Nuku, nuku, nurmilintu

SKVR XIII2 5267·Uusikirkko Vpl.·1847·Collector: Reinholm, H. A.

In the SKVR edition: Uusikirkko. Reinholm X 26. 47.

SKVR textEnglish

1Nuku, nuku, nurmilintu,Sleep, sleep, meadow bird,

2Väsy, väsy, västäräkki,Rest, rest, little wagtail,

3Nuku nurmella hyväll',Sleep on the good meadow,

4Vaivu maalle valkialle,Sink down to the bright earth,

5Tiepä pellolle pesäsi,Build your nest on the field,

6Kalliolle kartanoisi,To the rock-manors,

7Koivuoksalle kotisi!To the birch branch, your home!

8Tuuvi lasta turpehese,Settle the child into peat,

9Heija hiekka mättähäse,Sway sand into the mound,

10Laula lautojen välihin.Sing between the wooden planks.

11Nukuta Jumala lasta,Let God lull the child,

12Saisi itse maatakseini,So I myself may lie down,

13Voita leipää syyäkseini,To eat buttered bread,

14Rahka-maito syyäkseiniTo eat curd-milk,

15Ja kylässä käyäkseini,And visit the village,

16Kylä pengit pessäkseini,To wash village benches,

17Kylä lattiat laaiakseini.To sweep village floors.

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.
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.