Kuule sulho, kui sanelen

SKVR VII2 3060·Sortavala·1877·Collector: Borenius, A. A.

In the SKVR edition: Sort. Bor. III, n. 214. -1/11 77. Rautalahti. Ondrei Vanninen.

SKVR textEnglish

Sulhon virsi.

("Lauletaa häissä ja lauletaa läksiisissägi.")

1Kuule sulho, kui sanelen,Listen, groom, as I speak,

2kui sanelen, kui anelen:as I speak, as I plead:

3neuvo neittä neljä vuotta,Advise the maiden four years,

4vuosi neuvo suusanalla,a year guide with a spoken word,

5toine silmän iskennällä,the second with a glance of the eye,

6kolmas on jalan polulla.the third on the foot's path.

7Kuin et sie siit hyveä saane,If you gain no good from this,

8otappa ovene taakse,take [her] behind your door,

9opeta oven tagana,teach behind the door,

10neuvo nelisnurkkazessa,instruct in the four-cornered room,

11ota vittsa viidazesta,take a birch switch from the fifth [tree],

12koivu korren randazesta,a birch trunk from the shore,

13nahkaruoska naula peäldä;a leather whip from the nail's head;

14elä pieksä piendarella,do not beat on the sauna bench,

15elä nurmella nukita,do not lull on the grass,

16kylän kyndäjät nägööbi,the village plowmen will see,

17astujat ajatteloone,visitors will ponder,

18jott ei tuot anoppi kuulislest the mother-in-law hears,

19eigä appi arvoaizi.nor the father-in-law notices.

20Kui neittä hyvin pidelet:If you treat her well:

21kui mänet apen kodiine,when you go to father's home,

22puistat heinijä hevolle,shake hay for the horse,

23kagravakka kannetaane,carry the birch-bark basket,

24itselle midä kudagi.for yourself something woven.

25Kui neittä pahoin pidelet:If you treat her poorly:

26kui mänet apen kodiine,when you go to father's home,

27puistat heinijä hevolle,shake hay for the horse,

28rikkavihko viskataane,the torn book will be tossed,

29hevosesi hirtetääneyour horse will be hanged

30omilla ohjasvarzillazi,with its own reins,

31itse led'illä leikataaneyou'll be cut with a scythe

32keskellä kujan lagii'ne.in the middle of the village lane.

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.