Çakallar is the name of a hill covered with vineyards in Amasya; Vermiş is a village near it. The first line of the song brings the two places together: the charcoal of Vermiş comes down from Çakallar. The glossary of the repertoire notation explains both names and so shows that the song was born on a vineyard slope just outside the town. Sung by Abdullah Çakırer and Muhlis Orçun, it was recorded on 4 July 1943, the day the conservatory team reached Amasya, as the other piece on the disc on which the same pair recorded "Amasya'nın Dağları"; the catalogue gives both the disc number and the date in square brackets, as estimates. The notation, which entered the TRT repertoire as no. 4306, was written much later by Altan Demirel. At the centre of the words is a girl named Nafiye.

Catalogue Data

  • TRT repertoire no.: 4306, kırık hava; subject love
  • Region: Amasya
  • Source performers: Abdullah Çakırer, Muhlis Orçun (also the performers)
  • Collected by: Ankara State Conservatory
  • Collection: [4 July 1943], Amasya; in the conservatory list as "Çakallardan", first line "Çakallardan iner vermis kömürü", disc [1105/A-2]
  • Transcribed by: Altan Demirel
  • Mode: Bayatî Şiraz scale; final and closing note Do
  • Metre: 4/4
  • Words and music: anonymous
  • TRT link: TRT repertoire no. 4306. As there is no TRT page for the work, the catalogue data and lyrics are taken from Repertükül.

Lyrics

Çakallar'dan iner Vermiş kömürü
Mevlam versin Nafiye'me ömürü
Anama da babama da versin gafil ölümü
Bağlantı:
Aman da beyim gezdir beni dolaştır
Ben yangınam Nafiye'me ulaştır
Nafiye'min bakışları ilaçtır
Çakallar'dan kesmişler de üzümü
Bana göster Nafiye'min yüzünü
Karar verdim almam artık sözümü
(Bağlantı)

The first stanza opens with a picture of the place, and two wishes follow: may God grant my Nafiye long life, and may He grant my mother and father a sudden death. Gafil ölüm is the sudden death that catches a person unprepared, and in folk speech it is wished on no one. That the line is aimed at the singer's own parents lends itself to two readings: an angry curse on a family that opposes the match, or an overstatement from the mouth of a lover who has lost his balance. The sources offer no comment on the line. The three-line stanzas each rhyme on a single sound: kömürü, ömürü, ölümü; üzümü, yüzünü, sözümü.

In the refrain the lover addresses someone, perhaps a friend or an elder: sir, take me about, lead me around; I am burnt, bring me to my Nafiye, Nafiye's glances are medicine. "Yangın" here means one burnt with love. The last stanza returns to Çakallar: they have cut the grapes at Çakallar, the vintage has come. The lover wants to see Nafiye's face and declares his decision: I will not take back the word I gave. The mention of the vintage suggests that the song belongs to the season when the vineyards are harvested.

Story

There is no printed record of who Nafiye was, or who sang the song and over which parting or defiance. The 1943 catalogue gives only the title, the first line and the names of the singers; no story attached to the song appears in later studies either. The very definite names of people and places call a real event to mind, but no account documenting it has been recorded.

Musical Features

According to the repertoire notation the tune is in the Bayatî Şiraz scale and in 4/4. It settles on Do and closes on Do; it uses six notes, from the Si just below Do up to Sol. In Nail Demircioğlu's table of 48 Amasya songs this is the only work given in the Bayatî Şiraz scale. Haluk Yücel also shows the song among the kırık hava and in 4/4. In Yücel's list the first line reads "Çakallar'dan iner de vermiş kömürü", with "vermiş" in lower case; this spelling reads the word not as a place name but as a verb, "has given". The glossary of the notation, however, explains Vermiş plainly as the name of a village.

Performers and Recordings

The disc sung by Abdullah Çakırer and Muhlis Orçun in 1943 is the song's documented recording. The same day the pair also sang "Amasya'nın Dağları" (TRT 1898) and a song beginning "Mendilim var mendilden" for the conservatory team. No audio file has been published with the notation, and the provincial culture directorate's song list does not include the work. No recordings by later performers were seen in the sources searched. The region's remaining songs and long songs are gathered in the article The Melody of the Yeşilırmak.

Bibliography

Academic studies

Other sources

Online sources