Review – Karma (2001) TARKAN

Accordion – Mohsen Allaam
Bass Guitar – Janik Top
Didgeridoo, Sarod, Sitar – Jeffrey Slatnick
Guitar – Erdinç Şenyaylar
Lyrics By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu
Music By – Ozan Çolakoğlu, Tarkan Tevetoğlu
Percussion – Hossam Ramzy, Marc Chontereau
Strings – Hossam Ramzy Yaylı Grubu
Twelve-String Guitar – Jean Louis Solon
Violin [Solo] – Laurence Monti
Vocals – Berna Keser, Cihan Okan, Özkan Uğur, Özlem Tekin

Tarkan’s song Aşk tells the transformative power of love, symbolized by the sunrise and the lighting of passion, contrasting past loneliness and disillusionment with material wealth.

English translation of the lyrics Aşk – Love

For years my face has not smiled. Here the sun does not rise. It is always autumn. I could not do it, I could not live without love. I have always hoped for the help of money but it is fleeting. I understand that it is a lie is a material good. I could not do it alone, I could not live without love.
Hey, since I saw you, my love I have fallen into your fire. The sun has risen again in my morning. Hey, since I saw you our eyes have fallen in love, the sun has risen in my dreams. You are the branch of all the love gardens I know. You are the rarest flower. You struck me at first glance. It enters my heart like a seal. You have always been indispensable to me. You are the rarest flower of all love gardens I know. From the very beginning you have left your mark in my heart. You have always been indispensable to me. You are the rarest flower of all love gardens I know. From the very beginning you have left your mark in my heart. You have always been indispensable to me. Hey, since I saw you, my love I have fallen into your fire. The sun has risen again in my morning. Hey, since I saw you our eyes have fallen in love, the sun has risen in my dreams.

Acoustic Guitar, Electric Guitar – Bilgehan Tuncer
Classical Guitar – Erdinç Şenyaylar
Percussion – Hossam Ramzy, Marc Chontereau
Written-By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu

Tarkan’s song ‘Ay’ is about pain and feeling forgotten. In the text there are metaphors like ‘write your name in the sky with thousands of stars’ to express deep emotions. The song conveys a sense of nostalgia and sorrow. Emphasize how you feel lost and hurt despite the efforts and years invested in a relationship.

English translation of the song text Ay -Ah

Oh if only she knew how many promises I made for her love. My colors have faded, I’ve aged for you. I wrote her name in the sky with thousands of stars. She didn’t mind laughing and calling. I took the risk, I crossed the mountains, the desert and the sea, I came back but it was useless she did not look at my tears.
Ah, ah, I’m destroyed. I fell and stood up. I became his laughing stock. Ah, ah, he forgot me. With the snow and in winter I became the prey of wolves and birds. Ah, ah, ah, ah! I wrote his name in the sky with thousands of stars. He did not mind laughing and calling. I burn for you but I regret my efforts. Ah I burn and what is the use? there is no way back. What a pity! My years have flown by. What does it matter if I come back now? Oh… there’s no more fun. For some people I’m crazy. For someone else I am a vagabond, a vagabond. My fate has bound my hands and eyes, I am a vagabond. I will die in her hands, I am powerless.
Ah, ah, I’m destroyed. I fell and stood up. I became his laughing stock. Ah, ah, she forgot me. With the snow and in winter I became the prey of wolves and birds. Ah, ah, ah, ah!

Classical Guitar – Erdinç Şenyaylar, Annas
Laúd – Jean Louis Solon
Orchestrated By – Armen Aharonian Los Angeles Strings, Rene Perinelli
Percussion – Hossam Ramzy, Marc Chontereau, Ozan Çolakoğlu
Strings – Orchestra Opera De Marseille
Vocals – Tarkan Tevetoğlu
Written-By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu

The song ‘Kuzu Kuzu’ by Tarkan addresses the theme of how to face challenges and difficulties with the phrase, hitting walls and stones. The text expresses a sense of accomplishment and repentance, expressed with the metaphor of being like a lamb (kuzu) who submits and sacrifices his pride to go forward despite difficulties.

English translation of the lyrics Kuzu Kuzu – Like a lamb

Look! My arm is a broken wing.
It can’t be, I can’t stand it. It’s so hard to bear your absence that I haven’t got used to it yet. Hit!
Knock this head unconscious
Against the wall and the stones
Strike her for charity
And then forgive me
Come and give me another chance.
I crawled, I melted, I can’t stand without you. Kuzu kuzu, kuzu kuzu
Kuzu kuzu, kuzu kuzu…(Like a lamb).
Behold, I have fallen at thy feet like a lamb, as thou wilt. This time I have set fire to my pride, burned it, and come unto thee.
If you want to throw me or kiss me, but first listen to me and look me in the eye. Believe me this time I understand the situation and I am sorry.
Knock this unconscious head against the wall and stones.
Strike her for charity
And then forgive me
Come and give me another chance.
I crawled, I melted, I can’t stand without you. Kuzu kuzu, kuzu kuzu
Kuzu kuzu, kuzu kuzu…(Like a lamb).
Behold, I have fallen at your feet like a lamb, as you would. This time I have set fire to my pride, burned it and come to you.

Link video Kuzuz Kuzu

Bass Guitar – İsmail Soyberk
Classical Guitar – Erdem Sökmen
English Horn – Jean Claude Latic
Orchestrated By – Rene Perinelli
Orchestrated By, Composed By [Strings] – Ozan Çolakoğlu
Strings – Orchestra Opera De Marseille
Written-By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu

The song Gitti Gideli is an interview that the author has with his own heart and invites him to resign himself in front of a love now finished. The text focuses on a letter that the infidel left on the bedside table disappearing into nothingness and forgetting love, time spent together and memories kept only by who he really loved.

English translation of the lyrics of the song Gitti Gideli – She forgot about me

Surrender, do not fight my heart.
Surrender not wait, no one hears your voice. Do not complain in vain. Forget as she did, you also forget.
How many times have I tried to erase it with a pen? What was the solution? There is nothing to do. How many times have I died in those nights? I have been comforted by memories for years. It’s always on my bedside table, I keep every word of those lines that hurt me. Since she left me and left, I have not been able to tear or burn that letter. She did not make herself heard anymore and disappeared in nothing. The infidel made fun of me. Time stood still here, never came back and forgot me. One morning she left me and this land. His last memory is a sad letter he left me. I cherish every word of those lines that hurt me. I could not tear it, to burn it… she left that letter and went away. She never made contact again and disappeared. The infidel has made fun of me. Time here has stopped, never returned and has forgotten me.

Lyrics By – Mete Özgencil
Music By – Hüsna Arslan, Mete Özgencil
Ney – Muhammed Fouda

The song Uzak from the album Karma conveys a request for distance from negative influences and inappropriate behaviors. In the text the author uses vivid metaphors as ‘he who complains while having a full belly’ to say that sometimes, those who have everything are not satisfied and it is as if they had nothing. The expression “crying in your hand” is a way of saying that means regretting something bitterly, often too late, and realizing the negative consequences of one’s actions or choices. It is an expression that indicates a deep regret and a sense of powerlessness in the face of a now compromised situation. The phrase ‘thrown out of mirrors’
means a person who hides from reality, refuses to face his own faults or avoids facing the consequences of his actions.

English translation of the lyrics of the song Uzak – I keep my distance

I keep at a distance, I keep at a distance
from those who complain with a full stomach,
from those who are bored while having fun,
by those who cry in their hands.
I keep at a distance, I keep at a distance who is offended by the word friend
by those who are stuck in their doubt
by the friend of his enemy.
I keep at a distance, I keep at a distance
by those who recount his good deeds
by whom put a brake on his sin
by the friend of his enemy.
I keep at a distance, I keep at a distance
by those who deceive with appearance
by who competes with his devil
by those who are cast out of the mirrors

Baglama – Ahmet Koç
Guitar – Annas
Written-By – Mazhar Alanson

Tarkan’s song ‘Yandım’ explores intense emotional turmoil and nostalgia after a passionate love affair. The author uses vivid images to convey the depth of feeling. The phrase ‘shattered words’ indicates an emotionally charged speech, where words fail to fully express feelings.

English translation of the lyrics Yandim – I burn

I miss you, I had taken your way, I had opened my heart to the wind, it was like living a dream, an adventure. I am devastated and my words are shattered.
I burn, I burn.
I never tired of looking and smelling the woman who had made me sing songs again and the intoxication of love inside me is not gone yet.
You still have a pleasant air and your beautiful name, you scratched my heart and made it bleed.
I burn, I burn.
I burn, I burn.
I never tired of looking and smelling the woman who had made me sing songs again and the intoxication of love inside me is not gone yet.
Where can see you, now, my dreams. They call me crazy… Oh! this separation.

Bass Guitar – Avo Harutunian
Guitar – Annas
Lyrics By – Mete Özgencil
Music By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu
Percussion – Hossam Ramzy
Strings – Armen Aharonian Los Angeles Strings

The song O’na Sor addresses the theme of trust and betrayal. Natural elements such as rain and mountains are used in the text as metaphors to indicate lasting and unchanging truths, contrasting them with the fleeting nature of human promises and emotions.

English translation of the lyrics O’na Sor – Ask

My love, do not ask me to swear, I will not. Oaths cannot be kept. If this is my word, thy word is in righteous hands and cannot be kept without trust.
Ask the rain, ask the desert, ask the mountains, don’t just ask me. Ask her what it means.
My love do not offend you, why do you look down? This punishment is unbearable. Do you understand why my hands are getting so cold? It’s not right to blame me. Ask the rain, ask the desert, ask the mountains, don’t just ask me. Ask her what it means.
Tell me my dear, it’s over… if you want let it end. Never give an answer, never trust but if I’m wrong, forgive me.
Never give an answer, never forgive, but if you are in error do not take the right. Ask the rain, ask the desert, ask the mountains, don’t just ask me. Ask her what it means.

Clarinet – Kirpi Bülent
Guitar – Erdem Sökmen
Oud – Yıldıran Güz
Percussion – Cengiz Ercümer, Seyfi Ayta
Strings – Şenyaylar Yaylı Grubu
Written-By – Nazan Öncel

The song ‘Hüp’ expresses deep love and devotion, using metaphors like ‘palaces of the heart’ to symbolize unconditional love and being irresistibly attracted to someone. The translation of “kuş sütüyle” is “with bird’s milk”.  The Turkish phrase “kuş sütüyle” is composed of “kuş” (bird) and “sütüyle” (with the milk of), so the literal translation is “with the milk of bird”.  However, this is a Turkish idiom that indicates something rare, non-existent or very hard to find.   The phrase, “swallowing like a cry” is a poetic expression that expresses a strong, intense and potentially transformative experience related to the sound of a cry. ” There is no wall made only of stone, write it somewhere”, is a proverb that stresses that a work can not be done alone and therefore the importance of cooperation and solidarity. In other words, the phrase emphasizes loneliness and explains the need to unite and act together.

English translation of the song text Hüp

If there is a way from heart to heart, this is love of course. It was enough for your wind to blow up the world. Open the door, I’m coming. I’m wearing a shirt made of fire. I’ll feed you with bird’s milk. I can smell you instead of musk. The palaces of my heart are yours. You make me cry, I love you. I will hold you in high esteem, I will keep you on my knees, the buildings of my heart are yours, I will make you feel alive. Take my arm and take me away, swallow me like a cry. There is no wall made only of stone, write it somewhere. If I do not embrace you and sleep I cannot see the world, I have become a moth for you. I will feed you with bird’s milk. I smell you instead of the moss. The buildings of my heart are yours. You make me cry, I love you. I will have great esteem for you, I will keep you on my knees, the buildings of my heart are yours, I will make you feel alive. Take my arm and carry me away, swallow me like a cry.

Baglama – Çetin Akdeniz
Guitar – Erdinç Şenyaylar
Percussion – Cengiz Ercümer, Hossam Ramzy, Marc Chontereau, Seyfi Ayta
Strings – Hossam Ramzy Yaylı Grubu
Vocals – Cihan Okan, Özkan Uğur
Written-By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu

Tarkan’s song ‘Sen Başkasın’ is about the struggle to face the mistakes and betrayals of the past. It expresses the sense of feeling unable to move on and find a new love. The text describes a sense of nostalgia, regret and difficulty in letting go towards a new love. The author of the piece uses metaphors such as ‘gül koklamak’ (sniff the rose) to symbolize various failed attempts to find happiness elsewhere.

English translation of the lyrics Sen Başkasın – You are something else, something else

You made me sulk, I’m sick of my life, have mercy this is enough. Take me there or give me my heart.
How many times this autumn has collided with your summer? I’ve missed you for years. How many times have I been forgotten? It’s me again, it’s me again, I’m being fooled again.
Indeed, at times I have not resisted. I have not resisted. I have given in to temptation, as you did. I have betrayed you. I didn’t feel any remorse and I didn’t even break down for you. I had a lot of fun. It’s easy to say, I got drunk.
It’s all a lie.
I wanted to, but I couldn’t, I couldn’t smell your rose. I tried but it didn’t work, I couldn’t replace you with anyone else.
You are something else, something else.
It was all for nothing. You are something else, something else.

Baglama – Çetin Akdeniz
Guitar – Erdinç Şenyaylar
Percussion – Hossam Ramzy
Strings – Hossam Ramzy Yaylı Grubu
Vocals – Berna Keser, Cihan Okan, Deniz Seki, Özkan Uğur, Özlem Tekin
Written-By – Tarkan Tevetoğlu

Tarkan’s song ‘Taş’ reflects on a tumultuous relationship. In the text of the piece, the author urges the other person not to be reckless and to remember past dreams and affectionate conversations. The metaphor of becoming a stone symbolizes stubbornness in the search for love.

English translation of the lyrics of the song Taş – I’ll be like a stone

Don’t look at me while I remain so quiet.
I am like a storm that breaks out without warning. Please don’t hurt me knowingly. If I become a tool of your game, I will make you regret it. I will not help you, I will poison your hands.
You forgot our dreams.
Eyes in the eye, knee to knee and our pleasant conversations. For many seasons I have waited your way. Please, for your sake I have faded.
What I have done wrong, what is my fault. Tell me. You cannot go anywhere so recklessly.
I’ll search and find your tracks, you know I’m crazy.
I will burn and destroy everything, hunt you. I will be like a stone in your path, stumble and fall… oh you will tire.
Those distant places are forbidden to us, come surrender, you will be wasted.
You know I will find your tracks. I will burn, destroy everything, chase you. I will be like a stone in your path, stumble and fall… oh you’ll tire.
Those distant places are forbidden to us, come surrender, you will be wasted.

Guitar – Annas
Percussion – Luis Conte
Written-By – Nazan Öncel

The song Her Nerdeysen is a nostalgic and melancholic piece about desire and unrequited love. In the piece, the author paints a person who is waiting for an answer from his distant beloved. A reference symbolized by postcards and a song broadcast on the radio.

English translation of the lyrics Her Nerdeysen – Wherever you are

I sent so many postcards and put pictures in between. How many months of September have passed, but I did not receive any response. I am still waiting for you, but you do not write. Well let it be so. let it be my heart to break.
All send their greetings and waves of this sea, once they kissed us on the cheeks. Wherever you are, whoever you are, wherever you are.
This morning I listened to that song again on the radio. I had just left home, I felt strange inside. I’m still waiting… but you don’t come. Well let it be so. let it be my heart to break.
The seagulls as they sent greetings to the children and fishermen, said kiss her eyes at least once, for us. Wherever you are, whoever you are, wherever you are.

Duduk – Ruben Harutunian
Vocals – Murat Matthew Erdem
Written-By – Mete Özgencil

Tarkan’s song “Worm” conveys a message about rejecting unsolicited advice and seeking peace. The phrase “Worm worm worm akıl worm” which translates into “Don’t give, don’t give, don’t give advice” is a central theme. The song suggests that bearing the weight of others’ opinions is like carrying a useless weight and that one should seek peace and satisfaction instead of continually listening to others’ opinions.

“Karı nerden bilsin zarardan dönen” is a Turkish expression or proverb. It implies that a person who has not suffered losses or difficulties (such as a wife who did not have to make difficult financial decisions) cannot understand the perspective of someone who is in difficulty. Suggests a lack of empathy or understanding due to protected or privileged background.
The phrase emphasizes the idea that experience forms one’s understanding of the world, particularly when it comes to financial issues or difficult situations. It is often used in a context where someone is giving advice without fully grasping the complexities of the situation, or when someone is dismissive of another person’s struggles.

English translation of the lyrics of the song Verme – Don’t give me advice

It is not because of me that I was born without choice. I will suffer without knowing what my problem is. I’m devastated by the weight they put on me, Aman.
If you’re going to give me advice, I don’t want it.
Do not give me, do not give me advice. If you must give it, give me peace.
Those who say that less is better and more is worse is because they take a lot and always give little. Those who are convinced by reason and upset love do not think that they go around happier than us. Don’t give me, don’t give me advice. If you are going to give them to me, give me peace. If you are going to give them to me, give me peace. Do not give me advice. If you will give them to me, give me peace.
How can anyone who comes back from a loss know the profit? ( How can the satiated believe in fasting?). If you have to come back, come back now, I will not wait for you. Can the heart be expelled from where it is?
If you are going to give them to me, give me peace. Do not give me, do not give me advice. If you are going to give them to me, give me peace.
Aaaa aman aman

Link video Verme