This türkü comes from Trabzon at the far eastern reaches of Turkey along the Black Sea. It was recorded very early by one of the first prominent Türkü singers of modern Turkey, Hasan Tunç from Maçka. In recent years, it has been repopularized especially by the late Laz singer Kazım Koyuncu, who recorded many songs in this dialect of Turkish as well as other languages of the Black Sea include Lazuri and Georgian. You will see that the song is not in standard Turkish, and thus I have provided a conversion of the lyrics to conform to standard Turkish spellings.
To comment on one line, at once point he says "take the hairs from my pocket." This because in Turkey, more so in the olden days, one might take a lock of his lover's hair and keep it as a memento.
Also note the last line of the türkü, which is sometimes omitted but probably shouldn't be. Apparently, his lover has died, marking a sad end to their love. If anyone knows the story behind the song I'd like to find out.
The video is from a Turkish television series and features Kazım Koyuncu accompanying singer Şevval Sam. Below you can find the original version by Hasan Tunç, as well as a live version by Kazım Koyuncu in addition to other versions. For a full discussion of variations and version click here.
To comment on one line, at once point he says "take the hairs from my pocket." This because in Turkey, more so in the olden days, one might take a lock of his lover's hair and keep it as a memento.
Also note the last line of the türkü, which is sometimes omitted but probably shouldn't be. Apparently, his lover has died, marking a sad end to their love. If anyone knows the story behind the song I'd like to find out.
The video is from a Turkish television series and features Kazım Koyuncu accompanying singer Şevval Sam. Below you can find the original version by Hasan Tunç, as well as a live version by Kazım Koyuncu in addition to other versions. For a full discussion of variations and version click here.
Ben Seni Sevduğumi
A Dm A
Ben seni sevduğumi da dunyalara bildurdum
I let everybody know that I love you
Gm Dm Bb A
Endurdun kaşlaruni babani mi eldurdum
Why are you frowning?
It's not like I killed your father
A Dm A
En dereye dereye da al dereden taşlari
Go down to the stream and bring stones
Gm Dm Bb A
Geçti bizden sevdaluk al cebumden saçlari
Love has passed us by, take the hairs out of my pocket
A Dm A
Kiz evunun onine da sereceğum kilimi
I will spread out the carpet in front of your house
Gm Dm Bb A
Oldi hayli zamanlar görmedum sevduğumi
So many times I didn't see that I loved you
A Dm A
Yaz geldi bahar geldi da açti yeşil yapraklari
Summer came, spring came, and green leaves opened
Gm Dm Bb A
Ben sana doyamadum doysun kara topraklar
I couldn't hear you, may the black earth hear you
Since this dialect does not conform to vowel sounds and vowel harmony of Standard Turkish, I have rendered the lyrics here as they would be otherwise spelled to aid in comprehension of the song. However, the reader should note that if performed with these vowel harmony corrections, the song would not rhyme properly or sound right:
Ben seni sevdiğimi dünyalara bildirdim
İndirdin kaşlarını babanı mı öldürdüm
İn dereye dereye da al dereden taşları
Geçti bizden sevdalık al cebimden saçları
Kız evinin önüne sereceğim kilimi
Oldu hayli zamanlar görmedim sevdiğimi
Yaz geldi bahar geldi da açtı yeşil yapraklar
Ben sana duyamadım duysun kara topraklar
Here is the old Hasan Tunç version for comparison
And here is the Kazım Koyuncu live version as promised
This is a performance of Ben Seni Sevduğumi by Azerbaijani singer Hatice Alizade
A weird rock version by Volkan Konak with a hilarious translation of the song into English. It is also funny to me that the video says featuring Evanescence, which I find highly unlikely since a native speaker of English would never sing the translation they made.
Performance by Zeynep Baskan
