Alperen – Lyrics (English translation) – Kar Çiçekleri (Şeyh Şamil)
🌊 [Verse 1: The Thirst and the Tears]
Springs are waiting for water.
In plane trees, history is enshrined.
They plucked the flowers—
The earth’s eyes are tearful.
🌸 [Verse 2: The Flowered Shirt]
Upon the white shirt,
Buttons made of flowers.
Amidst the cold snow,
Snowflowers bloom.
🌬️ [Verse 3: The Weeping Sage]
Behold that raining cloud—
Dede Korkut is weeping.
The wind blowing from the West
Axes my tradition.
❄️ [Verse 4: The Traces of the She-Wolf]
Upon the white snows,
Traces of Asena.
Amidst the cold snow,
Snowflowers bloom.
🐺 Lyrics Meaning & Cultural Context
This song is a lament for a culture under threat, using potent symbols from Turkic mythology and history to express grief, resilience, and the determination to endure.
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Core Theme: Cultural Mourning and Resistance
The song is saturated with sorrow. The earth weeps, the great sage Dede Korkut cries, and traditions are being cut down by a wind from the West. Yet, amidst this grief, there is also resilience—flowers bloom in the snow, and the traces of the mythical she-wolf Asena remain. This is the story of a people mourning what is being lost while holding onto the symbols of their identity. -
Plane Trees and History
“In plane trees, history is enshrined.” The plane tree (çınar) is a sacred symbol in Turkic and Anatolian culture, representing longevity, resilience, and the connection between generations. Trees are often planted at significant sites and live for centuries, witnessing history. By saying history is “enshrined” in them, the song suggests that the collective memory of the people is rooted in the living landscape. To harm these trees is to attack history itself. -
The Earth’s Tearful Eyes
“They plucked the flowers—the earth’s eyes are tearful.” The plucking of flowers is a metaphor for the destruction of beauty, life, and perhaps the youth or future of the culture. The earth itself, Mother Earth, weeps at this loss. This personification of nature grieving alongside the people is a common motif in folk poetry. -
The White Shirt and Flower Buttons
“Upon the white shirt, buttons made of flowers.” A white shirt often symbolizes purity, innocence, or a shroud. Adorning it with flower buttons could represent the decoration of life or the preparation for a ritual, possibly a wedding or a funeral. The imagery is both beautiful and fragile. -
Snowflowers Blooming
“Amidst the cold snow, snowflowers bloom.” This is a powerful image of resilience. Snow represents hardship, oppression, the coldness of a world that is hostile. Yet, even in this frozen environment, flowers bloom. These are not the flowers of spring; they are snowflowers—beauty that exists specifically within the cold, a symbol of a culture that refuses to die, that creates art and meaning even in the harshest conditions. -
Dede Korkut Weeping
“Behold that raining cloud—Dede Korkut is weeping.” Dede Korkut is the legendary sage, bard, and custodian of culture in Turkic epic tradition. He is the voice of the people, the keeper of their stories, wisdom, and values. For him to be weeping from the clouds is to say that the very soul of the culture is in mourning. The rain is his tears, falling on the land and its people. This is an apocalyptic image: if the great sage weeps, the loss is profound and irreparable. -
The Wind from the West
“The wind blowing from the West axes my tradition.” This is a direct and unambiguous reference to the threat of Westernization, colonialism, or cultural imperialism. The wind is not a gentle breeze but an axe—a tool of destruction. It is actively cutting down the traditions that have been enshrined in the plane trees for centuries. This line grounds the mythological imagery in a specific historical and political context: the erosion of indigenous culture by outside forces. -
The Traces of Asena
“Upon the white snows, traces of Asena.” Asena is the mythical she-wolf from Turkic origin myths. She is the mother of the Turkic people, who led them to safety and new lands. Her traces in the snow are proof that the people were here, that their ancestry is real, that their connection to the land and their history is not erased. Even when the snow covers everything, the footprints of the she-wolf remain. This is the ultimate symbol of enduring identity. The snow may be cold and oppressive, but it cannot hide the path of the ancestor.
In essence, this song is a cry of cultural grief and a quiet assertion of survival. It mourns the destruction of tradition by outside forces (the Western wind) and the sorrow of the ancestral sage. Yet it also finds beauty and resilience in the snowflowers and the enduring traces of the she-wolf. The earth’s tears and the weeping cloud express the depth of the loss, but the footprints in the snow and the blooming flowers declare that the culture, though wounded, still lives. This is not a song of defeat but of sorrowful defiance.
