Kova koulu käyäksesi

SKVR XIII2 3800·Etelä-Karjala·1837·Collector: Lönnrot, Elias

In the SKVR edition: ? Lönnrot R 1. 37.

SKVR textEnglish

1Kova koulu käyäksesi,To endure this hard school,

2Piina pitkä ollaksesi,To bear this lengthy torment,

3Ikävä eleäksesi;To live this dreary life;

4Siell' on ohjat ostettuna,There, reins are purchased,

5Valmistettu vankirauat,Shackles are prepared,

6Ei ketään muita vasten,Not meant for others,

7Vasten vaivaista sinuaOnly for you, the wretched,

8Ja kohti kova osaista.And the ill-starred soul.

9Olit kukkana kotona,You were a flower at home,

10Ilona ison pihoilla,Joy on grand courtyards,

11Iso kutsu kuuvaloksi,Hailed as the moonlight,

12Emo päivän nousemaksi,Mother of the sunrise,

13Siskosesi siikasiksi,Your sisters as whitefish,

14Veikkosi vesikaloiksi.Brothers as river fish.

15Menet toiseen taloon,You go to a new household,

16Yli kynnyksen kylään,Cross the village threshold,

17Et elä miehen mieltä myöten,*You’ll not live by the man’s will,

18Sulhosen syäntä myöten;*Nor the groom’s heart’s bidding;*

19Appi kutsu ahkioksi,Father-in-law calls you badger,

20Anoppi vesihavoksi,Mother-in-law as seaweed,

21Kyty kynnysportahaksi,Sister-in-law a doorstep,

22Nato naisiin pahaksi.Brother-in-law a curse.

23Sitte sie hyvä olisit,Then you’d be deemed worthy,

24Savuna ulos menisit,Vanish like smoke outside,

25Lehtosena lenteleisit,Flutter as a lone leaf,

26Kipunoina kiiteleisit.Dart as fleeting sparks.

27Tulet tuttuna tupaan,You enter the house known,

28Oven suuss' on ouot silmät,The door’s mouth stares wide,

29Kierot keski lattialla.Twisted ones block your path,

30Perässä perivihaset.Behind, old hatreds follow.

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.

Added by RunoVerse: the English translations, the song types, the verse numbers and the links.