Laitoin mie kaunoin kallaan

SKVR V1 191·Vuole·1859·Collector: Saxbäck, Fr. A.

In the SKVR edition: Vuole, Putkela. Saxbäck 89. 59.

Song types: Emo erotti muista lapsista, Hyvä on syyä silmikkään sokean kalavattii, Jos en itse voivottaisi, voivottavat vuoteheni, Nuorena naitettu, Sulhonsa kylvettäjä, Tulin vanhaksi varahin

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SKVR textEnglish

1Laitoin mie kaunoin kallaan;I set up a beautiful fishing rock;

2Soan't ei kauno kalloo.The rock given was not fair.

3Mänin itse mie kallaan.I went myself to the rock.

4Joka loukk' oil lohta täynnä,Every trap was full of salmon,

5Joka niem nieriäistä,Every cape had vendace,

6Joka kaislikko kalloo.Every reed-bed held fish.

7Läksin maalle keittämäänI went ashore to cook,

8Ison pitkille pinoille,For the great long woodpiles,

9Valmeille varustetuille,For the well-prepared ones,

10Koivu oil kovvii puuta,Birch was hard timber,

11Sata syltä tervaksia.A hundred fathoms of tar-logs.

12Syöttelin issoin vanhan,I fed the old father,

13Syöttelin emmoin vanhan,I fed the old mother,

14Söin itse kyllykseen.I ate until I was full.

15Ruuat konttiin kokosin,I bundled the leftovers,

16Vein ruuat sulhon syyä.Took food for the groom to eat.

17Sulho syöp ja kiittelöö:The groom ate and praised:

18"Hyvä on syyä saamattoman,"Good is food uninvited,

19Ottoa olemattoman,From one who takes nothing,

20Hyvä on syyä silmikkäänGood is food for the one-eyed,

21Sokean kalavattii."A blind man’s fish-basket."

22Enhän mie emoista kiitä,I don’t thank mothers,

23En isoista ensinkään,Nor fathers whatsoever,

24Miks miun emmoin eroittiWhy did my mother part me

25Eris muista lapsistaanFrom her other children,

26Ja eres perheistään,And from her kin,

27Laitto lassa ukkolaanSent me to the in-law’s chamber,

28Ja lassa anoppilaan,To the mother-in-law’s room,

29Lassa lapsin tekkoon.To bear children there.

30Tulen vanhaks varrainI’ll grow old with sorrows,

31Ja raniks aikassee,A wretch before my time,

32Nousen ohkaa olilta,Rise groaning from beds,

33Kättä pieksäin pehuilta,Beat my hands on soft cushions,

34Voivotellen vuotehelta.Lamenting from my bed.

35Jos en itse voivottais,If I don’t lament myself,

36Vuoteheni voivottaapi,My bed will lament,

37Jos en itse kaikattais,If I don’t wail myself,

38Katteheni kaikattaa.My roof will wail.

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 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-016671 · Read at SKS ↗

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