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Oleks see mees minu!

Runosong type in the classification of ERAB, the Estonian Folklore Archives’ runosong database

In English: If only this man were mine! (a translation; the archive names the type in Estonian only)

Filed underLaulud noorrahva elust (songs of young people's lives) › Unelmad ja ootused
Poems609
Verses18,381
Collection places94
Collected1850s to 1930s
CollectorsKarl Voldemar Rosenstrauch · Karl Viljak · Mihkel (Tori) Ostrov · Gustav Vilberg (Vilbaste) · Oskar Philipp Kallas · Jakob Ilves · Johann (Johan) Keerig · Jüri Välbe · Peeter Penna · Jaan Leppik (Leppik-Punabu)

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The archive’s description

Written by the editors of the ERAB type index and quoted as it stands, in Estonian.

ERlA 2249. Oleks see mees minu!: tuntud üle maa, noteeritud ohtrasti, populaarne laulutüüp. Vrd. lauludega 2177 („Oleks see neiu minu“) ja 2178 („Suust ma söödaks“) — ühiseid motiive ja ka ühiseid kompositsioonivõtteid, on paralleeltüübid. Esineb mitmes arenduses: A — seotud tüübiga 1071 („Tore sõit“), esineb eP, tavaline arendus; B — samuti eP tuntud, samuti liitub konstitutiivselt lauluga „Tore sõit“, kuid paisutatuna arendus; C — on seotud lauluga 1888 (vt. ka 2504), tuntud eL. Saartel on laul tavaliselt liitunud tüübiga 123 („Poiss sõidab laulma“).

Oleks see mees minul!: VK III 137, VK IV 188, VK V*, VK VII 5, VK X*; Oleks see mees minu!: VK VI 676, VK VIII 485, VK IX 367, VK XI 233, VK XII 386, VK XIII 381, VI XIV 349, ERlA 2249; Neiu vend – VK II 51; Tore peigmees – VK II 52.

Where it was collected

Collection places of the poems, with the number of poems of this type from each. A place may be where the song was written down or where the singer came from.

…and 34 more places

When it was collected

DecadePoems
1850s1
1860s2
1870s38
1880s168
1890s228
1900s40
1910s71
1920s10
1930s21
year not recorded30

Example poems

The opening verse of one poem from each of the ten places with the most poems of this type: the first such poem in the archive’s order. Each links to the whole poem. A poem can be filed under several types, so its opening verse may belong to another song.

Other types the same poems are filed under

The archive can file one poem under several types. These are the types most often given to poems of this type, with the number of poems they share.

TypePoems in common
Oleks450
Oleks see mees minul105
Soome sild59
Kosjahobu söötmine40
Tore sõit36
Kaevul kosija33
Saani tegemine20
Saan18
Tuulest talguhobu17
Heinast hobu12
Oleks see mees12
Põdratapja10

Content-based similar types

Several methods each rank the song types whose poems resemble this type's poems; the combined ranking merges their lists. The first 20 are listed here.

  1. Tore sõit (Splendid ride)
  2. Meie ja teie poisid (Our boys and your boys)
  3. Soome sild (The Finnish bridge)
  4. Tore poiss (The splendid lad)
  5. Tore noormees (The splendid young man)
  6. Küla laitus (Village reproach)
  7. Meie ja teie poisid jaanipäeval (Our boys and yours on Midsummer's Day)
  8. Meie ja teiste poisid kiriku minnes (Our boys and others' going to church)
  9. Oleks see neiu minu! (If Only This Maiden Were Mine!)
  10. Meie ja teiste poisid Jaanipäeval (Our Boys and Others at Midsummer)
  11. Kui oleks naine (If I had a wife)
  12. Meie poisid ja teie poisid (Our Boys and Your Boys)
  13. Oma ja võõra küla poisid (Boys of Own and Stranger's Village)
  14. Venna kosja ehtimine (Adorning for the brother's courtship)
  15. Suomen silta (Finland's bridge)SKVR type
  16. Kaevul kosija (Suitor at the well)
  17. Tore peiu (Splendid Groom)
  18. Oma poiste kiitus (Praise of our own boys)
  19. Meie ja muude poisid jaanipäeval (Our Boys and Others at Midsummer)
  20. Üksik tütar (The Lone Daughter)

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Sources: the type’s name, filing and description come from the type index of ERAB, the Estonian Folklore Archives’ runosong database; the counts, places, decades and collectors are counted from the poems on RunoVerse.