Kävin mä piittä pitkä matka
In the SKVR edition: Metsäpirtti, Taipale. Slöör V 24. 54.
SKVR textEnglish
1Kävin mä piittä pitkä matka,I journeyed a long way without pause,
2Tuluksetta tumman korven:Without entering the dark forest:
3Lepy lehti, koitu korpi,The alder's leaf, the darkened grove,
4Selkeä salo sininen!The clear blue sacred glade!
5Tuli mulle honka vastahan.A pine tree came to confront me.
6Aloin mä hongalta kysellä:I began to ask the pine:
7"Syntyykös vene sinusta,"Can a boat be born from you,
8Laiva lastun ottamatta?"A ship without taking planks?"
9Honka vasten vastaeli:The pine answered in return:
10"Ei synny vene minusta,"No boat is born from me,
11Laiva lastun ottamatta,No ship without planks,
12Mato on maannut juurillani,A worm has lain at my roots,
13Lintu on oksalla levännyt".A bird has rested on my branch."
14Kävin mä piittä pitkä matkaI journeyed a long way again,
15Syntyy vene minusta,A boat is born from me,
16Laiva lastun ottamatta.A ship without planks.
17Kävin venoista vestämähän,I went to build the boat,
18Laivaa lakuttamahan:To assemble the ship:
19Vene syntyi vestämättä,The boat formed unbuilt,
20Laiva lastun ottamatta.A ship without planks.
21Vein mä veneeni vesille,I took my boat to the waters,
22Laitoin vanhat soutamahan;Set the elders to rowing;
23Vanhat sousit, pää vapaji,The elders rowed, heads bare,
24Laittoi nuoret soutamahan.Then set the youths to rowing.
25Nuoret sousiit, airot notkuit,The youths rowed, oars bending,
26Sousiit lesken linnan alle.Rowed to the widow's castle below.
27Leski liekku linnassansa,The widow fluttered in her castle,
28Aivinaisissa aijassansa,Adorned in her finest attire,
29Palttinaisissa paioissansa.In linen-woven garments.
30Aloin mä leskeltä kysellä:I began to ask the widow:
31"Oletko leski vain olet lento?""Are you a widow, or just forsaken?"
32Leski vasten vastaeli:The widow answered in return:
33"En ole leski enkä lento,"I'm neither widow nor forsaken,
34En ole varaton vaimoNor a destitute wife,
35Enk' ole turvaton tutilas,Nor an unprotected mistress,
36Kolm' on poikaa minulla:I have three sons:
37Yks' on Ruotsissa Rovasti,One is a Dean in Sweden,
38Toin' on piispa pappilassa,Another a bishop at the rectory,
39Kolmas on kotona herra."The third a lord at home."
40Päätyi surma kuulemahan,Death came to hear of this,
41Tappoi Ruotsista Rovastin,Killed the Dean from Sweden,
42Toisen piispan pappilasta,The bishop from the rectory,
43Kolmannen kotonta herran.The lord from his home.
44"Nyt olen leski, nyt olen lento,"Now I am a widow, now forsaken,
45Nyt olen varaton vaimo,Now a destitute wife,
46Nyt olen turvaton tutilas."Now an unprotected mistress."
47Talo oli tässä, linna muinoin,A house stood here, a castle once,
48Nyt kasvoi kumia korpi,Now grows an eerie dark forest,
49Kolm' on korvessa lähettä,Three springs are in the wilderness,
50Kolm' on lohta lähtehessä:Three salmon in each spring:
51Yks on lohi lesken vaimon,One salmon is the widow's,
52Toinen on nuoren morsiammen,Another the young bride's,
53Kolmas on nei'on nuoren.The third the young maiden's.
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-072105 · Read at SKS ↗
Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.