La mie koitan äänestäin
In the SKVR edition: Sakkola. Neovius 308. 17/3 88. Yrjänä Kotti.
SKVR textEnglish
1La mie koitan äänestäin,Lo, I try with my voice,
2kiusajelen kielestäin,I trouble with my tongue,
3vielk' heää virsii tekkööpi,still they make songs,
4laululoi laitteloopi!arrange the songs!
5La o laulan liirittelenLo, I sing, I warble,
6kui vieoista vierettelen!as if rolling from strings!
7Laulelisin, taitelisin,I would sing, I would craft,
8jos miull olutta oisi,if I had beer,
9ku ois kaulan-kastinetta;if there were throat-moistener;
10ei kumaja kuiva kulkku,No resonant dry throat,
11eään' ei herttanen heläjä,no sweet voice's sound,
12kui ois soaaha kulkulleini,if I could get for my throat,
13kaulalleini kastinetta,for my neck, moistener,
14miul' on kaula karsinoitu,My throat is parched,
15kulkku aivo kuivettuntu,throat wholly dried,
16ku ois kastella kapasta,if I could wet a cup,
17kohvin kanss ku ois kostutella,with coffee to moisten,
18liritellä lekkeristä,warble from sweetness,
19putelista pulputella,bubble from a bottle,
20tokha toisin laulelisin,Then I'd sing differently,
21kiel ois paljo kerkiämpi,tongue much nimbler,
22nuotit paljo notkiammat,tunes far suppler,
23enemp mie sanoja sais,I'd get more words,
24viina miulle virret tois,liquor would bring me songs,
25norrit toisiit nuottiloia,drinks bring new tunes,
26kohvi eääntä ei korota,coffee won't lift the voice,
27saju antais sannoi.weak brew gives words.
28Ei kumaja kuiva kulkku,No resonant dry throat,
29miun on eääni äräkkä,My voice is croaking,
30äräkkä urolla eääni,croaking in the throat,
31vaikka lassa laulakoop,though singing in a barn,
32kapaloissa kaljukoop.in rags, bald-headed.
33Sill' on eääni miu äräkkäThus my voice is hoarse,
34sekä mielein miu mur(a)kka,and my mind crumbled,
35join mie juovesta vettä,I drank ditch-water,
36lapoin vettä lammikosta,scooped puddle-water,
37tuost män kuitu kulkkuhein,Then fibers choked my throat,
38kitahein män kiisin ruota,mouth-weeds gripped my gums,
39se sorsi eäänen sorean,it spoiled the fair voice,
40eäänen mairosen makasi,made the sweet voice lie,
41eäänein kaato kaunokaisen,felled the lovely voice,
42se ol' huoran huntu vettä,it was a whore's veil-water,
43pahan vaimon paita vettä.an evil wife's shirt-water.
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-073187 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.