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LT → Turkish, Romani → Aylin Demir → Delalım → English
  • Aylin Demir
    Aylin Demir – Delalım

    English translation

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English
Translation

My Dear Delal

Hit the road to Diyarbakır, oh boy, hit the road to Diyarbakır
I was naive and got caught in your net, oh boy, was naive and got caught in your net
All these love affairs are in vain, oh boy, in vain
O my dear Delal,1 my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear
 
All these love affairs are in vain, oh boy, in vain
O my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear
 
Look at Siverek's rivers, oh boy, Siverek's rivers
Look at my tears, oh boy, at my tears
All these love affairs are in vain, oh boy, in vain
O my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear
 
All these love affairs are in vain, oh boy, in vain
O my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear
 
Gazi's2 mansion [has beautiful] gardens, oh boy, gardens
My beloved plays saz3 sitting [in the garden]
That beloved's eyes and brows are tearing my heart4 out
O my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear
 
That beloved's eyes and brows are tearing my heart out
O my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear Delal, my dear
 
  • 1. Delal is a male name, but it could be used in its literal meaning -which isn't Turkish- here. In that case it could be translated as my sweetheart, my sweetheart
  • 2. Gazi, lit. veteran, is one of the titles used for Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye.
  • 3. Saz is a stringed instrument used in Turkish folk music.
  • 4. lit. my liver and/or lung, my internal organs, my chest; metaphorically my inside, my inner world, my soul
Turkish
Original lyrics

Delalım

Click to see the original lyrics (Turkish)

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Comments
RazqRazq
   Mon, 02/06/2025 - 23:22

Excellent translation as always. Love your footnotes.

1) What does "le" mean here: "oh boy"? Is it Turkish? Any chance that it may be Kurdish or even Romani?
2) Is delala the femenine form of delal (following Arabic rules)? Or maybe it's related to Kurdish grammar?
2) Any justification for delalamın (I mean the ending)? There might be a chance that it may not even follow Turkish grammar and be a combination of delala + min.

Yelda ŞahinYelda Şahin
   Wed, 04/06/2025 - 06:51

I don't have all answers. Here is what I know:
The people of Diyarbakır uses interjections "le" and "lo". I could translate them as "hey!", but English speakers use "Oh boy!" or just "boy!" as exclamation, without any consideration of the real meaning of the word and it is somewhat stronger than "hey".
With interjections it is very difficult to talk about origin language, think about English "hey!", we Turks also use interjection hey even though in a slightly different way. Interestingly English had interjection lo "used to call attention or to express wonder or surprise" and in contemporary English it lives in "Lo and behold" (apparently its older form was la), this impllies it is Indo-European and Kurdish is an Indo-European language.
le or lo is not Turkish. Genuine Turkish words can't start with an L, even though interjections doesn't follow general phonology. In the west of Türkiye, in Aegean part, where I belong, "len!" (or ülen) is used as an exclamation meaning "boy!", it is not rude but folk language and in other parts it is "lan!" (or ulan) which is rude.
Kurdish? Probably. Romani? No I don't think so (I don't understand why this nomadic people is called as Roman and their language as Romani, as they are clearly from India originally). BTW, Diyarbakır was actually a part of Roman Empire once.
Diyarbakır has been a very important settlement since ancient times. A fascinating number of civilizations have passed through there, from Hittites, Assyrians to Romans, to different Iranian and Arabic empires, all with different languages and cultures. It seems that throughout history, everyone wanted to own Diyarbakır. It's not hard to understand, considering how amazing Diyarbakır is.

Delal is an Arabic male name. It is not common in Türkiye, I've never met with someone named Delal. Apperantly it is used for both man and woman in Türkiye (considering it's meaning actually it seems appropriate). I don't think 'a' is a feminine suffix it could be vocative but I think it is the linking particle.
"it may not even follow Turkish grammar and be a combination of delala + min" . Yes, it doesn't follow Turkish grammar rules and I think you hit the nail on the head, it probably is delal a min, meaning "my dear" but obviously I wouldn't know as I don't know Kurdish.

RazqRazq
   Wed, 04/06/2025 - 15:20

Thanks for your detailed answer 🙏
I just mentioned Romani because the singer has another song about Romani people and I thought she may be Romani herself. But it appears that this song "Delalım" has already been performed by other artists and she is just performing a cover version.
Let's ask [@Aryan] if "delalâ min" here is a Kurdish expression or not. If so, what is the exact spelling? "delalê min" or "delalâ min"? It's better to write exactly what she pronounces.

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