Cevahir Taşına Kıymet Biçilmez (A Jewel's Worth Is Set Only by an Expert)
Story
The song opens with the image of a jewel whose worth can only be set by an expert who understands it: “A jewel’s worth is not set, until brought to one who knows.” This opening carries an implicit piece of wisdom — that love, too, can only be truly conveyed to the right person, at the right time. The theme of longing deepens further with lines likening the pain of separation to something even death cannot end.
With its restrained but pointed imagery, it is counted among the wiser, more proverb-like songs of the Çorum “kırık hava” tradition.
About
It is a “kırık hava” (metered folk tune) from the Çorum region, registered as TRT Repertoire No. 323. The source singer is İfakat Yaykar; it was collected by Muzaffer Sarısözen. İfakat Yaykar was a source singer for several songs during Sarısözen’s 1939 and 1948 collecting trips to Çorum; she is also credited as a source for “Aba da Bir Kebe de Bir Giyene” and “Türkmen Kızı Yaktı Bizi,” both featured on this site.
Lyrics
A representative excerpt of the song’s traditional (anonymous) words:
A jewel’s worth is not set,
Until brought to one who knows.
(Line variants differ from source to source.)