| Latvian song | Free translation | Word-for-word translation |
| Āvu, āvu baltas kājas, Lēcu dārziņāji. | I drew on, I drew on some white stockings; I leapt into the garden. | *shoe-1st.p.sg.pst. shoe-1st.p.sg.pst. **white-fem.acc.pl. foot-acc.pl. jump/leap-1st.p.sg.pst. garden-dim.loc.sg.-***(j)i |
| Lēcu, lēcu dārziņāji Plūcu baltas rozes. | I leapt into, I leapt into the garden And plucked there some white roses. | jump/leap-1st.p.sg.pst. jump/leap-1st.p.sg.pst. garden-dim.loc.sg.-(j)i pluck/pick-1st.p.sg.pst. white-fem.acc.pl. rose-acc.pl. |
| Plūcu, plūcu baltas rozes, Pinu vainadziņu. | I plucked, I plucked there some white roses, And made a wreath of them. | pluck/pick-1st.p.sg.pst. white-fem.acc.pl. rose-acc.pl. plait/braid-1st.p.sg.pst. wreath-dim.acc.sg. |
| Pinu, pinu vainadziņu, Liku galviņāji. | I made a wreath, I made a wreath And placed it on my head. | plait/braid-1st.p.sg.pst. plait/braid-1st.p.sg.pst. wreath-dim.acc.sg. put-1st.p.sg.pst. head-dim.loc.sg. |
| Liku, liku galviņā, Gāju jūrmalāji. | I placed it, I placed it on my head And went to the sea shore. | put-1st.p.sg.pst. put-1st.p.sg.pst. head-dim.loc.sg. go-1st.p.sg.pst. sea-shore-loc.sg.-(j)i |
| Sacēlāsi stipri vēji, Nopūš vainadziņu. | Strong winds began to blow, And blew the wreath from my head. | arose-3rd.p.pst-i strong-masc.nom.pl. wind-nom.pl. off-blow-3rd.p.pres. wreath-dim.acc.sg. |
| Nopūš, nopūš vainadziņu Jūras dzelmītēji. | They blew and blew the wreath Into the depths of the sea. | off-blow-3rd.p.pres. off-blow-3rd.p.pres. wreath-dim.acc.sg. sea-gen.sg. depth-dim.loc.sg.-(j)i |
| Ņem, brālīti, oša laivu, Brauc pēc vainadziņa! | O, brother, take an ash-wood boat And fetch my wreath for me. | take-2nd.p.sg.imp. brother-dim.voc.sg.-i ash(tree)-gen.sg. boat-acc.sg. go/travel-2nd.p.sg.imp. after/for wreath-dim.gen.sg. |
| Oša laiva smaga laiva — Nogrimst dibenāji. | The ash-wood boat is a heavy boat — It sinks right to the bottom. | ash(tree)-gen.sg. boat-nom.sg. heavy-fem.nom.sg. boat-nom.sg. sink-3rd.p.pres. bottom-loc.sg.-(j)i |
| Ņem, brālīti, liepas laivu, Brauc pēc vainadziņa! | O, brother take a †lime-wood boat And fetch my wreath for me. | take-2nd.p.sg.imp. brother-dim.voc.sg.-i lime/linden(tree)-gen.sg. boat-acc.sg. go/travel-2nd.p.sg.imp. after/for wreath-dim.gen.sg. |
| Liepas laiva viegla laiva —
Vējš pūš maliņāji. | The lime-wood boat is a very light boat — The wind blows it back to shore. | lime/linden(tree)-gen.sg. boat-nom.sg. light-fem.nom.sg. boat-nom.sg. wind-nom.sg. blow-3rd.p.pres. edge-dim.loc.sg.-(j)i |
| Ņem, brālīti, puķu laivu, Brauc pēc vainadziņa! | O, brother, take a flower boat, And fetch my wreath for me. | take-2nd.p.sg.imp. brother-dim.voc.sg.-i flower-gen.sg. boat-acc.sg. go/travel-2nd.p.sg.imp. after/for wreath-dim.gen.sg. |
| Puķu laiva laba laiva — Panāk vainadziņu. | The flower boat is a very good boat — He gets my wreath for me. | flower-gen.sg. boat-nom.sg. good-fem.nom.sg. boat-nom.sg. reach-3rd.p.pres. wreath-dim.acc.sg. |
† Lime-wood is wood from a linden tree.
* The Latvian verb aut is used for putting on footwear. In English the parallel verb to shoe has almost completely been relegated to putting horseshoes on horses, although the old past participle shod is still encountered occasionally.
** The Latvian phrase would more correctly be translated "I shod my feet in something white" (literally the sentence says: "I shod white feet"). However, since white shoes are not traditionaly Latvian footwear, and white (linen or wool) socks or stockings are, I have chosen to translate this as if she has put on some white stockings.
*** The syllable -i or -ji is added simply to fill out the metre of the verse; it has no meaning.
To see the explanation of the grammatical abbreviations used in the "word-for-word" translations, go to → Grammatical Abbreviations
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Last revised September 18, 2008