Muhlis Akarsu ‘Gurbeti ben mi yarattım’

25 Friday Mar 2011

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Arif Sağ, gurbet, koşma, mahlas, Muhabbet, Muhlis Akarsu, Musa Eroğlu, semai

Galata Bridge, Istanbul, 1999

When Arif Sağ re-emerged as a recording artist in the early 1980s having given away his arabesk career in the mid-1970s and worked as a teacher at the İstanbul Devlet Türk Müziği Konservatuarı, he released a cassette album called Gurbeti ben mi yarattım. The title song was from the Kangal aşık Muhlis Akarsu. Sağ’s recording is intimate and almost reticent – very striking in a restrained way. Oddly the cover of the cassette that I obtained in Urfa in 1987 (which I believe is the original 1981 release) has a photograph of Sağ (see photo below) that harks back to his arabesk days, dressed in yellow zip up blazer, slicked down hair and pencil moustache – totally belying the intimate sound of voice and bağlama on the recording. This would be the recording that began Sağ’s stylistic hegemony over the performance of Alevi music in the 1980s and 1990s. The iconography was yet to catch up.

sag_gurbeti_ben

Sağ recorded the deyiş again for the second of the Muhabbet series of recordings two or three years later. Muhabbet 2 is arguably the finest of the series in terms of its thematic strength which centres around the concept of gurbet – absence from one’s native place or home. Gurbeti ben mi yarattım is the final song on that recording although only three of the four verses are sung (the second is ommited) with Sağ, Musa Eroğlu and Muhlis Akarsu taking turns on the verses – a quite unusual approach for the Muhabbet series. Akarsu of course recorded the song but sadly, although a number of his recordings have been issued on CD, that one has not. However a recording of Akarsu performing it live is available on YouTube.

Gurbet is obviously the theme of the deyiş and this is deepened to almost ‘starkly bleak’ – thanks Tom Rapp! – realms with the addition of the theme of yokluk – which refers to absence, even to the degree of non-existance (it also has a meaning of poverty). I don’t think I’ve captured the full sense of yokluk so that will require working on. Another word to mention is sıla in the mahlas line which I have rendered as ‘returning’ but it really means return to family, friends and one’s native place – the opposite really of gurbet. A good translation here for imkân also rather eludes me. Having tried ‘possibilities’ it sounded too lumpen and ‘practicalities’ would be even worse. For the moment ‘chances’ it is. The deyiş is in the short koşma form (semai) with only 8 syllables per line which gives it a simple directness; but it is constructed with typical economy and finesse.

Muhlis Akarsu: Gurbeti ben mi yarattım

Translation: Paul Koerbin

Destitution has compelled me

Was it I who created the exile?

It came and took my youth

Was it I who created the exile?

I received neither letter nor news

Parted from my country and home

I felt the loss of all that was mine

Was it I who created the exile?

Evening comes and the shadow settles

Winds blow against my hope

Absence constrains my chances

Was it I who created the exile?

Akarsu, don’t think about returning

Don’t believe this isolation has passed

How I fell upon helplessness

Was it I who created the exile?

————————————————————————————

Turkish text from Muhlis Akarsu: yaşamı, sanatı, şiirleri ve dünya görüşü by Süleyman Zaman, 2006.

Yokluk beni mecbur etti

Gurbeti ben mi yarattım

Gençliğimi aldı gitti

Gurbeti ben mi yarattım

Ne mektup ne haber aldım

Yurdumdan yuvamdan oldum

Her şeyime hasret kaldım

Gurbeti ben mi yarattım

Akşam olur gölge basar

Umuduma yeller eser

Yokluk imkânımı keser

Gurbeti ben mi yarattım

Akarsu sılayı anma

Bu ayrılık geçti sanma

Çaresizdim geldim amma

Gurbeti ben mi yarattım

Aşık Veysel ‘Beni hor görme kardaşım’

29 Monday Nov 2010

Posted by koerbin in Translations

≈ 3 Comments

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Arif Sağ, Aşık Veysel, mahlas, Muhlis Akarsu

Aşık Veysel Şatıroğlu (1894-1973) was born in Sivrialan near Şarkışla in the Sivas region, was and is the most renowned and generally loved of all 20th century Turkish aşık-s. His identity is strongly associated with Republican Turkey and indeed there is a statue of him in pride of place near the entrance of Gülhane park in Istanbul. His songs have a strong philosophical and humanistic character and he tended to avoid a strong (and hence political) expression of his Alevi identity, although of course it is evident in his songs. The finest recordings available are the field recordings made by Alain Gheerbrant in 1957 in which Veysel played more naturally to his Alevi identity. Gheerbrant, out of consideration for Veysel did not publish the recordings until after the aşık’s death. They are available on the Radio France Ocora double ablbum published in 1985 (558634/35) from which the photograph here is taken.

Muhlis Akarsu recorded Beni hor görme on his recording titled “… gönül” although, interestingly, with Veysel’s mahlas replaced by the word “insan” (human) and the order of verses changed with the mahlas verse sung as the second of three verses. Arif Sağ also recorded a similar version on his 1981 recording Gürbeti ben mi yarattım with the mahlas verse back in place but, like Akarsu, with “insan” replacing Veysel’s mahlas. Sağ over a decade later produced what remains Nuray Hafiftaş’s finest recording, Şimdi oldu, which also includes the song, but with the Veysel’s mahlas restored.

Translation challenges include getting a workable reading of the form of the refrain line with it’s half question and answer. It implies a conditional sentence although it does not use that construction. One writer, the wonderfully named Azeri scholar Sednik Paşeyevi Pirsultanlı, does in fact read the line in this way, e.g. “sen yolcuysan ben baç mıyım?”. I have tried a slightly different more direct approach. The second line in the penultimate verse also provides a challenge to convey in a line a satisfactory sense of the original. It refers to the concept of the true spirit or soul of person not being able to ascend to a higher level until the carnal and worldly desires and self (nefs) are done away with.

Aşık Veysel: Beni hor görme

Translation: Paul Koerbin

Don’t look down on me, my brother

You are gold – so am I then bronze?

We are of the same existence

You are silver – so am I then thin metal?

Whatever exists is in you and in me

The same existence in every body

That tomorrow is headed for the grave

You are full – so am I then empty?

Some are mullahs, some dervish

God, it seems, gave to us whatever

Some might talk of the bee and the flower

You are honey – so am I than a heap of grain?

All of our bodies come from the earth

Kill off the carnal self before the dying

So the creator seems to have commanded

You are the pen – so am I then the nib?

Veysel is disposed to be a lover

We are brothers made out of the earth

We are the same as fellow travellers

You are the traveller – so am I then the toll?

—————————————————————————————

Original text from recording by Aşık Veysel on the CD Aşık Veysel Klasikleri

Ben hor görme kardeşim

Sen altınsın ben tunç muyum

Aynı vardan var olmuşuz

Sen gümüşsün ben saç mıyım

Ne var ise sende bende

Aynı varlık her bendende

Yarın mezara girende

Sen toksun da ben aç mıyım

Kimi molla kimi derviş

Allah bize neler vermiş

Kimi arı çiçek dermiş

Sen balsın da ben cec miyim

Topraktandır cümle beden

Nefsini öldür ölmeden

Böyle emretmiş yaradan

Sen kalemsin ben uç muyum

Tabiata Veysel âşık

Topraktan olduk kardaşık

Aynı yolcuyuz yoldaşık

Sen yolcusun ben bac mıyım

Pir Sultan Abdal ‘Bülbül olsam varsam gelsem’ (Allah Allah desem gelsem)

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Posted by koerbin in Translations

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Gölpınarlı, Kul Himmet, mahlas, Muhlis Akarsu, Nelly Furtado, Pertev Naili Boratav, Ruhi Su, Translation

Cennet Mağarası near Narlıkuyu

This song is also known as Allah Allah desem gelsen. My translation is based on the text collected from Ali İzzet Özkan by Pertev Naili Boratav and included in Boratav and Gölpınarlı’s 1943 book on Pir Sultan Abdal. It rather stands out awkwardly as a Pir Sultan piece being in the form of a conversation (söyleşi) on the theme of transformations – folk theme common throughout European folkore (The Two Magicians being the most well known English version). However it does bring in some suggestions of mystical themes, which might be why Ali İzzet attributed it Pir Sultan. We know from İlhan Başgöz that Ali İzzet was readily prepared to attribute deyiş to Pir Sultan if he thought them appropriate. Halil Atılgan in his book Türkülerin İsyanı observes that it was also collected in the eastern Anatolian Iğdır region where the version is attributed to Kul Himmet Üstadım which is also surprising as Kul Himmet Üstadım is generally associated with the Sivas-Divriği region. The attributions at the very least suggest it is a lyric favoured among Alevis. Also, İbrahim Aslanoğlu in his book on Kul Himmet Üstadım (1976) does not include this text. As can be noted from Atılgan’s book, the TRT ‘official’ repertoire version does not include a şah beyit (mahlas) at all and manifests as a somewhat less interesting and simple türkü.

The recorded versions of this song by Muhlis Akarsu and Ruhi Su (who recorded the song in 1971 on his first LP Seferberlik Türküleri) change the opening line from Bülbül olsam varsam gelsen to Allah Allah desem gelsem, which does fit a little more logically with the following line Hakkın divânına dursam to present an opening reading “If I come and repeat Allah Allah/If I stand in the presence of God”. I have given the Turkish text and based my translation, however, on the version as presented in Boratav and Gölpınarlı although it retains is some confusing regionalisms, such as alma for elma, şahan for şahin, yanıl for yanal and çövmem for çöven. The final verses present the most problems however. The line Ben bir Azrail olsam (If I am the Angel of Death) seems corrupt, certainly for a Pir Sultan Abdal lyric! This song is an 8 syllable koşma yet this line only contains 7 syllables. This can be fudged, as Ruhi Su does, by inserting a spurious syllable – not uncommon practice – to make Azrail, Azırail. Muhlis Akarsu’s solution seems more satisfying. Akarsu sings Ben bir can alıcı olsam (If I am a receiver of souls). The second last line containing the mahlas is also problematic. The printed version has bulsa (if he/she finds) which doesn’t make a lot of sense in the context; and other sources, including the recorded versions have bulsan (if you find) which is more consistent and logical. It does put the mahlas into the position of an object rather than the subject, which does happen, but is somewhat uncommon. In this reading the accusative ending (-ı) is lacking, however that is a very common practice in folk lyrics. The use of the form üstadın (your master) in this line suggests this is not part of the mahlas and this form is certainly not associated with Pir Sultan; however it does suggest why the attribution mentioned above may have been made to Kul Himmet Üstadım.

Finally, I should mention the controversy over the use of Muhlis Akarsu’s recording by Nelly Furtado on her song Wait for You. On one level it would be nice to think the likes of Ms Furtado or the song’s producer DJ Timbaland have the curiosity, interest and good taste to investigate the work of master Alevi aşık-s and musicians like Akarsu. It is rather unfortunate however that it appears that such interest does not extend to the good grace and good intent of acknowledging such sources, traditions and artists. It would seem to be a position of arrogance to think that Muhlis Akarsu is just some ‘obscure’ musician and that no one would notice or care about such self-serving use. Besides the generally shabby approach of pop music muscle and identities, the real issue, if I understand correctly, would be the actual sample they used from Muhlis Akarsu’s recording Ya Dost Ya Dost, a selection of recordings issued by Kalan Müzik in 1994 (see the English language report from the Turkish online newspaper Today’s Zaman – only available now since the paper was shut down in July 2016 thanks to the Internet Archive). I believe the original recording of the song was on Akarsu’s album Kalk Gidelim Deli Gönül though I don’t know the date of its release, but judging by the sound I would say some time in the late 1980s, possibly 1987. Ruhi Su recorded the song earlier (1971) with much the same musical phrase; and the song is, or course, essentially traditional and in the public domain.

Pir Sultan Abdal: Bülbül olsam varsam gelsem

Translation: Paul Koerbin

If I am a nightingale if I approach and come

If I stand in the presence of God

If I am a rosy red apple

If I sprout on your branch, what do you say?

If you are a rosy red apple

If you come to sprout on my branch

If I am a silver clad crook staff

If I draw and strike a blow, what do you say?

If you are a sliver clad crook staff

If you come to draw and strike a blow

If I am a handful of maize

If I am scattered on the ground, what do you say?

If you are a handful of maize

If you come to be scattered on the ground

If I am a beautiful grey partridge

If I gather up bit after bit, what do you say?

If you are a beautiful grey partridge

If you come to gather up bit after bit

If I am a young falcon bird

If I seize and steal you off, what do you say?

If you are a young falcon bird

If you come to seize and steal me off

If I am a shower of sleet

If I break your wing, what do you say?

If you are a shower of sleet

If you come to break my wing

If I am a wild nor’easter wind

If I spurn and disperse, what do you say?

If you are a wild nor’easter wind

If you come to spurn and disperse

If I have a great sickness

If I lie down in your way, what do you say?

If you have a great sickness

If you come to lie down in my way

If I am the Angel of Death

If I take your soul, what do you say?

If you are the Angel of Death

If you come to take my soul

If I am a subject destined for heaven

If I enter into heaven, what do you say?

If you are a subject destined for heaven

If you come to enter into heaven

If you find your master Pir Sultan

If we enter in company together, what do you say?

———————————————————————————————————–

Original text from Pir Sultan Abdal by Gölpınarlı and Boratav (1943)

Bülbül olsam varsam gelsem

Hakkın divânına dursam

Ben bir yanıl alma olsam

Dalında bitsem ne dersin

Sen bir yanıl alma olsan

Dalımda bitmeye gelsen

Ben bir gümüş çövmen olsam

Çeksem indirsem ne dersin

Sen bir gümüş çövmen olsan

Çekip indirmeye gelsen

Ben bir avuç darı olsam

Yere saçılsam ne dersin

Sen bir avuç darı olsan

Yere saçılmaya gelsen

Ben bir güzel keklik olsam

Bir bir toplasam ne dersin

Sen bir güzel keklik olsan

Bir bir toplamaya gelsin

Ben bir yavru şahan olsam

Kapsam kaldırsam ne dersin

Sen bir yavru şahan olsan

Kapıp kaldırmaya gelsen

Ben bir sulu sepken olsam

Kanadın kırsam ne dersin

Sen bir sulu sepken olsan

Kanadım kırmaya gelsen

Ben bir deli poyraz olsam

Tepsem dağıtsam ne dersin

Sen bir deli poyraz olsan

Tepip dağıtmaya gelsen

Ben bir ulu hasta olsam

Yoluna yatsam ne dersin

Sen bir ulu hasta olsan

Yoluma yatmaya gelsen

Ben bir Azrâil olsam

Canını alsam ne dersin

Sen bir Azrâil olsan

Canımı almaya gelsen

Ben bir cennetlik kul olsam

Cennete girsem ne dersin

Sen bir cennetlik kul olsan

Cennete girmeye gelsen

Pir Sultan üstadın bulsa(n)

Bilece girsek ne dersin

Muhlis Akarsu ‘Demokrasi nerde ise ordayız’

07 Tuesday Jul 2009

Posted by koerbin in Translations

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Arif Sağ, deyiş, Muhlis Akarsu, Translation

akarsu Muhlis Akarsu was prolific in his composition and recordings (in the pre-CD days) and fortunately many have been subsequently released on CD. The more I listen too these recordings, both solo and as part of the Muhabbet series, the more his brilliance is evident. This deyiş is from his last recording prepared shortly before he was killed in Sivas on 2 July 1993. The album was released after the Sivas events with the title Sivas Ellerinda Ömrüm Çalınır which includes the recording of that re-written version of the Pir Sultan Abdal deyiş performed by Arif Sağ (see my previous post). Akarsu’s voice is extraordinarily rich – singing in the deep baritone he favoured from the time of the Muhabbet recordings in the early 1980s – and the songs very strong, mostly his own compositions, including the deyiş that became, after his death, so poignant Yine gönlüm hoş değil (Again my heart is not happy). Akarsu also performs the Turna semahı and Pir Sultan’s Bir güzelin aşığım. Interestingly, Arif Sağ begins his 1993 recording called Direniş (‘Resistance’, recorded only a few days before the Sivas massacre and still only ever released on cassette) with this deyiş although he credits the source as Davut Sulari while the music is credited to Akarsu on his recording.

The deyiş translated here however is an unabiguous statement, straightforward, direct. The main complexity in the translation is what to do with the word Hak. It means God, especially in the context used in the song and evokes the Alevi concept of enel-hak (I am God) often considered as an expression of the humanistic qualities of Alevi belief. However, while this translation must prevail, it does lose the other meaning of hak as ‘right’, ‘justice’ or ‘true’. Akarsu does help out however by making a slight change to the repeated last line on verses one and three. Here he uses hak in the sense of human rights, insan hakkı. I have taken the text from the book Muhlis Akarsu, hayatı, yaşamı, sanatı, şiirleri by Süleyman Zaman published by Can Yayınları in 2006. Besides the change to the repeated last line, the only other difference between the printed and sung version is in the 3rd line of verse two where Akarsu sings bilinmez (is not known) rather than görünmez (is not seen).

Demokrasi nerde ise ordayız (Presently democracy will be with us)

Translation: Paul Koerbin

Friends, what we believe is clear