Olin orjana Virossa

SKVR IV1 91·Venjoki·1847·Collector: Europaeus, D. E. D.

In the SKVR edition: [Venjoki]. D. E. D. Europaeus. J 451. 1847.

Song types: Ei antanut sydän emoni, Kiitos sulholle, kun otti orjuuesta, Oma ja vieras emo, Oman ja/tai vieraan emon aamuherätys, Syntymistään sureva

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SKVR textEnglish

1Olin orjana Virossa,I was a slave in Estonia,

2Piikana pirun pesässä.A maid in the devil's nest.

3Pyysin kurja kunniaa,I, the wretched, begged for honor,

4Palkkapiika passipoa;A paid maid to be cast out;

5Saant en kurja kunniaista,The wretched got no honor,

6Palkkapiika passipoa.A paid maid cast out.

7Piru kunniat pitääpi,The devil keeps the honors,

8Paha puoli passiponi.The evil side my expulsion.

9Vieras vaimo, viekas vaimo,Foreign woman, cunning woman,

10Kaikin päin kavala vaimoIn all ways treacherous woman

11Ajaa aamulla ylähä:Drives me up at morning:

12"Nouse ylös, nuori neito,"Rise up, young maiden,

13Jo on päivä päällä puien,Day already crowns the trees,

14Huomen honkien tasalla!"Morning levels the pines!"

15Mänin katsoin päiväjäini:I went to check my dawn:

16Viel miun päivänä makasi,Still in my day it slept,

17Vasta päivä valkeneepi,Only just day whitens,

18Huomen vinkaa vetääpi.Morning's steed pulls light.

19Käin mie maata pikkaraisen,I walked a bit of ground,

20Tein mie työtä terhollista.Did work substantial.

21Vieras vaimo, viekas vaimoForeign woman, cunning woman

22Tuntee työltä tulleheni,Knows I came from work,

23Ei tunne väsyneheni.Doesn't know my weariness.

24Niin sanoopi vieras vaimo,Thus speaks the foreign woman,

25Äiän syövän, äiän juovan,"Eating the master's, drinking the master's,

26Enemmän kylälle vievän,Taking more to the village,

27Syöväin miun kylän sikoja,Eating my village's pigs,

28Tappavain miun tallikkoja.Killing my draft horses."

29Parempi on ison kotonaBetter at the master's home

30Olla olkihiisosessa,To be in a straw hovel,

31Ropehesta vettä juoaDrink water from a trough

32Kuin on iessä vierahassa.Than live in foreignness.

33Ois miun tietänt emoini,Had my mother known,

34Ois älynyt äitisein,My mother's mind grasped,

35Kuin tunsi tytön tulevan,When she felt the girl coming,

36Neion potkivan povessa,The maiden kicking in womb,

37Oisi hän joelle juossut,She would've run to the river,

38Pesnyt pieniä kiviä,Washed small stones,

39Kapaloinut karttusia,Wrapped in rags,

40Paremp ois miun emoin,Better had my mother,

41Tehnyt saunan tervaksista,Made a sauna of tar-wood,

42Laen tervaslastuloista,Floor from tar-planks,

43Katajainen katto päälle,Juniper roof atop,

44Olkinen ovi etehen,Straw door at entrance,

45Pannut lapsen lautaselle,Placed child on a plank,

46Tuikannut tulen jälestä;Lit fire afterward;

47Ei antant syän emoniNor heart my mother gave,

48Eikä vatsa vanhempani,Nor womb my parent,

49Ois tullut emolle synti,Sin would've come to mother,

50Sielun vaara vanhemmalle.Soul peril to the parent.

51Aina kiitän appejaniAlways I thank my fathers-in-law,

52Ja aina anoppejain,And always mothers-in-law,

53Kytyäni mielin kyllin,My kin to heart's content,

54Ottiit toisen orjuuesta,Took another from slavery,

55Tasaltain mie tammen taitoin,Equally I bent the oak,

56Kohaltaini koivun oksan,Similarly the birch branch,

57En itke apen pahuutta,I don't weep at father-in-law's evil,

58En anopen ankaruutta,Nor mother-in-law's severity,

59Kyyn kylmiä sanoja,Their cold words,

60Sulhoni syäntä suurta.My groom's great heart.

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-011760 · Read at SKS ↗

Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.