Voi mein poikia omia

SKVR IV1 459·Tyrö·1853·Collector: Europaeus, D. E. D.

In the SKVR edition: [Tyrön tienoo]. D. E. D. Europaeus. III 3. 10. 1853.

SKVR textEnglish

1Voi mein poikia omia,Oh, my own sons,

2Sotamiehiä somia,Fine soldiers,

3Vietiin vellot vellasiksi,Brothers were taken as farmhands,

4Matalammat matrossiksi,The lowly as sailors,

5Uhkeammat untoviksi,The proud as boatswains,

6Pienet pillin soittajiksi.The small as pipers.

7Kuin hyö kaaloit Kaarostahan,When they drove [us] to Kaarosta,

8Parahasen pravlenjahan,To the better administration,

9Mitoittihin, määrittihin,Measured and assigned,

10Liuvu pojat linnasehen,Boys slid into the town,

11Kato pojat Kaarostahan,Boys vanished from Kaarosta,

12Ei katsoneet kapakan päälle,Didn't glance at the tavern,

13Tallasivat trahtierihin,Stomped into inns,

14Pyörähtivät pogrebahan,Spun into cellars,

15Liukuit siit linnasen katuaSlid from the town's street

16Kupernaattorin kujahan.To the governor's alley.

17Herraset kysyttelevät,Gentlemen inquired,

18Sulkapäät sukuttelevat:Fops questioned:

19"Mistä nuo pojoit mukomat?"Where are those boys from?

20Nuoit on puolet Pronnitzkoja,Half are Prussian lads,

21Katupojat Kaarostasta."Street urchins from Kaarosta."

22Istuu poika stuolin päällä,A boy sits on a chair,

23Alettiin keritä päätä,They began to shear his head,

24Itse istuin, itse itkin,I sat, I wept,

25Emo itki sen pahemmin:Mother wept worse:

26"Elä sie, emoni, itke,"Don't weep, my mother,

27Ei meitä etähä vieä,We're not taken far,

28Vieähän Viron rajoille."Only to Estonia's borders."

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.
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.