Kävin piennä paimenessa

SKVR V1 73·Lempaala·1854·Collector: Ahlqvist, A. E.

In the SKVR edition: Lempaala. Ahlqvist 514. 54.

SKVR textEnglish

1Kävin piennä paimenessaI went small/as a child in shepherding

2Pirtin soilla, Pirtin mailla,On Pirti's swamps, on Pirti's lands,

3Pirtin pitkillä ahoilla,On Pirti's long clearings,

4Tuoll' oil metsät mettä täynnä,There the forests were full of honey,

5Puun juuret punaista oltta.Tree roots [held] red ale.

6Ostin kannun, ostin toisen,I bought a jug, bought another,

7Kohta kolmatta käkesin.Soon I went for the third.

8Kaauin maalle kaunihille,I poured onto the fair land,

9Nukuin nurmelle hyvälle.Slept on the good greensward.

10Vei varas hyvän hevosen,A thief took the good horse,

11Saarensulkaisen satulan.The island-feathered saddle.

12Menin itkien kotihin.I went weeping homeward.

13Iso aitassa asuvi,Father lived in the granary,

14Emo aitan rappusilla.Mother on the granary steps.

15Iso aitasta kysyvi,Father asked from the granary,

16Emon olkapään ylitse:Over Mother's shoulder:

17"Mitäs itket, poikueni?""Why weep, my little son?"

18Minä vasten vastaelin:I answered in reply:

19"Vei varas hyvän hevosen,"A thief took the good horse,

20Saarensulkaisen satulan."The island-feathered saddle."

21"Elä itke, poikueni,"Don't weep, my little son,

22Vasta eilen lehmä poiki,Just yesterday the cow calved,

23Teki valkian vasikan,Produced a white calf,

24Keträsilmän keikahutti,Made the spindle-eyed one sway,

25Tuon kuin vieään Viipurihin,That one we'll take to Viipuri,

26Kannetahan kaupunkihin,Carry it to the towns,

27Tuolla saahaan satoja,There we'll get hundreds,

28Tuhansia tungetahan.Thousands will be crammed [in].

29Ostetaan orihevonenWe'll buy a stallion horse,

30Tahi tamma sälköväinen,Or a sturdy-flanked mare,

31Veen pilvistä vetävi,One that draws water from clouds,

32Syöpi kaurat räystähältä."Eats oats from the roof's edge."

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.

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