Velloin on venosen seppä
In the SKVR edition: [Tyrön tienoo]. D. E. D. Europaeus. III 3. 35. 1853.
SKVR textEnglish
1Velloin on venosen seppä,Vello is the smith of the boat,
2Laivan seppä laklueniThe ship's smith, my laklueni,
3Hiekoilla venoisen vesti,On sands he shaped the boat,
4Somerella sorvaeli,On gravel he carved it smooth,
5Iski kerran, synty laita,Hammered once – a side emerged,
6Toisen kerran, toinen laita,A second strike – the other side,
7Kolmannen koko venoinen.The third – the entire boat.
8Venoi syntyi vestämättä,The boat was born unstitched,
9Laiva lastun pilkkomata.The ship without split planks.
10Tuo venoi monen tapainen,That boat was multi-formed,
11Laivoi kolmin kielollinenThe ship trilingual,
12Viemättä vesille pyrki,It strove to waters untaken,
13Laskematta lainehille,Unlaunched to the waves,
14Ajamatta aallon päälle.Undriven atop the wave.
15Kasvoi miulle ainoi vello,For me grew the sole Vello,
16Kasvoi viejäksi venoisen,Grew to be the boat's guide,
17Kasvoi laivoin laskijaksi,Grew to launch the ships,
18Tuo vei venon vesille,He brought the boat to water,
19Laittoi laivan lainehille,Set the ship upon the waves,
20Laittoi laivoihin väkeäLoaded the ships with folk,
21Kuin saralle kuilahia,Like kegs into a barrel,
22Kuilahissa lyhtehiä.Lanterns in the kegs.
23Laitto puolet laivajahanHalf the ship he filled
24Tinavöitä tyttölöitä,With tin-belted maidens,
25Tinavöitä, lenttipäitä;Tin-belts, swift-headed ones;
26Toisen puolen laivajaanThe other half he filled
27Akkoja sykeröpäitä,With old women, braid-haired,
28Keskipaikan laivajaanThe ship's center he filled
29Sukapäitä sulhosia.With pointy-headed bachelors.
30Pani vanhat soutamahan,He set the old to rowing,
31Nuoret ilman istumahan.The young to sit idle.
32Vanhat sousiit, päät täräji.The old rowed, heads shaking,
33Pietari perältä lausui,Pietri spoke from the stern,
34Matti mastin laivan päältä:Matti from the ship's mast:
35"Pannaan nuoret soutamahan,"Let's make the young row,
36Vanhat ilman istumahan!"The old sit idle!"
37Pantiin nuoret soutamahan,The young were set to row,
- - -
39Nuoret sousiit, airot notkuit,The young rowed, oars flexed,
40Vesi kiehu keltanaan,Water boiled golden,
41Vaahti pallona pakeni,Foam fled like a ball,
42Nenän eessä vellon laiva.Before the prow, Vello's ship.
43Sousiit rannan, sousiit toisen,They rowed one shore, then another,
44Sousiit Suomen rantuelle.Rowed to Finland's shore.
45Suomen neiet sotkemassa,Finland's maidens stirred the waters,
46Valkopäät valostamassa.White-haired ones illuminating.
47Kysyit Suomen neitoloilta:They asked Finland's maidens:
48"Onkos Suomessa siaista,"Is there space in Finland,
49Missä maata matkamiehenWhere a traveler may rest,
50Ja levätä lentolaisen?"And a wanderer repose?"
51Suomen neiot vastasivat:Finland's maidens answered:
52"Ei oo Suomessa siaista,"There's no space in Finland,
53Suomi on täynnä soltattia,Finland's full of soldiers,
54Maa on täynnä matrossia.The land teems with sailors.
55Se on Suomessa siaistaThe only space in Finland
56Saunan kuumilla kivillä,Is on sauna's hot stones,
57Kipunoilla kiilahilla."On sparks and wedges."
58Läksiit tuosta taas soutamahan,They set off rowing again,
59Nostit purjeet punaiset,Raised red sails,
60Toiset purjeet siniset,Others blue sails,
61Mastit maksain karvalliset.Masts with shaggy hides.
62Sinis itkiit Suomen neiot,The blue (sails?) made Finland's maidens weep,
63Kunis purjeen puut näkyi,When the sail's woods appeared,
64Laivan liput liklattiit,The ship's flags fluttered,
65Juoksiit sinne rantuelle,They ran to the shore,
66Miss oli helle hiekkaranta,Where was a warm sandy shore,
67Miss maall ol puut punaiset,Where land had red trees,
68Puut punaiset, maat siniset,Red trees, blue lands,
69Keltaiset petäjän kerkät,Yellow pine tops,
70Hopeaiset hongan latvat,Silver fir crowns,
71Kuusen kerkät kellertävät.Spruce tips glowing golden.
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-012153 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.