Laulasin mie, taitasin mie
In the SKVR edition: Liissilä, Rampala. Väinö Salminen. n. 960. 1906.
SKVR textEnglish
1Laulasin mie, taitasin mie,I sang, I performed skillfully,
2Ku ei ois kumma kuulijoille,If it wouldn't be strange to listeners,
3Ihme ilman istujille.A marvel to those seated in the skies.
4Sannoot laulavan ilolla,You say [I] sing joyfully,
5Alkaat loatii laulajaks,You start blaming the singer,
6Soimajella soittajaks.With scorn, the musician.
7Sannoot: "tuo akka humala hullu,You say: "That drunk mad crone,
8Tuo on villi viinapyörä."That's a wild wine-wheel."
9Olkohe Jumala kiitos,Let there be thanks to God,
10En oo villi viinapyörä,I'm no wild wine-wheel,
11En ole humala hulluNor a drunken fool,
12Enkä laulajan laji.Nor a singer's kind.
13Lammas laulajan lajii,The singer's kind is a sheep,
14Sus on soittajan sukuu;The musician's kin is wolf;
15Laulajan on kiel lavia,The singer's tongue is broad,
16Soittajan on sormet hoikat.The player's fingers slim.
17Akat, siityset sissoin,Women, moths within walls,
18Kuunelkaapa, kui mie laulan!Listen now, as I sing!
19Sannoot laulavan ilolla.You say [I] sing joyfully.
20Enhä mie ilolla laula,I don't sing with joy,
21En remulla reuhakoitse;Nor boast boisterously;
22Miul on itkuiset iloni,My joys are tearful,
23Virteni veten sekaiset,My songs waters mingled,
24Ei oo ilta, ku en itke.No evening I don't weep.
25Akat, siityset sissoin,Women, moths within walls,
26Kuunelkaapas kuomaseini,Listen by dusk-walls,
27Niin sanoopi vanha rahvas:Thus says the old folk:
28"Itkiin on ikä pitemp,"Weeping lengthens life,
29Iloiten ikä lyhempi."Rejoicing shortens it."
30Kaikki oon katala nähnyt,I've seen all cruelty,
31Koitellut kovaosainen.Tested as ill-fated.
32Piennä petti miu isäni,As a child, my father failed me,
33Jätti ehtonen emoni,Left my evening mother,
34Jätti kulta kumppaniin,Left my dear companion,
35Jätti kiuruksi kivelle,Left as lark on stone,
36Rastahaksi rauniolle.As thrush on ruins.
37Sanoi kuuksi kuolevaasen,Said to moon for dying,
38Kahteksi katonevaasen;To double disappearance;
39Kuoli kuuksi päiviksee,Died a moon to days,
40Ilmoseks ijäksee.Became being forever.
41Kui tul suuri suntak oamu,When came great Sunday morn,
42Muil ol kiire kirkkosehen,Others rushed to church,
43Miul ol kiire kirkkomoalle,I rushed to churchyard,
44Halu isän hauan peälle.Longing to father's grave.
45Ku miu syntyisi syleni,If my lap were born,
46Ni vääntysi vähä väkeni.My small strength would twist.
47Nossin kirssun kirkkomoalle,I carried cherry to churchyard,
48Kannen kappelin katolle.
49Voi miun ilmara isäniOh my airy father,
50Sekä ehtonen emoni,And evening mother,
51Voi mun kulta kumppaniin!Oh my dear companion!
52Siintan ast en siivo syönt,Since then, no clean eating,
53Siintan ast en siivo juontSince then, no clean drinking,
54Kuini isäni kuoli,Since father died,
55Siivon pessyt silmiäin,Clean washed my eyes,
56Siivon piätäni sukinut;Clean combed my head;
57Viel on kynnys kyyneleis,Still the threshold weeps,
58Ikkunat ikivesissä.Windows in timeless waters.
English translations by DeepSeek R1, provided by Lidia Pivovarova (University of Helsinki). AI-generated translations may contain inaccuracies. Lines without English have no translation, or one that cannot be matched to the line with certainty.
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.
Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-014886 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.