen ikkunan alle.Under Tuoni's window.

11Kysy kynnyksen ylitse,Asked over the threshold,

12Ano alta ikkunaiste:Begged beneath the window:

13"Anna, tuoni, tyttöjäist,"Give, Tuoni, your girls,

14Annak ainavoisistan!"Give from your eternal ones!"

15Tuoni vaston vastaeli:Tuoni answered back:

16"Äsken annan tyttären,"I just gave a daughter,

17Kuin käyt miun käsyn,If you follow my order,

18Astut jalka askeleilStep with your feet

19Ja tiet miun tekoni,And know my deeds,

20Kuin käyt verisen virstanWhen you walk a bloody verst,

21Negloi nenin myö,Wipe your nose with,

22Kassarin kassoi myö,Count coins with,

23Nenät negloilt murenit,Noses crumbled from wiping,

24Kassat katkoit kassarilt."Coins broke from counting."

25Ivana Kojoisen poikaIvana, son of Kojonen,

26Otti tuonki tehäkseTook even that to do,

27Kuten ilman ollakse,As if to exist without,

28Vaimota elelläkse.To live with a wife.

29Sai hän tuonki tehäkse.He managed to do it.

30Ajoi taas Tuonen tanhualle,Rode again to Tuoni's yard,

31Kysyi kynnyksen ylitse,Asked over the threshold,

32Anoi alta ikkunaisen - -Begged beneath the little window.

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.
The editors’ notes, and the marks in the verses that point to them, are left out; they can be read at SKS.

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.