Başbuğ'a Mektup

Letter to the Leader

Başbuğ'a Mektup

My leader, this epic is for you againBaşbuğum bu destan sanadır yine
It's still in the spirit of the causeÜlkücü tavırdan yanadır yine
Year ninety-seven, April fourthSene doksanyedi tarih dört nisan
For the cause, a harsh April from eleven monthsÜlkücüye onbir aydan sert nisan
You left, and inside us, it's a painful AprilSen gittin ya içimizde dert nisan
If you saw us that day, I don't know what you'd sayO gün bizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I'm sure you'd kiss us on the foreheadEminim ki alnımızdan öperdin

We lost you on a sunny dayGüneşli bir günde yitirdik seni
In the storm, we carried you through the snowFırtınada karda götürdük seni
We laid you in our heart's mansionGönül köşkümüze yatırdık seni
If you saw us that day, I don't know what you'd sayO gün bizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
If you could rise, you'd kiss us on the foreheadKalkabilsen alnımızdan öperdin

The earth and sky cried at your departureGidişine yerler gökler ağladı
Turan was left orphaned, dressed in blackTuran yetim kaldı kara bağladı
Chants and laments broke our heartsTekbirler ağıtlar yürek dağladı
If you saw us that day, I don't know what you'd sayO gün bizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You were our leader, you'd kiss us on the foreheadSen Başbuğ'dun alnımızdan öperdin

After you left, a council was formedSen gittin ardından divan kuruldu
The arena shook, arrows were drawnMeydan gümbürdedi oklar gerildi
A fight broke out, a decision was madeKavga döğüş bir karara varıldı
If you saw what happened, I don't know what you'd sayOlanları görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

Some flew away from the nestAyrılıp yuvadan uçanlar oldu
Some migrated from land to landDiyardan diyara göçenler oldu
Others raised the flag in another handBaşka elde bayrak açanlar oldu
If you saw what happened, I don't know what you'd sayOlanları görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

Your son Tuğrul formed a party and withdrewOğlun Tuğrul parti kurdu çekildi
President Azmi followed behindAzmi Başkan arkasına takıldı
Aldemir was put on the right pathAldemir'de doğru yola sokuldu
If you saw what happened, I don't know what you'd sayOlanları görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

We stayed, worked, and won the electionsBiz kaldık çalıştık seçim kazandık
We gained a shape without garlic or onionsSarımsak soğansız biçim kazandık
We survived on minimum wageAsgari ücretten geçim kazandık
If you saw the celebrations, I don't know what you'd sayŞölenleri görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

Ecevit, Bahçeli, and Yılmaz becameEcevit Bahçeli Yılmaz oldular
They decided to form a governmentHükümet kurmaya karar kıldılar
They wrote and drew, got to workYazdılar çizdiler işe daldılar
If you saw what happened, I don't know what you'd sayOlanları görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

There was a magnificent interest and attentionMuhteşem bir ilgi alâka oldu
Our door was filled with red plaquesKapımız kırmızı pilâka doldu
In one day, thousands of sycophants cameBir günde binlerce yalaka geldi
If you saw those who came, I don't know what you'd sayGelenleri görsen bilmem ne derdin
You'd probably laugh out loudHerhalde kahkahayla gülerdin

The last arrivals settled in the main seatSon gelenler baş köşeye yerleşti
All the circles became chains and unitedTüm halkalar zincir oldu birleşti
Things got complicated, it became hard to explainİş karıştı anlatmakta zorlaştı
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

The Marmara was taken by the earthquakeMarmarayı deprem aldı götürdü
Corruption finished the countryYolsuzluklar memleketi bitirdi
Anatolia lost its hopeAnadolu ümidini yitirdi
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

Scammers opened shops everywhereHortumcular dükkân açtı her yere
Honest ones were assigned to tough placesNamusluya tayin çıktı zor yere
We were surrounded, couldn't go anywhereKuşatıldık gidemiyoz bir yere
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

They got caught by the IMFİmf'ye kaptırdılar yakayı
The stock market doesn't like jokesBorsa dolar hiç sevmiyor şakayı
Captain Temel seized the boatTemel Reis haciz verdi takayı
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

The economy derailed and is goingEkonomi raydan çıktı gidiyor
Workers and farmers tightened their beltsİşçi köylü kemer sıktı gidiyor
The poor are fed up and leavingFukara canından bıktı gidiyor
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

We begged and cried, it didn't helpYalvardık yakardık fayda etmedi
Our cries didn't reach AnkaraFeryadımız Ankara'ya gitmedi
The headscarf issue in schools didn't endBaşörtüsü okul derdi bitmedi
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
You probably wouldn't believe it, you'd turn backHerhalde inanmaz geri giderdin

They sentenced a bloody killer to deathBir kanlı katile idam verdiler
They built a holiday village in Imralıİmralı'ya tatil köyü kurdular
They even shot the martyrsŞehitleri birde bunlar vurdular
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

A martyr's child grabbed my collarBir şehit çocuğu tuttu yakamı
He said: "Is this all a joke?"Abi dedi : Bu olanlar şaka mı ?
If you are like this, give my dad backSiz buysanız geri verin babamı
If you heard this cry, I don't know what you'd sayBu feryadı duysan bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

We became ashamed to go out on the streetUtançtan sokağa çıkamaz olduk
We couldn't look anyone in the faceKimsenin yüzüne bakamaz olduk
We couldn't wear the Bozkurt on our lapelYakamıza Bozkurt takamaz olduk
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

The epics I wrote broke my heartYazdığım destanlar kahretti bana
My bağlama cursed me from the wallBağlamam duvardan küfretti bana
The folk songs poisoned my lifeTürküler hayatı zehretti bana
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

Those coming from the nightclub held the headPavyondan gelenler başı tuttular
They looked at our state and enjoyed themselvesHalimize bakıp keyif çattılar
It's hard to say, but "they sold us out"Söylemesi zor amma ''bizi sattılar''
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

They put a post on my mustache tipsBıyık uçlarıma posta koydular
I resisted, they called me sickDirendim adımı hasta koydular
They gave flowers to the enemy and betrayed the friendDüşmana gül verip dosta kıydılar
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

Those who made a little noise were exiledAzıcık ses veren sürgün edildi
Those who ruled the heart were exiledGönülde taht kuran sürgün edildi
Nine Lights Turan was exiledDokuz Işık Turan sürgün edildi
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

Don't be surprised, Ozan Arif was ostracizedHiç şaşırma Ozan Arif dışlandı
Ahmet Yılmaz was flagged as a rebelAhmet Yılmaz asi diye fişlendi
Our hearts were pierced by a "friend's" handYüreğimiz dost (!) elinden şişlendi
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

We pinned medals on the traitorsİhanet edene madalya taktık
We looked from afar at the loyal onesSadâkât edene uzaktan baktık
If you were here, would it be like this?Sen olsaydın böyle mi olacaktık ?
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

After all these years, we are left emptyBunca yıldan sonra ortada kaldık
You flew away, and we diedSen uçmağa vardın bizlerse öldük
We were buried in Beştepe, epic by epicDestan destan Beştepe'ye gömüldük
If you saw our state, I don't know what you'd sayHalimizi görsen bilmem ne derdin
I swear you'd turn backVallahi billâhi geri giderdin

This epic, this folk song, my saz is for youBu destan , bu türkü , sazım sanadır
I loved only you, my verse is for youBir tek seni sevdim nazım sanadır
Hear me, my leader, my word is for youDuy beni Başbuğum sözüm sanadır

"I'M NOT ANGRY OR HOLDING A GRUDGE AGAINST MY CAUSE''ÜLKÜME DARILIP KÜSMÜYORUM BEN
I'M NOT AFRAID OF ANYONE, I'M NOT SILENTKİMSEDEN KORKUM YOK SUSMUYORUM BEN
I WON'T BE FOOLED BY THIS TREACHEROUS ORDERBU KAHPE DÜZENE KANMAYACAĞIM
EVEN IF I DIE, I WON'T TURN BACK FROM YOUR PATH..."ÖLSEMDE YOLUNDAN DÖNMEYECEĞİM...