Zeki Muren (1931-1996)

Zeki Muren (1931-1996)

Zeki Muren (1931-1996) grew up in the provincial capital city of Bursa in western Turkey. From 1950 to 1953 he studied Decorative Arts in Istanbul at the Fine Arts Academy, while launching his musical career. Zeki’s first album was issued in 1951 when he was a regular singer on Istanbul Radio. Later he moved on to Turkish cinema starring in eighteen films and writing many of the musical scores. Zeki Muren was also a gifted poet, publishing Bildircin Yagmuru (The Quail Rain) in 1951. In 1955 he produced his first Gold Record, and for many subsequent years he reigned as "Artist of the Year." In his forty-five-year professional career he composed more than one hundred songs and made more than two hundred recordings. He was celebrated as the "Sun" of classical Turkish music, and affectionately called "Pasha" by all. He died on stage in the city of Izmir on 24 September 1996.


Zeki Muren lyrics

Kahır mektubu

Ne zaman iki satır yazmaya kalksam
Hep sana
Hep seni…
Hep bizi yazıyorum…
Ne zaman bir kadeh alsam elime
Hep sana
Hep seni
Hep bizi içiyorum..
Her gece kederdeyim
Durmadan içiyorum..
Sevda ektim kalbime yalnızlık biçiyorum…

Letter of Suffering

Whenever I begin to write a couplet
Always to you
Always you
I write us, always
Whenever I grab a drinking cup
Always to you
Always you
I drink us, always
Every night this sadness
Drinking endlessly
I planted love in my heart and harvest loneliness

Translation by MAM / April 2006