Olin orjana Virossa

SKVR XIII1 79·Parikkala·1890·Collector: Haalman, E.

In the SKVR edition: Parikkala? Honkakylä. Haalman 2. 90 luv.

SKVR textEnglish

1Olin orjana Virossa,I was a slave in Estonia,

2Palkalla pahalla mailla.On the cursed lands of Palka,

3Sain orosen orjuuvella,I gained a horse through slavery,

4Tuonkin vaihon hanhosee;Even traded it for a goose;

5Sain hanhon pahatapasen.I got a goose of ill temper.

6Läksin tuota paimeneenoI went as a shepherd

7Sinipeltoin sivulle,To the edge of blue fields,

8Nuottitarhain kitalle.To the seine-net fences' border.

9Nukun nurmelle hyvälle,I slept on good turf,

10Vaivun maalle valkoselle.Lay on white earth.

11Tuosta ol hanhone hävinyt.Then the goose had vanished.

12Läksin tuota etsimääneI went to seek it,

13Hajotellen hienot heinät,Scattering fine hay,

14Alta kuusan kukkalatvan,Under the spruce's flowery crown,

15Alta kaunihin kanervan.Under fair heather.

16Löysin kyntäjät vaoltaI found plowers from the field

17Sekä sotkijat joelta.And muddyers from the river.

18"Kyntäjäni, vellueni,"Plower, my brother,

19Sotkijat, sisarueni,Muddiers, my sisters,

20Näittäkös mun hanhostani?"Have you seen my goose?"

21- "Mikä merkki hanhollasi?""What mark does your goose bear?"

22- "Sinisiipi, vaskivarvas,"Blue wing, bronze foot,

23Kulkussa kumia kello,A leather bell in its gait,

24Piässä päivän pyöryläine,On its head a sun-disc,

25Ohassa otavan merkki,On its brow the Plough's sign,

26Kultakupla lautamilla."A golden bubble on its cheeks."

27"Näino eilen näilä päivin"I saw yesterday at this time

28Istuvan meren kivellä."Sitting on a sea-stone."

29Tulin turun uuteen tupaan;I came to the castle's new house;

30Siin ol lattiit lasiset,There floors were glass,

31Peräseinä petran luista,Back wall of Peter's bones,

32Laki lahnan suomuksesta.Roof of whitefish scales.

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.

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.