This song, which begins "Halay çekin düzülsün" ("Lead the halay, let the line form"), opens with a call to the halay line dance, but in two of its three quatrains it speaks of longing for the beloved. According to the record of score no. 52 in the TRT repertoire, Yücel Paşmakçı collected and transcribed the song from Hanife Karabıyık. Each quatrain is entered with the exclamation "uf aman ey", and the lyric text on Repertükül notes at the start that this opening is sung in free rhythm. Its mode and lyrics receive a brief mention in The Melody of the Yeşilırmak, which treats the melodies of Amasya as a whole.

Catalogue Record

  • TRT Turkish Folk Music repertoire number: 52
  • Section: kırık hava
  • Region: Amasya
  • Source performer: Hanife Karabıyık
  • Collected and transcribed by: Yücel Paşmakçı
  • Date of collection: not given in the sources
  • Makam: Karcığar; final and closing note A
  • Usul (metre): 2/4 (opening in free rhythm)
  • Range: from G to F sharp, 7 notes
  • Words and music: anonymous
  • TRT link: there is no official TRT address for the work; the score's record is on Repertükül, https://www.repertukul.com/HALAY-CEKIN-DUZULSUN-52
  • Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Amasya Provincial Directorate audio recording ("Halay Çekin"): http://webtvpanel.kultur.gov.tr/WebTV_Contents/Publish/21092017142913/06ihalayicekiniyeni.mp3
  • Türkü Yurdu text: https://www.turkuyurdu.com/halay-cekin-duzulsun-2380.html

Lyrics

(Uf aman ey) Halay çekin düzülsün
Sürmeli gözler süzülsün
Haleye girmeyenin
Vurun boynundan üzülsün
(Uf aman ey) İndim nane biçmeğe
Eğildim su içmeğe
Baktım ki yar geliyo
Kanetlendim uçmaya
(Uf aman ey) Yemenisi çatmalı
İçine gül katmalı
Yar orada ben burda
Nasıl yalunuz yatmalı

In English: Lead the halay, let the line form; let kohl-lined eyes gaze languidly. Whoever will not join the halay, strike off his head and let him grieve. I went down to cut mint, I bent to drink water; I looked and saw my love coming, I grew wings and felt I could fly. Her headscarf should be tied just so, with a rose tucked inside; my love is there and I am here, how can one sleep alone?

In the score's word list, "haley" means halay, "düzülmek" to be lined up, to form a row, and "yalunuz" alone. "Kanetlenmek" is the local pronunciation of "kanatlanmak", to grow wings. The words "strike off his head" in the first quatrain are not a real threat but teasing aimed at those who will not join the dance; the "let him grieve" at the end of the line softens the joke.

Its Story

The sources record nothing about Hanife Karabıyık's life, where she learned the song, or the year in which it was collected. Nor has any tale of how the song came about been published.

Musical Features

The lyric text on Repertükül carries the note "Serbest" (free) at its head: the opening that starts with the exclamation "uf aman ey" is sung without metre, after which the melody settles into a 2/4 usul. In this way two different manners of delivery sit side by side in a short song. The scale is karcığar. In Demircioğlu's count of the Amasya songs in the TRT repertoire, karcığar ranks third with seven works, after hüseyni and uşşak.

The melody keeps within seven notes: G at the bottom, F sharp at the top, with A as the final and closing note. Repertükül logs the performance as "toplu" (group). Haluk Yücel's 2018 article on the region's folk songs names it as well.

Performers and Recordings

Next to the record, the Repertükül page offers an audio file under the heading "günümüz yorumu" (a present-day version), without naming the singer. The provincial directorate's audio series of fourteen songs includes it under the title "Halay Çekin". The sources mention no solo artist who has sung it and no disc.

Bibliography

Academic studies

Official sources

Other sources

Online sources