Nuku poisi, nurmen nukka

SKVR XIII2 3183·Rautu·1935·Collector: Kaukonen, Katri

In the SKVR edition: Rautu, Palkeala. Kaukonen, K. 154. 35. Tarja Sorvali, 92 v.

SKVR textEnglish

Lapselle lauletaan:

1Nuku poisi, nurmen nukka,Sleep away, grass's down,

2Väsy poisi, västäräkki,Rest away, wagtail,

3Nuku nurmelle hyvälle,Sleep on the good meadow,

4Vaivu maalle valkialle,Sink to the pale earth,

5Kuavu mualle kaunehelle!Settle to the fair land!

6Nuku pois, ku mie nukutan,Sleep away, as I lull you,

7Väsy pois, ku mie väsytän!Rest away, as I tire you!

8Ei ne vuali vaimot kaikki,Not all wives stayed awake,

9Vuali vaimot puoletkana,Half the wives stayed awake,

10Kolmannet osasetkanaA third as their share,

11Niinku vualit miu emmoin,As my mothers once awoke,

12Se vast sit vaste vuali,Only then did one awake,

13Vuali vanhemman taval,Awoke in the elder's way,

14Vuali hän vasten itsiänsä.Awoke against her own will.

15Kolmest joella juoksiThree ran by the river,

16Yhtenä kesoissa yönä,On one midsummer night,

17Kapaloi kaheksin rievuin,Wrapped with eight splints,

18Rievuin kuusin kuivaeli.With six splints dried stiff.

19Emo ol raisu ruatamaa,Mother was toiling at work,

20Lapsi virttä itkemää:The child began to wail:

21Emo niitti päivän pitkän,Mother sewed the long day,

22Lapsi itki päivän pitkän,The child cried the long day,

23Lapsi lankes jakulta,The child fell from the cradle,

24Piennä penkiltä putos;The little one dropped from the bench;

25Ei olt ylös nostajaa,There was none to lift it up,

26Ylös ei ylentäjää,No one to raise it,

27Sill' on miul iän äräkkä,Thus my life is stunted,

28Iän äräkkä, miel murakka.Stunted life, crumbled spirit.

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 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.