Thursday, December 30, 2010

Sordum Sari Cicege by Yunus Emre Turkish to English Translation

 The yellow flower is Yunus' muse and teaches him important lessons about life and death.










***
There are several covers of this song. Here are a couple:
by Burhan Cacan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aj8D0iH_JD8&list=PL5925D18BB33FA0A5&index=12&playnext=22
by a symphonic orchestra http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKzxEA4zcao&list=PL5925D18BB33FA0A5&index=13&playnext=23
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SORDUM SARI ÇİÇEĞE -by Yunus EMRE.

Sordum sarı çiçeğe
Annen baban var mıdır?
Çiçek der derviş baba,
Annen babam topraktır.
Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
Allah lâ ilahe illallah.



......................................Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
......................................Evlat kardeş var mıdır?
......................................Çiçek der derviş baba,
......................................Evlat kardeş yapraktır.
......................................Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
......................................Allah lâ ilahe illallah.

Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
Niçin boynun eğridir?
Çiçek der derviş baba,
Özüm Hakkâ doğrudur.
Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
Allah lâ ilahe illallah.

......................................Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
......................................Niçin benzin sarıdır?
......................................Çiçek der derviş baba,
......................................Ölüm bize yakındır.
......................................Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
......................................Allah lâ ilahe illallah.

Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
Size ölüm var mıdır?
Çiçek der derviş baba,
Ölümsüz yer var mıdır?
Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
Allah lâ ilahe illallah.

......................................Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
......................................Sen kimin ümmetisin?
......................................Çiçek der derviş baba,
......................................Muhammed ümmetiyim.
......................................Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
......................................Allah lâ ilahe illallah.

Sordum sarı çiçeğe,
Sen beni bilir misin?
Çiçek der derviş baba,
Sen YUNUS değil misin?
Hak lâ ilahe illallah.
Allah lâ ilahe illallah.

......................................(O'na,
......................................hep ona,
......................................hep o gözlerime yağan yağmur'a...)
***
Translations by me and a little bit of copying from the following websites:
http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=11946.5;wap2
http://www.latifbolat.com/gul.php (Latif Bolat came to IUB to perform btw)

I asked the yellow flower:
Do you have a mother and a father?
She replied: Father Dervish,
My mother and father is the Earth (soil).
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

I asked the yellow flower:
Do you have children or siblings?
She replied: Father Dervish,
My children and siblings are leaves.
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

I asked the yellow flower:
Why is your neck bowed?
She replied: Father Dervish,
My essence directs to the Truth (God)
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

I asked the yellow flower:
Why is your wan face yellow?
She replied: Father Dervish,
Death is close to us.
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

I asked the yellow flower:
Does death await you too?
She replied: Father Dervish,
Is anything immortal?
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

I asked the yellow flower:
Whose community is yours?
She replied: Father Dervish,
My community is that of Muhammad.**
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

I asked the yellow flower:
Do you know who I am?
She replied: Father Dervish,
Aren't you Yunus?
Truth is there is no deity but The One God.
Allah, there is no deity but The One God.

To It
always to it
always to the rain that pours unto my eyes...
***
Yunus Emre (1240?–1321?) was a Turkish poet and Sufi mystic. He has exercised immense influence on Turkish literature, from his own day until the present. Because Yunus Emre is, after Ahmet Yesevi and Sultan Veled, one of the first known Turkish poets to have composed works in the spoken Turkish of his own age and region rather than in Persian or Arabic, his diction remains very close to the popular speech of his contemporaries in Central and Western Anatolia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunus_Emre
***
for a reflection on what it means for the flower to be of the community of Muhammad: http://pan-cck.blogspot.com/2013/02/community-of-muhammad-muhammed-ummeti.html
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Please comment on quality of translation/accurateness of English (if you're a native(-like) speaker). Thanks!
Turkish to English translation - Turkce Ingilizce ceviri tercume
***
Photo of Mevlevi (a branch of Sufis) dervishes whirling in meditation from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/42624330@N03/4402281638/sizes/m/in/photostream/

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