Nuku Nuku - Ancient Finnish Lullaby

Nuku Nuku Nurmilintu is an Ancient Finnish Lullaby.

This is the lullaby I sang to my daughter when she went to sleep and my grandmother used to sing it to me.

I recorded this video last Christmas as a gift to my daughter. I wanted her to have something that would connect her to the generations of strong Finnish women that came before us.

I later realized that we started the recording at the exact moment of the Winter Solstice on December 21, when darkness shifts toward light. My grandmother used to say that after the solstice the day is one rooster step longer… The word solstice comes from latin and it means “Sun Stands Still”. When the first kantele (Finnish Folk Harp) was played for the first time, the sound was so beautiful that all living things started to cry and even the sun and the moon stood still to listen to this beautiful music.

This is my first recording after many years of silence and maybe , just as the darkness shifts toward light, for me, too, this is a new beginning.

[roykosonen]

My sister died yesterday from ovarian cancer. She was 60 years old. I remember when she was born - I was 4 years and 8 months old. I remember riding in our car with my parents as we brought her home from the hospital, wrapped in a pink blanket. I loved her with all my heart and was very protective of her. I remember my mother singing lullabies to her while rocking her to sleep. Who will rock my little sister to sleep now? I will, with this beautiful lullaby of our Finnish Ancestors. Sleep now peacefully with our Ancestors, my dear sweet little sister. Nuku nuku rauhallisesti...

[gerbilios]

In Finnish folklore, songs hold power beyond the material. The power of song is how magic is wielded in the national epic.

[Tritium]

Nuku, nuku nurmilintu,
Väsy, väsy, västäräkki
Nuku nurmelle hyvälle
Vaivu maalle valkialle.
Lintu tuopi liinahapaijan
Haapana hyvän hamehen
Kaskeloinen korvatyynyn
Pääskynen peäalusen
Nuku, nuku nurmilintu
Väsy, väsy, västäräkki
Nuku nurmelle hyvälle
Vaivu maalle valkialle.

[morganamorrigan]

It's not surprise that Tolkien adored this language, which helped him to shape his elvish languages. Finnish is magical!! ✨

[robertlozyniak]

It sounds like it's supposed to be some kind of magic spell or something. Maybe for Finnish children it is.

[FinnoUgric]

As a Hungarian, it always fascinated me that we share similar linguistic structure and elements of folklore. That was the spark of my journey to the land of ethnography.
It is a pleasure to listen to something ancient and pure like this.
Greetings goes out from a Hungarian.
Hail FinnoUgric Nations and Tribes.

[viktoriakocsis]

I do not know a word in finnish, but as I listened to this I started to cry. It was so beautiful. Thanks for sharing this with us! Love from Hungary.

[FrancescoZara]

Tämä on Kantele! Kantele on suomalainen soitin! Beautiful!

[Emma_Boney]

This puts my little sister in a trance. She understands Finnish so it's comforting to her

[yunqinzhang]

It's so beautiful! I found Finnish music is so brilliant, and I am totally into it. I can't even find a word to describe it. The only word I can think of is a phase in Chinese called 天籁之音, which means the voice from the heaven. I always want to visit Finland. The music attracts me so much.

[MerjaSoriaFinnishFolkMusician]

News: I have been invited to share my songs and stories as the Finnish Tradition Bearer at the Harvard University's Sanders Theatre, December 14 - 29. If you are in the area, please join me to celebrate the Nordic Christmas Revels. Tickets are available at the Harvard Box Office.

[motoGPxSleeptoken]

For the non-Finnish speakers who wanna know what it means, I'm putting the finnish lyrics and english translation below:

(Finnish)
Nuku, nuku nurmilintu,
Väsy, väsy, västäräkki.
Nuku nurmelle hyvälle,
Vaivu maalle valkialle.

Lintu tuopi liinahapaijan,
Haapana hyvän hamehen.
Kaskeloinen korvatyynyn,
Pääskynen peäalusen.

Nuku, nuku nurmilintu,
Väsy, väsy, västäräkki.
Nuku nurmelle hyvälle,
Vaivu maalle valkialle.

(English)
Sleep, sleep, little grassland bird*,
A tired, so tired, white wagtail.
Sleep well in the grass,
Lay down on the good earth.

The birds will bring you a linen shirt,
A wigeon will bring you a nice skirt.
A koskelo will bring you a little pillow,
The swallows will make for you a cushion.

Sleep, sleep, little grassland bird,
A tired, so tired, white wagtail.
Sleep well in the grass,
Lay down on the good earth.

Also,
Nurmilintu, is a grassland bird, it is also a term of endearment for a little child. So it could be interpreted as "Sleep, sleep (my) little child".
Västäräkki, is a White Wagtail
Haapana, is an Eurasian Wigeon
Kaskeloinen (kostelo), is a regional diving duck.
Pääskynen, are swallows

[jannatuominen]

There's so many comments that say this sounds magical and mystical. You might think the impression arises from not knowing the language or a sense of exoticism. However, I am Finnish and I experience this lullaby exactly like that. There's something inexplicably mysterious about this song to me.

[snoopdoggo]

As a finnish citizen, I can say that seeing all the appreciation our little country gets in these comments is wonderful. That song is actually something that i remember hearing first when i was in a kindergarten. Sadly i can't visit there any longer since it was torn down to make space for more housing :(

[HomelessMathTeacher]

A minor key and an unfamiliar instrument. I love both og these. And the voice is the most beautiful.

[jannepeltonen]

I'm 40. I listen to this, and I'm 6 again. Safely tucked under my blanket, little brother in the bed next to mine, baby sister in her cradle, winter winds howling outside. Mom and dad singing this, dad playing the chords with his guitar. Kiitos. Hyvää yötä, kauniita unia. Nukkukaa hyvin.

[cyndy]

this is a magic song to make you fall asleep. according to the legend no one has ever heard it's ending because everyone who listened to it falls asleep without reaching its end.





well, true enough for ME.
this is my lullaby..

[anu]

I know the lullaby, but I know it with other lyrics.
Here is the lyrics that I used to sing to my brother and how my parents sang to me when I was a child.
Tuu tuu tupakkarulla
mistäs tiesit tänne tulla?
Tulin pitkin turun tietä,
hämäläisten härkätietä.

Mistäs tunsit meidän portin?
Siitä tunsin uuden portin:
haka alla, pyörä päällä
karhun talja portin päällä

Uni kysyi uunin päältä,
unen poika porstuasta:
Onko lasta kätkyeessä,
pientä peitteiden sisässä?

Tuoppa unta tuokkosessa,
kanna vaski vakkasessa,
sillä silmät sivele, näkymiset näppäele.

Nuku nuku nurmilintu,
väsy väsy västäräkki,
nuku kun minä nukutan,
väsy kun minä väsytän.

[RLSaari]

Itkevä sielu. To make ones soul cry this is beautiful... Keep the Finnish tradition alive.

[raapyna]

Olen Grönlannissa kesätöissä, ainoana suomalaisena pienessä kylässä. Kun meille tuli wifi, ja pääsin vihdoin youtubeen, oli kiva törmätä tähän lauluun. Alkaa jo olla koti-ikävä.