Etsin neittä vellolleni
In the SKVR edition: [Tyrön tienoo]. D. E. D. Europaeus. III 3. 28. 1853.
SKVR textEnglish
1Etsin neittä vellolleni,I sought a maiden for my brother,
2Kumppalia kullalleni,A companion for my beloved,
3Etsin Suomet, etsin Saaret,I sought Finlands, I sought Islands,
4Moskovat molemmin puolin,Moscows on both sides,
5Kahen puolen Kapriota.On both sides of Kapriota.
6Löysin neion niemen päästä.I found the maiden at the peninsula's tip,
7Sinihelman heinikosta,In the hayfield of the blue-hemmed one,
8Aloin neittä haastatella,I began to speak to the maiden,
9Manitella, mairotella,To entice, to sweet-talk,
10Kukitella, kulloitella:To woo, to cherish:
11"Lähe, neitoi, vellolleni,"Come, maiden, to my brother,
12Kumppaliksi kullalleni."As a partner to my darling."
13Neito vasten vastaeli:The maiden replied:
14"Mikä mies siun vellosesi?""What man is your brother?"
15Mie vasten vastaelin:I replied:
16"Kyntömies on velloseni.""A plowman is my brother."
17Neitoi vasten vastaeli:The maiden answered:
18"En mie lähe kyntäjälle,"I will not go to a plowman,
19Kyntäjälle, kylväjälle,To a plower, to a sower,
20Siemenen sirottajalle,To a scatterer of seeds,
21Kyntäjän jalat savessa."The plowman’s feet are in mud."
22Mänin matkaa vähäisen,I went a short way,
23Näin mie tieltä tyttöjoukon,I saw a girl-group from the path,
24Aloin neittä haastatella,I began to speak to the maiden,
25Maanitella, mairotella.To coax, to cajole.
- - -
27Neitonen kysyttelee:The maiden asks:
28"Minnä miess on vellosesi?""What manner of man is your brother?"
29"Paimen mies on velloseni.""A shepherd is my brother."
30"En mie lähe paimenelle,"I will not go to a shepherd,
31Paimenell on paita märkä,The shepherd’s shirt is wet,
32Paita märkä, kylki kylmä."Shirt wet, side cold."
33Mänin matkaa vähäisen,I went a short way,
34Piin tietä pikkaraisen,Along a tiny stretch of road,
35Näin mie neion tietä käyvän,I saw the maiden walking the path,
36Sinihelman heutuella,In her blue-hemmed garment,
37Alon neittä haastatella:I began to speak to the maiden:
38"Varkahana on velloseni.""As a thief is my brother."
- - -
40"Lähen, lähen varkahalle,"I will go, I will go to the thief,
41Varkahalla on vaate valmis,The thief has clothes ready,
42Vaate valmis, leipä valmis."Clothes ready, bread ready."
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-012146 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.