Allit ne merellä uivat
In the SKVR edition: Impilahti. Polén n. 204. -47.
SKVR textEnglish
Oi, oi!
1Allit ne merellä uivat,The waterfowl swam on the sea,
2oi, oi allit merellä ui.oh, oh, the waterfowl swim on the sea.
3Mitä allin sirven alla?What is under the bird's wing?
4oi, oi allin siiven alla.oh, oh, under the bird's wing.
5Kätkyt allin siiven alla.A cradle under the bird's wing.
6oi, oi allin siiven alla.oh, oh, under the bird's wing.
7Mitä kätkyen sisässä?What is inside the cradle?
8oi, oi kätkyen sisässä.oh, oh, inside the cradle.
9Hienosia heinäsiä.Delicate little grasses.
10oi, oi heinäsiä oi, oi.oh, oh, little grasses, oh, oh.
11Mitä heinien seassa?What is among the grasses?
12oi, oi heinien seassa.oh, oh, among the grasses.
13Hursti heinien seassa.A nest among the grasses.
14oi, oi heinien seassa.oh, oh, among the grasses.
15Mitä hurstin hurpelossa?What is in the nest's hollow?
16oi, oi hurstin hurpelossa.oh, oh, in the nest's hollow.
17Poika hurstin hurpelossa.A boy in the nest's hollow.
18oi, oi hurstin hurpelossa.oh, oh, in the nest's hollow.
19Mitä poika raatelevi?What does the boy toil at?
20oi, oi poika raatelevi.oh, oh, the boy toils.
21Kirjan kanta kirjoavi.He writes the book's cover.
22oi, oi kanta kirjoavi.oh, oh, the cover is written.
23Mitä kirjan kannen alla?What is under the book's cover?
24oi, oi kirjan kannen alla.oh, oh, under the book's cover.
25Neito kirjan kannen alla.A maiden under the book's cover.
26oi, oi kirjan kannen alla.oh, oh, under the book's cover.
27Mitä neito raatelevi?What does the maiden toil at?
28oi, oi neito raatelevi.oh, oh, the maiden toils.
29Kulta kangasta kutovi,She weaves golden fabric,
30oi, oi kangasta kutovi.oh, oh, she weaves fabric.
31Hopiaista huolittavi.She prepares silver threads.
32oi, oi huolittavi, oi, oi.oh, oh, prepared, oh, oh.
33Katkiavi kulta lanka,She spins the golden thread,
34oi, oi kulta lanka, oi, oi.oh, oh, golden thread, oh, oh.
35Huiskuili hopia lanka.She twists the silver thread.
36oi, oi hopialanka oi, oi.oh, oh, silver thread, oh, oh.
37Kutsu emon solmimahan,They call the mother to knot,
38oi, oi solmimahan.oh, oh, to knot.
39Tuli viers ja vihanen,A stranger came, wrathful,
40oi, oi vieras ja vihanen.oh, oh, the stranger and wrathful.
41Vierahalla vitsa käessä,The stranger held a switch,
42oi, oi vitsa käessä, oi, oi.oh, oh, a switch in hand, oh, oh.
43Kuorittu koivun latva,A peeled birch treetop,
44oi, oi koivunen latva, oi, oi.oh, oh, the little birch's treetop, oh, oh.
45Iski lasta armotonta,He struck the pitiless child,
46oi, oi armotonta.oh, oh, pitilessly.
47Kosketti kova osasta.He struck a harsh blow,
48oi, oi kova osasta oi.oh, oh, a harsh blow, oh.
49Otti neito itkeäksehen.The maiden began to weep,
50oi, oi neito itkeäksehen.oh, oh, the maiden to weep.
51Neito itki, kynel vieri,The maiden wept, a tear fell,
52oi, oi itki, kynel vieri.oh, oh, she wept, a tear fell.
53Vieri, vieri neion kynel,The maiden's tear flowed, flowed,
54oi, oi vieri nei'on kynel.oh, oh, the maiden's tear flowed.
55Vieri, vieri vyönsä alle,It flowed, flowed under her belt,
56oi, oi vieri vyönsä alla.oh, oh, under her belt it flowed.
57Sulkusille rätsinöille,To clasps, to aprons,
58oi, oi rätsinöille oi, oi.oh, oh, to aprons, oh, oh.
59Vieri vieläki alemma,It flowed still lower,
60oi, oi vieri alemenaoh, oh, flowing lower.
61Punasille sukkasille,To red stockings,
62oi, oi sukkasille oio ai.oh, oh, to stockings, oio ai.
63Vieri vieläki alemma,It flowed still lower,
64oi, oi vieri vieläki alemma.oh, oh, still lower it flowed.
65Ummis kengän urtehille,To the shoe's eyelet holes,
66oi, oi kengän urtehille.oh, oh, the shoe's eyelet holes.
67Vieri vieläki alemma,It flowed still lower,
68oi, oi vieläki alemma.oh, oh, still lower.
69Maarehille maanemille.To the earth's grounds.
70Juoksepi kolme jokeaThree rivers ran
71Yhen immen kyynelistä:From one maiden's tears:
72Yksi mettä, toinen vettä,One of honey, another of water,
73Kolmas on sinipunanen.The third is blue-red.
74Kasvo kolme koivusiaThree birches grew
75Joka joen korvasilla,By each river's bank,
76Joka koivussa käkönen;On each birch, a cuckoo;
77Kolmet kullaista käkiä,Three golden cuckoos,
78Kulta suusta kumpuaviGold flows from their mouths
79Vaskisehen vakkasehen.Into a copper vessel.
80Yksi kukku: lemmen, lemmen,One cuckoo calls: love, love,
81Lapselle lemmettömälle;To the loveless child;
82Toinen kukku: avun, avun,Another calls: help, help,
83Lapselle armottomalle;To the pitiless child;
84Kolmas: sulin, sulin,The third: comfort, comfort,
85Lapselle sulittomalle.To the uncomforted child.
86Kuka kukku: lemmen, lemmen,Who calls: love, love?
87Se on mammoni käkönen,It is my mother's cuckoo,
88Kuka kukku: avun, avun,Who calls: help, help?
89Se on käkö taattoseni,It is my father's cuckoo,
90Kuka kuku: sulin, sulin,Who calls: comfort, comfort?
91Se on käkö sulhoseni.It is my groom's cuckoo.
(Laulaessa "oiotetaan" yleensä niinkuin alusta on kirjoitettu.)
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.
Permanent address of this poem at SKS: http://urn.fi/urn:nbn:fi:sks-kvr-034685 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.