Bayram Geldi Benim Yarim Kaçıyor (The Feast Has Come, and My Love Shies Away)
Story
The bozlak is sung in the voice of a young man whose time for military service is approaching: the holiday has come, his beloved avoids him, and his friends have come to exchange farewells and forgiveness (helalleşmek); he tells the neighbours that he is leaving. In the second verse he asks his beloved not to rush and overflow like a torrent, nor to swell up like green grass, and begs her not to take offence at what he has said. No traditional story behind the song was found in the sources.
About
It is an “uzun hava” (free-rhythm folk song) of the bozlak type from Çorum; Türkü Dostları states that it belongs to Alaca. It is registered as TRT Uzun Hava Repertoire No. 68, and the source singer is Cafer Kaya. The sources differ on the collector: Repertükül gives the TRT Music Department’s Turkish Folk Music Directorate, while Türkü Dostları writes that the song was collected by Cafer Kaya and reports that Notalarıyla Uzun Havalarımız (Our Uzun Havas with Their Notation, 1996), prepared by Mustafa Özgül, Salih Turhan and Kubilay Dökmetaş, also names Cafer Kaya as collector. According to Repertükül, it is in the hicaz scale (makamsal dizi). Türkü Dostları notes that the song also appears in Mehmet Özbek’s Folklor ve Türkülerimiz (Folklore and Our Folk Songs) and Levent Sezgin’s Çorum Halk Türküleri ve Oyun Havaları (Folk Songs and Dance Tunes of Çorum).
Cafer Kaya is also the source singer of Ne Elmadır Ne De Nar and Odayın Yapısına, featured on this site. Other bozlaks on the site: Gayrı Dayanamam Ben Bu Hasrete and Yüce Dağ Başına Kurdum Arılık.
Lyrics
In short, a young man setting off for his military service says goodbye to friends and neighbours on a feast day and asks his beloved to forgive any hurtful words. (The Turkish opening lines are quoted on the Turkish page; line variants differ between sources.)