Tillu trillu tenga(n) löysi

SKVR V1 141·Lempaala·1847·Collector: Reinholm, H. A.

In the SKVR edition: Lempaala. Reinh. A IV 45, 47. 47.

Song types: Ammun aidaksella, Kanteleen soitto, Kanteleen synty, Tiirin liirin tengan löysin

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SKVR textEnglish

1Tillu trillu tenga(n) löysi,Tillu trillu, I found a tengä(n),

2Tengalla orosen ostin,With the tengä, I bought a stallion,

3Orosella tamman vaihoi,With the stallion, I traded for a draft horse,

4Tammalla talon aseti.With the draft horse, I set up a household.

5Kynnin otrat Ruotsin maahan,I plowed barley in Sweden's land,

6Viskasin Viron saroille.I scattered [seed] on Estonia's reed beds.

7Mäntiin kohta katsomahaWe went soon to inspect,

8Kahen kolmen yön perästä,After two, three nights,

9Viien, kuuen viimestäkki.Five, six finally.

10Ol' miull' oina otrassain,I had a ram among my barley,

11Sinisaari saaressai.On Sinisaari island.

12Otin oinan, toin kottii,I took the ram, brought it home,

13Syötin oinan, juotin oinan,Fed the ram, watered the ram,

14Panin oinan karsinahan.Put the ram in the stall.

15Otin sarvet oinan päästä,Took the horns from the ram's head,

16Vei sarvet sepän paijaan:Brought the horns to the smith's forge:

17"Seppuvei, selvuvei,"Smith-lad, sharp-witted one,

18Tao miulle kanteloine,Forge me a kantele,

19Kanteloine unteloine,A kantele to lull minds,

20Mill' mä soittelen sovassa,With which I'll play in accord,

21Alla linnan liirittelen!Beneath the castle I'll twang it!

22Muille on pyssyt, muill' on miekat,Others have guns, others swords,

23Mull' ei veistäkään tupeessa,I've not a knife in my sheath,

24Mie vaan ammun ajjaksilla,I shoot only with bowstrings,

25Pirahutan pirkalella."Twang with a plectrum's aid."

26Tako seppä taksutteli,The smith hammered rhythmically,

27Hiien poika helskytteli,Hiisi's son clanged loudly,

28Tako minullen kanteloisen.Forged me a kantele.

29Sai tuo kannel valmihiksi,That kantele was finished,

30Vanne aivo valmihiksi.Its head-strap completed.

31Kantelo vähäisen uupu,The kantele lacked slightly,

32Uupu kieltä keskimmäistäLacked its middle string,

33Sekä toista reunimmaista.And one outermost string.

34Käy mä tietä pikkaraise,I took a little path,

35Matkasta anivähäsen.A trifling journey.

36Neijet kirkkoon männööt.Maidens went to church.

37Kysyttelin neitosilt':I asked the maidens:

38"Ant sie neito tukkiais,"Give, maiden, your hair,

39Hilpiöitä hiuksiais'?"Ornaments from your locks?"

40Neito vasten vastajeli:The maiden replied:

41"Mitä neion tukkasilla,"What use for a maid's hair,

42Hilpiöillä hiuksilla?"Ornaments on her locks?"

43Mää o vasten vastajeli:I answered in turn:

44Uupuu kantelo vähäistä,"The kantele lacks a little,

45Uupuu kieltä keskimmäistäLacks its middle string,

46Sekä toista reunimmaista.And one outermost string.

47Anto neito tukkiaan,The maiden gave her hair,

48Hilpiöitä hiuksiaan.Ornaments from her locks.

49Sai tuo kannel valmihiksi.That kantele was finished.

50Soittiit nuoret, soittiit vanhat,The young played, the old played,

51Soittiit miehet naimattomat,Unmarried men played,

52Soittiit nainehet keralla.Married ones played together.

53Sokia sopeesta huusi,A blind man called from the crowd,

54Nurkasta vähänäkönen:

55"Annas tänne kanteloine"Hand here the kantele

56Pojan sormille sokian,To the blind boy's fingers,

57Kättehe vähänäköse!"To the half-blind man's grasp!"

58Kui soitti poja sokia,When the blind boy played,

59Poja parka rambutteli,The poor boy strummed,

60Soittii poja sokia:The blind boy played:

61Lintusetki lentäväiset,Even birds mid-flight,

62Oksille alenevaseAlighting on branches,

63Kanteloista kuulemaha,To hear the kantele,

64Soittoo poja sokia,As the blind boy played,

65Poja rauka rambutusta.The wretch's strumming.

66Niin soittaa poja sokia,Thus played the blind boy,

67Poika raukka rambutteli:The wretched boy strummed:

68Matosetki maan aloiltaEven worms from underground,

69Mullalle muhotellootRose to the soil's surface,

70Kanteloista kuulemaha,To hear the kantele,

71Soittoo poja sokia,As the blind boy played,

72Poja rauka rambutusta.The wretch's strumming.

73Sus on juoksi suuret matkat,A wolf ran great distances,

74Karhu kangasta ravasiA bear roamed the moor,

75Kanteloista kuulemaha,To hear the kantele,

76Soittoo pojan sokia,As the blind boy played,

77Poja rauka rambutusta.The wretch's strumming.

78Jänösetki juoksevaisetEven scampering hares,

79Kynsilleen kykisteleevät,Crouched on their claws,

80Kalasetki kulkevaisetEven swimming fish,

81Ruoko rantahan lasseevatLet reeds drift shoreward,

82Kanteloista kuulemaha,To hear the kantele,

83Soittoo poja sokia,As the blind boy played,

84Poja rauka rambutusta.The wretch's strumming.

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 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-016621 · Read at SKS ↗

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