Pium, Paum from Bone Porcelain by Mark Verdin
Pium, Paum. I encountered this tune in James P. Leary’s Folksongs of Another America: Field Recordings from the Upper Midwest, 1937-1946.
“An old traditional lullaby, the opening words of which onomatopoeically invoke a rocking cradle, this song acquired its second and third verses from Kustaa Killinen (1819-1922), a Finnish poet and educator (Hakala 2007: 135, 289-290). Shifting succinctly from cradle to grave, these verses were aptly identified in Sidney Robertson’s notes as ‘often sung at children’s and young people’s funerals.’”
Leary, James P. Folksongs of another America: field recordings from the upper midwest, 1937-1946. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2015, p. 59.
Tracklist
| 5. | Pium, Paum | 4:11 |
Lyrics
Pium, paum! Kehto heilahtaa,
Ja lapsi viatonna uinahtaa.
Pium, paum! Äiti laulahtaa,
Kun sydänkäpyänsä tuudittaa.
Pium, paum! Viulu vingahtaa,
Ja nuoret karkelohon kiiruhtaa.
Pium, paum! Onni häilyää
Se tuopi varjoa ja pimeää.
Pium, paum! Kerran kajahtaa,
Tuo kyimä kirkonkello ilmoittaa;
Pois, pois, henki vaeltaa,
Ja ruumis mullan alla kajan saa.
Pium, paum! The cradle rocks,
And the innocent child is sleeping.
Pium, paum! The mother sings,
While she rocks the little one-of-her-heart.
Pium, paum! The sound of the violin is heard,
And young folks hurry off to games.
Pium, paum! Fortune is fickle.
Life has its shadows and sunshine.
Pium, paum! Death soon,
For you will toll the cold church bells.
Away, away, your spirit will go.
Your body in the earth, a shelter find.
Credits
License
All rights reserved.
Mark Verdin plays thumb-forward, melody-driven, post-Takoma fingerstyle guitar, drawing inspiration from the vernacular musics of the British Isles, the American South, and beyond.