İşte Gidiyorum Çeşm-i Siyahım
Here I Go, My Dark-Eyed Beloved
çeşm-i siyah: dark-eyed, black-eyed (poetic, old)
İşte gidiyorum çeşm-i siyahım
Here I go, my dark-eyed beloved
işte: here, behold
gitmek: to go
çeşm-i siyah: dark-eyed (beloved), (poetic, old)
Önümüze dağlar sıralansa da
Even if mountains rise in rows before us
önümüze: before us
dağ: mountain
sıralanmak: to line up, to form rows
Sermayem derdimdir servetim ahım
My only capital is sorrow, my only wealth my sighs
sermaye: capital
dert: sorrow, trouble
servet: wealth
ah: sigh of pain, lament
Karardıkça bahtım karalansa da
Even as my fate grows darker and darker
kararmak: to darken
baht: fate, fortune
karalanmak: to be marked dark, to blacken
Haydi dolaşayım yüce dağlarda
Let me wander through the lofty mountains
haydi: come on, let me
dolaşmak: to wander, to roam
yüce: lofty, high
dağ: mountain
Dost beni bıraktı ah ile zarda
My beloved left me in sorrow and hardship
dost: beloved, friend (often spiritual beloved)
bırakmak: to leave
ah: sigh, lament
zar: hardship, difficulty (folk usage)
Ötmek istiyorum viran bağlarda
I long to sing in the ruined vineyards
ötmek: to sing, to call (bird metaphor)
viran: ruined, desolate
bağ: vineyard
Ayağıma cennet kiralansa da
Even if paradise itself were placed beneath my feet
ayak: foot
cennet: paradise
kiralamak: to rent, to assign (poetic usage)
Bağladım canımı Haydar zülfün teline
O Haydar — I bound my soul to the strand of your hair
canımı bağlamak: to bind one’s soul (spiritual devotion)
Haydar: a sacred epithet for Ali (Hz. Ali) in Alevi tradition; symbol of courage, justice, and divine guidance
zülf: hair, lock of hair
tel: strand
Sen beni bıraktın elin diline
You cast me into the mouths of outsiders and gossipers
elin dili: the gossip, judgment, and talk of outsiders
bırakmak: to leave, to abandon
Güldün Mahzuni’nin berbat haline
You laughed at Mahzuni in his broken state
Aşık Mahzuni: famed Alevi folk poet (1939–2002)
berbat: miserable, ruined
hal: state, condition
Mervan’ın elinde parelense de
Even though he was torn apart in the hands of Marwan
Mervan: Marwan (Umayyad caliph); symbol of tyranny and oppression in Alevi lore
parelenmek: to be torn into pieces
el: hand
