Kysyin kirkon kipparilta
In the SKVR edition: Rautu, Vaskela. Slöör V 54. 54.
SKVR textEnglish
1Kysyin kirkon kipparilta,I asked the church sexton,
2Lausuin laivan kannen alta:Spoke from beneath the ship's deck:
3"Näittäkös te mun vellestani?""Have you seen my brother?"
4Tässä oli eklen näillä päivin,He was here yesterday, in these days,
5Näillä päivinä, näillä ajoilla,In these days, in these times,
6Pyörivillä portahilla,On whirling steps,
7Varvoilla vapisevilla,On quivering stakes,
8Liekkuvilla lehtilöillä,On swaying leafy boughs,
9Suku sulkkutukkiani,My feather-haired kin,
10Harjasi hapeniansa:Combed their foam-like [hair],
11Suka suilahti merehen,The comb slipped into the sea,
12Kampa pohjahan kalahti.The comb sank to the depths.
13Kallistain katsomahan,I leaned to look,
14Ojennain ottamahan,Reached to seize,
15Suilahdin suan jälestä,I rushed after my brother,
16Menin syltä syvähän,Went a fathom deep,
17Vaaksan vetehen vajosin,Sank a handspan into water,
18Kahen verran kasvojani.Twice over my face [submerged].
19Minä juoksin seppälään:I ran to the smithy:
20"Seppyein, selvyein,"Smith-wife, wisest one,
21Taitaja takojaseni,Skilled smith of mine,
22Taoit eklen, taoit ennen,You forged yesterday, forged before,
23Tao'i tänäki päivinä,Forge even today,
24Tao rautainen harava,Forge an iron rake,
25Piit paneta pihlajaiset,Fit rowan handles,
26Vasesta valeta varsi,Cast a copper shaft,
27Niin mä mereltä haravoin.So I may rake the sea.
28Meren ruuvot ruokustelen,I'll gather sea-reeds,
29Meren kaislat kaakuttelen."Stack sea-sedges."
30Löysin viitan velloltani,I found my brother's cloak,
31Viitta vilju itkuloiksi,Cloak torn to weeping shreds,
32Löysin mä hatun velloltani.I found my brother's hat,
33Hattu suuriksi harmiloiksi,Hat shattered to large fragments,
34Löysin housut velloltani,I found my brother's pants,
35Housut huoliksi koviksi,Pants hardened into sorrows,
36Löysin viime velloseni:At last, I found my brother:
37Jo oli siika silmät syönyt,The whitefish had eaten his eyes,
38Kuha kulmat kirjoittanut,The pike etched his brows,
39Hauk' oli hartiat halaissut.The pike embraced his shoulders.
40"Elköön siityinen sisoni"Let not my youngest sister
41Pitsin lakkia pitäkö,Wear a lace cap,
42Elköön ehtoinen emoniLet not my aged mother
43Panko vettä taikinahanMix water into dough
44Tältä läjalta lahelta,From this sandbar, this bay,
45Selvältä meren selältä:From the clear sea's expanse:
46Pannen vettä taikinaan,For mixing water into dough,
47Panee poikuen verestä.She’d mix her sons’ blood.
48Elköön ilmoinen isoniLet not my hearty father
49Kirves vartta kirjoittakoCarve axe-handles
50Minun kurjan kuoltuani.After my wretched death.
51Mä kuin kuolin lintu liioin,I died like a bird excessively,
52Liian surman, ou'on taudinBy too much death, by sudden illness,
53Ja kana katoisin liioin,And like a hen, I vanished utterly.
54Elköön vetra velloseinLet not my brothers
55Hevoistansa tanssitelkoMake their horses dance
56Kirkkotiellä käyessänsäOn the church road as they go,
57Minun kurjan kuoltuaniAfter my wretched death
58Ja kanan ka'ottuani."And my hen-like vanishing."
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-072077 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.