Turkish Turkish language Turkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...  lyrics

English translation

Korkma, sönmez bu şafak larda yüzen al sancak; Sönmeden yurdumun üstünde tüten en son ocak. O benim milletimin yıldızıdır, parlayacak; O benimdir, o benim milletimindir ancak. Çatma, kurban olayım çehreni ey nazlı hilâl! Kahraman ırkıma bir gül! Ne bu şiddet bu celâl? Sana olmaz dökülen kanlarımız sonra helâl, Hakkıdır, Hakk'a tapan, milletimin istiklâl! Ben ezelden beridir hür yaşadım, hür yaşarım. Hangi çılgın bana zincir vuracakmış? Şaşarım! Kükremiş sel gibiyim, bendimi çiğner aşarım; Yırtarım dağları, enginlere sığmam, taşarım. Garbın âfakını sarmışsa çelik zırhlı duvar, Benim iman dolu göğsüm gibi serhaddim var. Ulusun, korkma! Nasıl böyle bir imanı boğar, "Medeniyet!" dediğin tek dişi kalmış canavar? Arkadaş! Yurduma alçakları uğratma sakın! Siper et gövdeni, dursun bu hayasızca akın. Doğacaktır sana vaadettiği günler Hakk'ın; Kim bilir? Belki yarın? Belki yarından da yakın! Bastığın yerleri "toprak" diyerek geçme, tanı! Düşün, altındaki binlerce kefensiz yatanı! Sen şehit oğlusun, incitme, yazıktır atanı; Verme, dünyaları alsan da bu cennet vatanı. Kim bu cennet vatanın uğruna olmaz ki fedâ? Şüheda fışkıracak toprağı sıksan, şühedâ! Canı, cananı, bütün varımı alsın da Hüdâ, Etmesin tek vatanımdan beni dünyada cüdâ. Rûhumun senden, ilâhi, şudur ancak emeli; Değmesin mabedimin göğsüne na-mahrem eli! Bu ezanlar ki şahadetleri dinin temeli, Ebedi yurdumun üstünde benim inlemeli. O zaman vecd ile bin secde eder varsa taşım; Her cerihamdan, ilâhi, boşanıp kanlı yaşım, Fışkırır rûh-i mücerret gibi yerden nâşım; O zaman yükselerek arşa değer belki başım! Dalgalan sen de şafaklar gibi ey şanlı hilâl; Olsun artık dökülen kanlarımın hepsi helâl! Ebediyyen sana yok, ırkıma yok izmihlâl. Hakkıdır, hür yaşamış bayrağımın hürriyet; Hakkıdır, Hakk'a tapan milletimin istiklâl!

Fear not! For the crimson flag that proudly ripples in this glorious twilight, shall never fade, Before the last fiery hearth that is ablaze within my nation is extinguished. For that is the star of my nation, and it will forever shine; It is mine; and solely belongs to my valiant nation. Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent, Smile upon my heroic race! Why the anger, why the rage? Our blood which we shed for you might not be worthy otherwise; For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation. I have been free since the beginning and forever shall be so. What madman shall put me in chains! I defy the very idea! I'm like the roaring flood; trampling and overflowing my dyke (weir), I'll tear apart the mountains, fill up the open seas and still gush out! The lands surrounded by the Western Europe Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting... 's and they armored with walls of steel, But I have borders guarded by the mighty chest of a believer. Recognize your innate strength, my friend! And think: how can this fiery faith ever be killed, By that battered, single-fanged monster you call "civilization"? My friend! Leave not my homeland to the hands of villainous men! Render your chest as armor and your body as trench! Stop this disgraceful rush! For soon shall come the joyous days of divine promise... Who knows? Perhaps tomorrow? Perhaps even sooner! View not the soil you tread on as mere earth - recognize it! And think about the shroudless thousands who lie so nobly beneath you. You're the noble son of a martyr, take shame, hurt not your ancestor! Unhand not, even when you're promised worlds, this paradise of a homeland. What man would not die for this heavenly piece of land? Martyrs would gush out should one simply squeeze the soil! Martyrs! May God take my life, all my loved ones and possessions from me if He will, But may He not deprive me of my one true homeland for the world. Oh glorious God, the sole wish of my pain-stricken heart is that, No heathen's hand should ever touch the bosom of my sacred Temples. These adhan Adhan The adhān is the Islamic call to prayer, recited by the muezzin at prescribed times of the day. The root of the word is meaning "to permit"; another derivative of this word is , meaning "ear".... s, whose shahadahs are the foundations of my religion, May their noble sound last loud and wide over my eternal homeland. For only then, shall my fatigued tombstone, if there is one, prostrate a thousand times in ecstasy, And tears of fiery blood shall flow out of my every wound, And my lifeless body shall gush out from the earth like an eternal spirit, Perhaps only then, shall I peacefully ascend and at long last reach the heavens. So ripple and wave like the bright dawning sky, oh thou glorious crescent, So that our every last drop of blood may finally be blessed and worthy! Neither you nor my race shall ever be extinguished! For freedom is the absolute right of my ever-free flag; For independence is the absolute right of my God-worshiping nation!

Footnotes:

Although "ırk" means "race" in contemporary Turkish, it had different associations in Ottoman Turkish

Ottoman Turkish language

The Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...

. Also note that the poet was of Albanian

Albanians

Albanians are a nation and ethnic group native to Albania and neighbouring countries. They speak the Albanian language. More than half of all Albanians live in Albania and Kosovo...

 origin. In Ottoman Turkish it also carries the connotations of 'generation,' 'offspring' and 'family linage.'

A white crescent and star superimposed on a crimson background comprise the Turkish flag- the poet is invoking the image of the crescent and comparing it to the frowning eyebrows of a sulky face. The flag (and the spirit of freedom which it embodies, under threat from invading nations against whom victory initially seems impossibly difficult to achieve, hence "coy") is being treated as a coy maiden with a sulky face (symbolically, the resentment of the invasion) who is playing hard-to-get. That is, the "coy" flag is being "playful" about letting the troops achieve ultimate victory and thus, freedom.

This is actually a wordplay on the words hak (right) and Hakk (God).

A Turkish poetical word (with no direct English translation) that may refer to anything perceived by Man as a boundless expanse: the heavens, the oceans, the horizon, the Universe, etc.

What is being referred to as "civilization" is the invading European nations (France, Britain, Italy and Greece) and their armies, which were superior in terms of equipment and manpower to the war-stricken, undermanned, and underfed Turkish forces that were hastily assembled by patriotic civilians and ex-military officials following World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. This tight collaboration between civilians and former armed officials was due to the Ottoman Imperial Court

Ottoman Dynasty

The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...

's internal corruptions and the presence of individuals in power who preferred to protect their own interests rather than the interests of the greater public. (see Sultan Vahdeddin and Damat Ferid Pasha

Damat Ferid Pasha

Damad Ferid Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who held the office of grand vizier during two periods under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, the first time between 4 March 1919 and 2 October 1919 and the second time between 5 April 1920 and 21 October 1920...

) This self-preserving behavior manifested itself as political inaction

Quisling

Quisling is a term used in reference to fascist and collaborationist political parties and military and paramilitary forces in occupied Allied countries which collaborated with Axis occupiers in World War II, as well as for their members and other collaborators.- Etymology :The term was coined by...

, an openness to foreign manipulation, treacherous

Treason

In law, treason is the crime that covers some of the more extreme acts against one's sovereign or nation. Historically, treason also covered the murder of specific social superiors, such as the murder of a husband by his wife. Treason against the king was known as high treason and treason against a...

 collaborationism

Collaborationism

Collaborationism is cooperation with enemy forces against one's country. Legally, it may be considered as a form of treason. Collaborationism may be associated with criminal deeds in the service of the occupying power, which may include complicity with the occupying power in murder, persecutions,...

 and the much-protested acceptance of an unjust treaty

Treaty of Sèvres

The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...

 - actions that ultimately resulted in a hurt national pride, widespread feelings of resentment and humiliation, as well as the anarchic dissolution of the Empire. It was at such a grim point in time that a defiant new organization of armed and civil forces, led by Atatürk, gave the people hope for the future through a series of successful battles and liberation campaigns, which gradually turned into an increasingly successful War of Independence

Turkish War of Independence

The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...

.

Thus, the poet is calling out to the Nation, saying, as it were, "While 'the lands of the West may be armed with walls of steel', i.e., while these European armies may have seemingly impenetrable/unbeatable modern technology and weaponry, do not be fooled/discouraged by their apparent superiority. Look at what we have accomplished so far with virtually non-existent arms and supplies! We are horribly fatigued, and at a disadvantage in every conceivable way, yet we still are able to succeed in our battle for liberty! This seemingly undefeatable 'monster' has had almost every one of its teeth knocked out (hence, 'single-fanged') by our victorious campaign! Our motivation, faith, and internal drive is what has and will continue to carry us through, and that is something that our enemies cannot remotely match. All we need for ultimate victory is the ability to recognize our true 'innate strengths': a 'fiery faith' and the 'mighty chest (i.e. heart) of a believer'".

Prostration is the act of laying one's forehead on the ground as part of Muslim sacred ritual (see Namaz, As-Sajda

As-Sajda

Surat As-Sajda is the 32nd sura of the Qur'an with 30 ayat. Surah As-Sajda has a prostration in it.According to Tafsir ibn Kathir, Imam Ahmad recorded that Jabir said,...

 or Salah). The image being painted here is that of a battle-fallen and pain-stricken man, who becomes ecstatic following the victorious end of the War of Independence. This is a man whose mind, body and soul have at long last found peace, and may finally ascend and reach the heavens, knowing that his homeland is finally safe and sound and that all his suffering was all worth it in the end.

External links

• Vocal of the İstiklâl Marşı in Ogg Vorbis
• Dramatic Reading of the text of the İstiklâl Marşı
• İstiklâl Marşı - MIDI version
• İstiklâl Marşı - Instrumental version
• İstiklâl Marşı - Acoustic Guitar version
• İstiklâl Marşı - Electric Guitar version
• İstiklâl Marşı - Baglama version
• İstiklâl Marşı - Guitar Chords in PDF format
• The Original Composition by Ali Rıfat Çağatay