Oi sano, mie sano, mies polonen

SKVR VII2 1883·Suistamo·1884·Collector: Krohn, Kaarle

In the SKVR edition: Suistamo. Krohn n. 7616. -84. Kirkonkylä. Ondrei Haimakainen, 34 v.

SKVR textEnglish

1Oi sano, mie sano, mies polonen,Oh speak, I speak, wretched man,

2Tiiän sykkö synnyndän,I know my lowly birth,

3Ja mie katala kasvandon,And I, wretched, was raised,

4Vaan en tiiä sitä sijoa,But I know not that place,

5Mih on kuolema tuloopi,Where death will arrive,

6Hos ma vierren vetehe,If I by the water’s edge,

7Kaatunen kaloille syyä,Fallen as fish-food,

8Meren siijoille siivottaviks,To the sea’s depths to be cleansed,

9Ainavoille ahvenille.For the eternal perch.

10Ahvenet alas mänööpi,The perch swims downward,

11Siiat on sisälle tuloopi.Whitefish come inward.

12Katsot muita miekkosia.You watch other men,

13Ilosis ne muut elääpi,They live in joy,

14Riemulois ne muut rimajaa,They rejoice in mirth,

15Minä olen utra huolissan,I am wretched in sorrow,

16Mulo muita mustembainen,Gloomier than others,

17Huolet hoikakse vetääpi,Sorrows make me gaunt,

18Mulo muita mustembakse,Darker than others’ gloom,

19Hevonen huolesta tuloopi,A horse comes from sorrow,

20Ruuna musta murehista.A black gelding from grief.

21Voi mua poloista poikaa,Alas, wretched boy,

22Toisekse polon alaista,To serve another’s misery,

23Piteli olla syntymättä,Should have stayed unborn,

24Syntymättä, kasvamatta,Unborn, ungrown,

25Tään ilman ihavumatta.Never seeing this world’s light.

26Piellyn kuolla kolmi-öissä,Foolish to die in three nights,

27Kaota kapalo-vöissä:To perish in swaddling bands:

28Vaaksa on vaatetta pitännä,The swaddle holds the cloth,

29Kyynärä olisi hyviä maita,An ell would be good land,

30Pari pappilan sanoja,A priest’s few words,

31Kerta kellon kilkahusta.One bell’s toll.

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.

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