Saturday, June 1, 2013

Song - Süsən Sünbül

Another xalq mahnısı. This is a tune that I haven't heard before but I am going to learn on the kamancha. Strangely I can't find a recording on the Internet. Too bad. Anyway, here are the words. I hope I will learn the tune soon...

As usual I start off thinking, "Oh, this doesn't look so difficult...", and then the simplest of sentences can have me scratching my head. For instance, "Ömrü başa yetirmişəm." Is the baş in this case referring to the head of the wheat, to the guy's head or to some metaphorical head? I have chosen to interpret it as the wheat. Please correct me if you know better. I am assuming that the song is essentially about a fellow who has prepared everything for his imminent wedding but whose lover has flown.

Süsən Sünbül


Süsən-sünbül bitirmişəm,
Mən yarımı itirmişəm,
Ömrü başa yetirmişəm.
Aman, Gülgəz, yarım hanı?

The wheat is high that I have grown,
But I have lost my love,
My life is over.
Oh, where is Gulgaz, my love?

O məh camalın, ağ üzdə xalın,
Öldürdü məni, nədir xəyalın?
Yar əlindən badə içdim,
Mətləbimə mən yetişdim.
Kəcavəsin bəzəmişdim,
Aman, Gülgəz, gülüm hanı?

Your face, so white, with its single beauty mark,
It has destroyed me, what are you hoping for?
Love, I have drunk wine from your hands,
I have brought all my desires to fruition.
I have adorned your palanquin,
But where are you, Gulgaz, my flower?

Mələkxanım Əyyubova sings it here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

başa yetirmək - to come an end of smth, to finish, to complete smth etc.
For example,
Mən işimi başa yetirmişəm - I completed (finished) my work.
In your sentence, it means "I've completed my life (time)."

But pay attention, boya-başa yetirmək - to bring up (a child)

Prof Coline said...

Thanks for the quick feedback!