Recordings from the Estonian Folklore Archives 3

Sun, Come On Out!

Greete Jents Karksi (1961)

Päeväke, tule vällä,
anna lihapätsi!
Päeväl anna pätsi leibä,
päeväpoisil poole pätsi,
karbitävve kanepit,
sõglatävve sõrmusit.

No kunas te niimoodi lugesite? – No siss ikke, ku päivä-s ole, kui me nüüd karjan ollim, noh. Tahtsim, et päe vällä tules – s-näeme, kui kõrgen päe um juba, et ka kari saab kodo aia. Siss sedasi laulsim iki.

Sun, my darling, come on out,
I'll give you a loaf of meat!
I'll give a loaf of bread to the sun,
half a loaf to the sunshine boy,
a boxful of hemp,
a sieveful of rings.

And when did you recite this? – Well, when there was no sunshine, when we were out herding, you know. We wanted the sun to come out so we could tell how far the day was gone so we could know when to drive the animals back home. That's when we used to sing this song.

RKM, Mgn. II 585 d < Abja raj., Nuia al. (Karksi khk.) – S. Lätt Kirjandusmuuseumi ekspeditsioonil 1961. a. < Greete Jents, 77-a.
[LP I a 6; CD1-6]. Vissel 1990, 8–9 (nr. 2).