Ainhan mie sitä sanelen
In the SKVR edition: Vuole, Alakylä. Saxbäck 270. 59.
SKVR textEnglish
1Ainhan mie sitä sanelen,I always speak of that,
2Ain virkan virsissäin.Always a stanza in my songs.
3Ei oo sen tytön elosta,There is no life for that girl,
4Kellei ehtoista emmoo,Who has no evening mother,
5Kellei varsi vanhempii.No branch of parents.
6Ei oo sill sinäi ikänä,She has no such age,
7Sill ei siivo neuvojaa.She has no suitable advisor.
8Kuin ois seppänä settäin,If I were a smith by kin,
9Takojan ois vellueni,A smith, my brother-in-law,
10Teettäsin suruista suitset,I’d forge bridles from sorrows,
11Päitset päivistä pahoista,Headstalls from evil days,
12Satulan kylän sanoista.A saddle from the village’s words.
13Ei oo seppänä settäin,I am no smith by kin,
14Takojan ei vellueni.No smith is my kin.
15Ei synny surusta suitset,Bridles don’t spring from grief,
16Päitset päivist ei pahoista,Headstalls not from evil days,
17Satula ei kylän sanoista.No saddle from village words.
18Laulasinhan mie kylässä,I sang in the village,
19Mutt en viitsi mie kotonna,But I dare not at home,
20Mie en viitsi velloltain.I dare not before kin.
21Vellollain on verka viitta,Kin wear coarse cloaks,
22Hiiren karvanen hevonen,A mouse-haired horse,
23Sarni nahkanen satula.A saddle of alder bark.
24Ihme, ihme, kumma, kumma,Wonder, wonder, strange, strange,
25Ihme tään ikävän kanssa,Wonder at this sorrow,
26Hukka suuren huolen kanssa.Loss with great worry.
27En tiiä mie poloinen,I don’t know, wretched me,
28En tiiä poloinen piika,I don’t know, wretched maid,
29Mingän tien otan etteen,Which road to take ahead,
30Kungan juonen juostakseen.
31Jos lähen jänön jälelle,If I follow the hare’s trail,
32Konkka polven polkemille,The bent knee’s trampled path,
33Jänis peittää jälleen,The hare hides its tracks,
34Konkka polvi polkemansa.The bent knee tramples itself.
35Jos lähen revon rekkeen,If I board the fox’s sled,
36Revoll on reki matala,The fox’s sled is low,
37Joka mättään hän männöö,It sinks in every tussock,
38Joka varpa vasteloo.Every hoof stumbles.
39Istun ilveksen rekkeen:I sit in the lynx’s sled:
40Ilves viep isän kottiinThe lynx takes me to father’s home,
41Emon maireill majolle.To mother’s fragrant dwelling.
42Olin nokka nuorempana,I was sharp-beaked in youth,
43Kotka kolmivuotisena.A three-year-old eagle.
44Käin mie miehestä merellä,I sailed seas beyond men,
45Urohost ulkomailla.Beyond heroes’ foreign lands.
46Laulon ennen, taisin ennen,I sang before, I knew before,
47Muulloin muitai opetin,Once taught others,
48Laulon ennen lapsempana,Sang before, younger then,
49Pieksin kieltä pienempänä;Wielded my tongue when small;
50Mut en nyt rahoita laula,But now I won’t sing for silver,
51Suut en kullata kuluta,Nor gild my mouth,
52Hopeatt en huokaele,Sigh not for silver,
53Vaseten vajertaan.Weep only for copper.
54Kuin ois miulla miurun mieli,If I had a songbird’s mind,
55Miurun mieli, kiurun kieli,A songbird’s mind, lark’s tongue,
56Meren silmiin mänisin.I’d go into the sea’s eyes.
57Voi mie poloinen piika,Woe, wretched maid,
58Voi piika polonalainen,Woe, miserable maid,
59Jouvun kummiks kylälle,A marvel of strength to the village,
60Ouvoks omalle maalle.A wonder to my own land.
61Ei sanat puhellen puutu.Words do not lack when spoken.
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-018199 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.