Ei kumaja kuiva kurkku

SKVR V2 18·Vuole·1859·Collector: Saxbäck, Fr. A.

In the SKVR edition: Vuole, [Miikkula]. Saxbäck 392. 59.

SKVR textEnglish

1Ei kumaja kuiva kurkku,A dry throat is not moist,

2Henki ei rasvaton heläjä,The spirit, ungreased, does not resound,

3Kuin ei kastella kapalla,As if not watered with a dipper,

4Putelill ei pulputella.Not made to gurgle with small casks.

5Usko veikkonen velaksiTrust me, brother, as a debt,

6Koko korttelin putelli!The whole block’s barrel [of debt]!

7Silloin maksan konsa jaksan,Then I’ll pay when I can,

8Jos en muullon niin kesällä.If not sooner, then in summer.

9Kolme on kiirettä kesällä:Three urgencies come in summer:

10Yks on kaunis kauran kyntö,First, the fair plowing of oats,

11Toinen heliä heinän aika,Second, the clang of haytime,

12Kolmas rukkeen rutina.Third, the rustle of the rye.

13Ajat armaat männöötDear times pass away,

14Ikä kultanen kulluu,The golden age flows by,

15Joess oltu miun poloisen,Where I, poor soul, have dwelled,

16Jo ois ollt aikaa ammon naia,It’s long been time to wed,

17Kuhun vaan kukka tuotanee.Wherever the flower may lead.

18Ei ole kurjalla kottii,The wretched have no home,

19Katalall ei kartanoista.The lowly own no manors.

20Korvess on miun kottii,In the wilds is my home,

21Marja varsill on maijain,Berries on stems are my riches,

22Kalliol on kartanoni,On a cliff stands my manor,

23Lempo lieteen puhhuu,The devil whispers in the hearth,

24Tuuli usta turjuttaa.The east wind bites cold.

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.

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