Arzum Ağleyip Durma (Do Not Keep Weeping, Arzum)
Story
The song is addressed to a beloved by someone who, if they leave this place, asks not to be wept for and not to be mourned in black (“kareleri bağlamak,” a local form of “karaları bağlamak,” to put on black). The second verse calls on the poplars, praises a sweetheart “crumbling sugar,” and playfully curses the lips that would kiss her. The cries “of of yarim aman aman gülüm” (oh my love, oh my rose) accompany the lines. Repertükül classes the song’s theme as love and “gurbet” (life far from home). No traditional story behind the song was found in the sources.
About
It is a “kırık hava” (metered folk tune) from the İskilip district of Çorum, registered as TRT Repertoire No. 4406. The source singer is Dudu Gümüşten; it was collected by the Ankara State Conservatory and set to notation by Altan Demirel (TRT Music Department score sheet, Repertükül, notaarsivleri.com). The score sheet gives the collection date as 11 July 1939. According to Repertükül, it uses the gülizar scale (makamsal dizi) in 4/4 time. The title appears as “Arzum Ağleyip Durma” in Repertükül and notaarsivleri.com, which reproduce the TRT record, and as “Arzu’m Ağlayıp Durma” on Türkü Dostları.
In Iraftadır Bağlama, collected from Ahmet Tatar on the same day according to its TRT score sheet, someone leaving for distant lands likewise tells the beloved not to weep or put on black. For more on the district, see İskilip.
Lyrics
In short, a departing lover asks not to be mourned, then turns to teasing praise of the beloved and a mock curse on any rival’s kisses. (The Turkish opening lines are quoted on the Turkish page; line variants differ between sources.)