Abdurehim Ötkur
translated by Aziz Isa Elkun
The moth in the candle flame
Burns itself bravely
For your beautiful face my love
I would sacrifice myself.
Once you came with a smile
The flower garden was filled with your love
Where have these days gone
Now I have become a wanderer.
(Lewen yala – لەۋەن يالا Uyghur folk song)
Translated by Aziz Isa Elkun
Lewen yala.mp3 – by Rahimä Mahmut
Young children are playing
They use willow twigs as a hobby horse
The exiles weep for their homeland
Oh my sweetheart
Oh, how miserable I am!
Sad and weeping in the desert
We settled on the mountains
Because we could not stay in our gardens
This is the life we are living
Not surrendering to our enemy
Oh my sweetheart
Oh, how miserable I am!
Sad and weeping in the desert
I play my dutar all alone
My black eyes are crying
I am a wanderer in your town
No one hears my words
Oh my sweetheart
Oh, how miserable I am!
Sad and weeping in the desert
Oh, how miserable I am!
Sad and weeping in the desert
Translated by Aziz Isa Elkun
(Uyghur folk music & song, Meshrep*)
Are you playing in the garden
Are you singing like a nightingale
You have loved me before
And now are you going to abandon me?!
I don’t want to go there
I don’t want to play music
Where there is no meshrep!
