Amos
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uskudar'a gider iken
hi everyone,
i hope everyone is well and i wish those who are observing ramzan best wishes. i am writing to ask if anyone who speaks turkish or who has knowledge
of turkish songs to help me with a translation of the popular song 'uskudar'a gider iken'. here are the lyrics:
Üsküdar’a Gider İken Aldı Da Bir Yağmur,
Kâtibimin Setresi Uzun Eteği Çamur.
Kâtip Uykudan Uyanmış Gözleri Mahmur.
Kâtip Benim Ben Kâtibin El Ne Karışır,
Kâtibime Kolalı Da Gömlek Ne Güzel Yaraşır.
Üsküdar’a Gider İken Bir Mendil Buldum,
Mendilimin İçine De Lokum Doldurdum.
Kâtibimi Arar İken Yanımda Buldum.
Kâtip Benim Ben Kâtibin El Ne Karışır,
Kâtibime Kolalı Da Gömlek Ne Güzel Yaraşır.
thanks everyone, i love this song and i want to sing it with full knowledge of the meaning.
all the best,
amos
Our music is like an ocean...
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Amos
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Posts: 405
Registered: 3-26-2005
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no one knows this song?
Our music is like an ocean...
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adamgood
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I did a search on the EEFC listserve and came up with a couple posts, see below.
This one comes from Turgay Erturk of Boston, MA:
USKUDAR
U:skudara gider iken ald! da bir yag~mur
Katibimin setresi uzun eteg~i c;amur
Katip uykudan uyanm!s; go:zleri mahmur
Chorus
Katip benim ben katibin el ne kar!s;!r
Katibime kolal! da go:mlek ne gu:zel yaras;!r
U:sku:dara gider iken bir mendil buldum
Mendilimin ic;ine lokum doldurdum
Katibimi arar iken yan!mda buldum
Katip (clerk, secretary) is a government worker (bureaucrat). He dresses
well and is educated. Women like this.
U:sku:dar (Scottary) is a section of Istanbul on the Asian side. This is
where nursing began during the Crimean War (British and French assisted
Turks against Russia, 1854-56). ("The lady with lamp" started caring for
the war wounded.) In 1854 the Scotch Band of the British army played
this song in Istanbul for symphathy and good will. In 1950's Eartha Kitt
incorporated this song in a Broadway musical.
Now translation:
On the way to Uskudar, it started raining
My Katip's trousers are long, its cuffs got muddy
Katip just woke up, his eyes are groggy
Chorus
Katip belongs to me, I belong to Katip, what is it to others?
How hadsome my Katip looks with starched shirts
On the way to Uskudar, I found a handkerchief
I filled the handkerchief with Turkish delight (lokum)
As I was looking for my Katip, I found him next to me
Chorus
Pronounce a as in sun
! undotted i as in butter (second syllable)
e as in red
o: o umlaut as in fur
u: u umlaut as in German u:ber (ueber)
c: ch as in church
s; sh as in shoe
g~ This follows a vowel. Depending on the vowel, it either
elongates the vowel, or it is pronounced as y in English.
In yag~mur, elongate the first syllable.
In Katip also elongate the first syllable.
Turgay Erturk
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adamgood
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From Laura Blumenthal back in 1998:
The actual name of this song is "K=E2tibim [hat accent mark on the a, for=
those who can't see that]. I totally agree with the lyrics Joe Carson
posted, and here is some more information, which I got from a wonderful C=
D
I bought recently at a local CD store(!!). The CD is called "Masters of
Turkish Music, Volume II", and is put out by Rounder. There is a version=
sung by Safiye Ayla on this CD, and the entire text plus a line-by-line
translation is in the liner notes. Also, the CD provides the following
information:
"'K=E2tibim' (K=E2tip was an Ottoman bureaucratic title for a scribe) is =
a well
known urban t=FCrk=FC (folk song) from Istanbul. The clarinet and pizzic=
ato
violin accompanies the melody tastefully. Eartha Kitt probably based her=
"Uskudara " (1952) on this recording. Safiye Ayla was married to ud
virtuoso S,erif Muhiddin Targan."
Here is the translation, with my comments added:
On the way to Uskudar, rain came down, it really did.
The clerk I love wears a frock coat with its long skirt muddied.
I guess he is just up from sleep: his eyes are still languid.
That clerk is mine -- I am his -- that's no one else's business.
It looks so lovely on my clerk, that frock coat with trousers.
Going to Uskudar, I found a kerchief dropped by him.
And I filled my kerchief with Turkish delight to the brim ...
Looking for that clerk of mine, I found myself right by him.
That clerk is mine -- I am his -- that's no one else's business.
It looks so lovely on my clerk, that starched shirt of his.
[Uskudar, now a part of Istanbul, used to be a village/town across the
Bosphorus from Istanbul proper. The Greek name for Uskudar is Skoutari. =
The words "dropped by him" are not in the Turkish text. I've always
thought this song was satirical, but I'm not sure.]
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adamgood
Oud Junkie
Posts: 499
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Location: Brooklyn, NY
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btw, there's a documentary film available called "Whose is This Song" by Adela Peeva. Given our interests it's a really fun watch...read the blurb
below to entice you.
Whose Is This Song?
by Adela Peeva
color, 70 min, 2003
(50 min version also available)
"In her search for the true origins of a haunting melody, the filmmaker travels to Turkey, Greece, Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria.
The trip is filled with humor, suspense, tragedy and surprise as each country's citizens passionately claim the song to be their own and can even
furnish elaborate histories for its origins. The tune emerges again and again in different forms: as a love song, a religious hymn, a revolutionary
anthem, and even a military march. The powerful emotions and stubborn nationalism raised by one song seem at times comical and other times, eerily
telling. In a region besieged by ethnic hatred and war, what begins as a light-hearted investigation ends as a sociological and historical exploration
of the deep misunderstandings between the people of the Balkans."
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