Mistäs mie isoist kiitän
In the SKVR edition: Vuole, Alakylä. Saxbäck 300. 59.
SKVR textEnglish
1Mistäs mie isoist kiitän,How shall I praise the great ones,
2Kusta emosta kunnioitan?From where honor the mother?
3Vain siit isoista kiitänOnly from that great one I praise,
4Tahi emoista kunnioitan,Or honor the mothers,
5Laitto piennä kyntämään,They made the young one plow,
6Vakkaana vakkoilemaan.To bushel-gather in measure.
7Kynnin voaon, kynnin toisen,I plowed the first, plowed the second,
8Kohta kolmatta rupesin.Soon began the third.
9Taittu yks kyntö vitsa.One plow-switch snapped.
10Menin tuota etsimäänI went to seek that
11Vaskipäästä varvikosta.From the copper-headed thicket.
12Toi surma sussii paljo,Death brought wolves aplenty,
13Kalma suur karhuloi,Kalma, the great one, bears.
14Söivät valkoin miun vaaolta,Ate the white from my field,
15Mustan mullatuksesta.The black from the tilling.
16Mie vaan itkiin kottiin,I just wept homeward,
17Kallotellen kartanoon.Lamenting to the manor.
18Jo alko emo kysellä,Then mother began to ask,
19Alko ätti ärjähellä:Father began to roar:
20"Mitä itket, poikueni,"Why weep, my son,
21Nuorempaisen nureksit?"Young one’s complaint?"
22"Laitot piennä kyntämään,"You made the young one plow,
23Vakkaan vakkoilemaan.To bushel-gather in measure.
24Kynnin voaon, kynnin toisen,I plowed the first, plowed the second,
25Kohta jo kolmatta rupesin.Soon began the third.
26Toi surma sussii paljon,Death brought wolves aplenty,
27Kalma suuren karhuloita,Kalma, the great one, bears,
28Söivät valkoin vaaolta,Ate the white from the field,
29Mustan mullatokselta.The black from the tilling."
30Emo vasten vastaeli:Mother answered:
31"Elä itke, poikueni,"Don’t weep, my son,
32Nuorempaisen mun nureksi!My young one’s complaint!
33Vast meil eklen lehmä poiki,Just yesterday our cow calved,
34Hään tek valkian vasikan,She bore a white calf,
35Sukka jalan suilahuttiSlipped a sock on its leg,
36Tuok kun viiään Viipuriin,When we take it to Viipuri,
37Tuoll saahaan sattaa,There we’ll get to trade,
38Tuhansii tungetaan,Thousands stuffed in,
39Ostetaan ori hevosen,Buy a stallion horse,
40Joll on lammi lautasissa,With a pond in its hooves,
41Lähe länkiin välissä.It’ll stride to the west.
42Vien pilvest vettä,I’ll fetch water from clouds,
43Syöp on kaurat kattoloilta.Oats will eat from rafters."
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-016526 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.