Translation of the song Kiev Şehrinde artist Nâzım Hikmet
Kiev Şehrinde
In Kyiv
Kapısından girer girmez
The moment I have entered from its door
O dakka, o saniye
That minute, that second
Gözlerini görür görmez
The moment I have seen its eye
Birden sevdalandım Kiyef şehrine
Suddenly I fell in love with Kyiv city
Kat be kattır yamaçları
Its hills are on top each other
Gelinlerine benzer ağaçları
Its trees resemble brides
Ak topuklarını döver saçları
Their hair hit to their white heels
Birden sevdalandım Kiyef şehrine
Suddenly I fell in love with Kyiv's city
Yaşı bin iki yüzden artık,
It is more than two thousand years old,
O mu yanıp yıkılmadık
It is the destroyed, burnt down
Yüzünde ne buruşuk, ne kırışık
Wrinkles in her face, so many
Birden sevdalandım Kiyef şehrine
Suddenly I fell in love with Kyiv's city
Mavisi İstanbul’uma benzer
Its blue resembles my city, Istanbul
Yeşili Bursa’mdan eser
Its green is as Bursa's green
Oturmuş da şiir yazar
Sitting down writing poems
Birden sevdalandım Kiyef şehrine
Suddenly I fell in love with Kyiv's city
Kapısından içeri girer girmez
The moment I have entered from its door
Şevçenko karşıladı beni
Shevchenko greeted me
Gözlerini görür görmez
The moment I have seen its eye
Eğildim, öptüm elini
I bent down and kissed her hands
Oturduk aynı sofrada, ekmeğini yedim
We sat to same table, ate its bread
Dnepr’in suyunda yüzümü yudum
I washed my face with the water of Dnepr
Ustam, bahtı karalığı bilirsin dedim
Master, you know what ill-fated means
Arzettim memleketimin halini
I told the situation of my country
Konuştuk şiir üstüne
We talked about poetry
Yüreğim gibi dedi, yana yana
Just like my heart he said, burning
Şiir düşmeli, dedi, halkın önüne
The poetry he said must belong to common folks
Verdi bana kalemini…
He gave his pen to me…
Nazım Hikmet Ran / 1956
Nazım Hikmet Ran / 1956