Hihoin päivän kirvestäin

SKVR V1 1066·Toksova·1847·Collector: Europaeus, D. E. D.

In the SKVR edition: Toksova. Europ. J 248. 47.

Song types: Laivaretki, Pentin linna, Veneenveisto, Venepuun etsintä

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SKVR textEnglish

1Hihoin päivän kirvestäin,I honed the axe for a day,

2Toisen päivän toista puolta,The second day for half its edge,

3Kolmannen koko terää;The third day for the full blade;

4Läxin vestoon venosen,I went to water the little boat,

5Käin mä tietä pikkaraisen,I walked a trifling path,

6Matkaista ani vähäisen.A journey very short indeed.

7Tuli honka vastahain,A pine tree came opposing me,

8Kysyttelin, lausuttelin:I questioned, I inquired:

9"Syntyykö veno sinusta?""Will a boat spring from you?"

10Honka äänehen parahti:The pine rasped in voice:

11"Ei synny veno minusta,"No boat comes from me,

12Mie oon honka huolanniekkaI am a pine, a guardian worn,

13Mato on maannut juurellain,A worm has lain at my roots,

14Lintu on oxalla levännyt."A bird has rested on my branch."

15Käin mä tietä pikkaraisen,I walked a trifling path,

16Matkaista ani-vähäisen;The journey very short;

17Tuli honka vastahain,A pine tree came opposing me,

18Kysyttelin lausuttelin.I questioned, I inquired.

19Honka äänehen parahti:The pine rasped in voice:

20"En oo honka huolanniekka;"I am no weary guardian-pine;

21Mato ei oo maannut juurellani,No worm has lain at my roots,

22Lintu ei oo ollut oxillain."No bird has stayed on my branch."

23Isin kerran kirvehellä,I struck once with the axe,

24Isin kerran, synty laita,Once struck – a side arose,

25Isin toisen, synty toinen,Struck again – another formed,

26Isin kohta kolmannenki,Then struck the third time,

27Jo synty koko venonen;Now the whole boat was born;

28Vene synty vestämättä,The boat emerged unlaunched,

29Laiva lastun ottamatta.The ship without planks taken.

30Pannaan valkot valjahisin,We hitched white steeds to harness,

31Etehen emä hevoiset,Before them the mother-horses,

32Vieäh veno vesille.To draw the boat to water.

33Panin vanhat soutamahan:I set the elders to rowing:

34Vanhat sousiit, pää tutai.The old ones rowed, heads swaying.

- - -

36Lyllyit melat lylyiset.They splashed foamy oars.

37Sousin Suomen linnan alle,I rowed to Finland's castle below,

38Kysyttelin, lausuttelin:I questioned, I inquired:

39"Onko linnassa lihaa"Is there meat in the castle,

40Ja kalaista kaupungissaAnd fish in the town,

41Väelle väsynehelle,For the weary people,

42Urohille uupuneille?"For exhausted heroes?"

43Ei oo linnassa lihaa,There's no meat in the castle,

- - -

45Sousin Uuen linnan alle.I rowed to New Castle below.

46"On linnassa lihaa"There is meat in the castle,

47Ja kalaista kaupungissa."And fish in the town."

48Syötin vellot, juotin vellot,I fed the men, I gave them drink,

49Vellot kyllällä pitelin.I held the men well-filled.

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.
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-017555 · Read at SKS ↗

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