Olin ennen kuin olinkin
In the SKVR edition: Vuole, [Miikkula]. Saxbäck 344. 59.
SKVR textEnglish
1Olin ennen kuin olinkinI existed before I existed
2Ison koissa ollessain,In the master's household when I dwelled,
3Maatessa emon majassa,Lying in mother's dwelling,
4Hyppäsin yli hepoisen,I jumped over the little horse,
5Yli saarnasten satulan,Over the saarnas saddle,
6Yl' luokin ylläppäin.Over the top I vaulted,
7Iso siittä suurin suuttu,The master grew mightily angry,
8Kuin olin kovin keppii.As I was very mischievous.
9Sitte miun emo eroittiThen my mother separated me
10Eres muista lapsistaanApart from her other children,
11Tuolla puolelle tuppaa,To that side of the dwelling,
12Pohjan puolelle porttii.To the northern side of the gate.
13Emosein, eukkosein,Mother dear, old woman dear,
14Maito möykky mölläröi!Milk curdled into lumps!
15Tunnen tyynet, tunnen tuulet,I know the calms, I know the winds,
16Tunnen vaino vastarannan,I know the opposite shore's menace,
17Tunnen vieraan vihaisen,I know the angry stranger,
18Kuin vieras vihoitteleikse,How strangers would quarrel,
19Tulena tuli tuppaan,Like fire entering the house,
20Säkenenä säihähtää.Sparking into brightness.
21Kun mie vuuen voisin olla,If I could live for years,
22Kestäisin kesän syvän,I'd endure the long summer,
23Äsken mie hyvä olisin,Just now I'd be well,
24Kuin mie syömättä eläsin.As if living unfed.
25Olin vaivanen varoissa,I was wretched in the storehouse,
26Toin tuulen tuutissain,Brought wind in my cradle,
27Säkeniä säkkisessä.Sparks in a sack.
28Nousin aamulla ylläin,I rose clothed at morning,
29Lähettiin läävän luokse,Sent to the cowshed,
30Katjon katjan karsinasta,From Katja's pen I took the ewe,
31Emä lampaan lattialta,The ewe from the sheep's floor,
32Mänin kolmena tuppaan,Went threefold into the house,
33Vein mie luuat, vein mie lunta,I carried bones, carried snow,
34Itse mie lattii lakasin,I myself swept the floor,
35En mie pottjii potkanutI didn't kick the pots,
36Enkä lapsii lakkaillut.Nor neglected the children.
37Nostin lapset laavitsalle,Lifted children to the bench,
38Pesin silmät, pään selitin,Washed eyes, combed hair,
39Annoin leipää kätteen.Gave bread to their hands.
40Äsken ankara asettu,The harsh one just settled,
41Sitte kuttju kumppaliksi,Then Kuttju as companion,
42Leppy leipä linnaksein.Soft bread with fortress-walls.
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.
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-018530 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.