Turkish Words and Music

Kayahan's page

Pillow-talkin' at Marvin and Mabel's seaside Shrangri-La...

Do you like all kinds of Turkish music, Marvin?
I'd have to reply in the negative to that question, Mabel.
But I also don't like all American music.
Nor do I like all Panamanian, Icelandic, Pakistani, Danish, or
Egyptian music, either.
Golly, Marv. You give me goose-bumps...
Where'd you learn about such a wide variety of foreign fandangos?
Reader's Digest had a special CD promotion for Elvis's birthday this year, "Weird Songs from a Lotta Different Countries" -- just $24.99...
Iddin' tha' nice...
And as they explained in the promo booklet, you're not expected to like everything. For example, they say you need to be native-born-and-raised to have any hope of likin' the folk music of a country like Turkey.
D'ya think so?...
A friend of mine once described Turkish folk music as sounding like two cats havin' a fight in a wet canvas bag. Which I thought was kinda heavy.
But...
I am fond of everthin' from downunder in yer netherlands...
Huh?...
D'ya mean you like Australian music with a Dutch back-beat, Marv?
Umm... No, Mabel.
I was makin' a play on words...
and movin' on to a new subject.
Oh, Marvin. You are such a lech...
Well, it is Saturday night, ya' know, Mabel..
how could i forget...

After we got pooped answering
endless streams
of individual e-mail requests
about the meaning of Turkish song lyrics,
we 'retired from the game'.
But the requests have never stopped,
so we've been persuaded to prepare this new page --
which (Insallah) will help satisfy some of
the general interest in the subject.

Still...since song lyrics raise
the same formidable translation problems
that other poetry does,
we ask you to loosen
whatever tight fitting clothing you're wearing
before preceding further.
(And while you're up...
We'll have a Jack Daniels, if you please...)

Now...
let us proudly present ---
our first LPT award for musical excellence to...

Kayahan

Kayahan, who writes all of his own earthy material, is Turkey's perennially favorite male pop-music icon -- with more than 8 best-selling albums during a career spanning 30 years. The one-name star (still top of the Turkish pop-music charts after all these years) saw his marriage plans toppled last August by the tragic and devastating earthquake in Northwest Turkey.

Just a couple of months before that, his album Beni Azad Et (Set Me Free) hit the streets -- and began its customary rise to No. 1. And, that same day, he announced that he and ipek Tüter would be married. He'd been living with the perky 23-year-old vocalist ipek, for 5 years -- and they were all set to tie the knot apparently, when nature stepped in and broke all hell loose...

But Kayahan (who is 30 years older than his soul-mate) insisted it was just a postponement -- until the effects of the quake wore off. He said,
"I can't put my feet under the marriage table while my countrymen are still suffering."
(Civil marriage ceremonies in Turkey are performed while the couple is
seated and separated from the magistrate -- by a marriage ceremony table.)

Is it just us -- or did the title of his new album provide yet another (non-quakey) clue to the reason for his temporary cold feet? Well, this would be his third marriage, you know.
And what better excuse than an earthquake, to postpone it --
just to give a fella a little more time to think things over…

Still, he did come through finally --
and the happy couple completed there quake-delayed wedding vows in October '99...

Click following for a
December 2000 Update !!

Kayahan's smash-hit album,
Gönül Sayfam (My Heart Topic)
named after his baby daughter...

Drinking Songs *par excellence, from Kayahan*
Song Title: Yine Sise Bitecek Once more a bottle will be emptied...
Sampler (and comment)	Turkish Lyrics	English Translation (literal where possible, figurative where not...)
ipek Tüter (who was still a free spirit at the time this recording was made) joins Kayahan for this 'theme song for anyone who's ever been on a boozy romantic holiday'... -- From the album 'Beni Azad Et' (1999) Sampler, approximately one minute twenty seconds (150k)	Sohbetimiz ask üstüne Sanimiz var bu alemde Oturmussak bas köseye Sarhosuz sanma Ayyassiz sanma Bakip aldanma Bizi bos sanma Ama, yine sise bitecek Yine sabah olacak Yine gece olacak Yine sise dolacak Aaah, yine gece olacak Aaah, yine sise dolacak Çakmak çakmak gözlerimiz Tövbe etsekde içeriz Elbet var bir sebebimiz Repeat 2. and 3. Aaah, gece olmus Gündüz olmus Para yokmus kime ne Gece olmus gündüz olmus Ask yokmus kime ne Bizim yolumuz uzun Biz bu yolun yolcusuyuz Kimseye yok ziyanImIz Bu da bizim hayatImIz Biz mecnunuz biz leylayIz Sarhosuz sanma Ayyasiz sanma BakIp aldanma Berdusuz sanma Meyhanedir mektebimiz Cam bardaktan kadehimiz KIrIlIr sonra kalbimiz Bizim yolumuz uzun Biz son vapurun yolcusuyuz	We're having a pleasant conversation about love It's fitting If we sit in the seat of honor Don't think we are drunk Don't think we are drunkards Don't get the wrong impression Don't think we are empty-headed But, once more a bottle will be emptied Morning will come again (Later) night will return once more Again the bottle will be filled Ahhh, the night will come again Ahhh, the bottle will again be filled Our eyes are bloodshot Even when we vow to quit, we drink. Of course we have our reason... Repeat 2. and 3. Ahhh, the night has come and the daytime has come [time is passing] If we have no money, what does it matter... Night has come, daytime has come Even if there's no love, what does it matter... A more figurative translation of the above is offered by DS... Oh, don't talk to me about it turning night or that it turned day or that there's no money, who cares? Don't tell me that it turned night or day or that love doesn't exist, it doesn't matter! Our road is long we are travellers of this road We aren't harming anyone And this is our life We are crazily in love ("we are mecnun, we are leyla") [the star-crossed lovers of eastern literature were Majnun [Qays] and Leila [Layla, Leyli, Leili] -- who swooned 1000 years before Romeo and Juliet. In Turkish, they are 'mecnun' and 'leyla', shown in lower case because their names have become part of the Turkish vernacular. And when they appear together (as in this song), it denotes a love that verges on madness.] Don't think we're drunk Don't think we are drunkards Don't get the wrong impression Don't think we are vagabonds It's this bar, our school Our glass wine goblet Afterwards our heart(s) [may be] broken We have a long road We are travellers on the last boat
Song title: Yok Arkadas [Life's] nothing, my friend...
Sampler (and comment)	Turkish Lyrics	English Translation (literal where possible, figurative where not...)
A first-rate "let's get drunk and cry in our beer" song -- from the album 'Son SarkalarInIm' (1993) Sampler, approximately one minute (127k)	Yok arkadas Kahpe dünya VefasI yok CefasI çok Yok arkadas Kahpe dünya VefasI yok CefasI çok Yok arkadas çaresi yok Benim derdim asar beni Sen bana kendini anlat VefasIzlar çok arkadas Bu dünya bos, Bos arkadas Mahkumuz elimiz mahkum Sevmisiz ya biz Sevmisiz bastan kaybetmisiz be arkadas Hep garibim, hep IssIzIm Hep bir derdim var Sarhosum okyanuslarda Okyanus kadar. Repeat first two verses with line variations...	[Life's] nothing, my friend The world's a damned backstabbing place There's no such thing as faithfulness There's only a lot of suffering and pain [Life's] nothing, my friend It's a damned heartless world There's no loyalty Just pain and suffering [Life's] nothing, my friend and there's no remedy for it DS adds this language point -- which is unrelated to the song: "Yok" is often used to mean "No", too -- as well as the opposite of "var". (In many Turkic languages, "yoh" means "no", and that's what many rural Turks would say instead of "hayIr".) My troubles are overtaking me Explain to me, will you why there are so many unfaithful ones, my friend The world's an empty place, empty, my friend We're doomed We had love...sure We had love that was lost from the start, my friend I'm always alone, always lonely I've always got troubles I'm drunk -- as much as an ocean in the oceans Alternative for first three lines above from DS: My troubles are beyond what I can deal with. You, tell me about yourself. There are many faithless (or disloyal) ones ..... Repeat first two verses with line variations...

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Don't say we didn't warn ya'...

In its headline the following article asks,
"How many is this Kayahan?"
It then goes on to explain that the 23-year-old Ipek has left
the 54-year-old Kayahan and taken their three-month-old daughter, Gönül, with her.

Right click to 'View' or 'Zoom' image enlargement...

From our favorite 'Yellow Press' journal in Turkey...
Gözcü Gazetesi (Ankara -- December 21, 2000)

If you'd like a full translation of the short article above,
just drop us a line...

But in the blinking of an eye...
Kayayan struck back against the media.
And, appearing on the Hülya Avsar Show
(the same goodlookin' Hülya who'll sexily adorn
8 pages of the New York Times in early 2001),
he said it was all a pack of lies...
What about it folks? Is it a case of,
"Where there's smoke, there's fire" -- or not?

Right click to 'View' or 'Zoom' image enlargement...

If you'd like a full translation of the short article above,
just drop us a line...

Thanks to the great Kayahan Açar,
his sometime song-writing partner Tamer ÇIray,
his musicians Erdal KIZILÇAY (guitar), Edward ARIS (accordion), and Hakan iTiK (buzuki),
his (most recent) lady and vocalist, the former ipek Tüter --
and to RAKS Müzik YAPIM Sanayi Tic. A.S.
for the 'words and music' samples appearing on this page.

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