Evlerinin Önü Yoldur Geçilmez (The Road Before Her House Cannot Be Crossed)
Story
The song opens in the voice of a lover who says the road in front of the beloved’s house cannot be crossed and its water is too cold to drink even a bowlful; one line declares that one can give up one’s mother, but not one’s beloved. The second verse describes a young man who has made the trip to and from her house his daily path and has set his heart on “a stranger’s daughter.” No traditional story behind the song was found in the sources.
About
It is a “kırık hava” (metered folk tune) from the Alaca district of Çorum, registered as TRT Repertoire No. 4405. It was collected by the Ankara State Conservatory and set to notation by Altan Demirel (TRT Music Department score sheet, Repertükül). The source singer’s name is written as “Ali Bilgin (Berber Ali)” on the TRT score sheet, “Ali Bilgin” in Repertükül and “Berber Ali (Bilgin)” on Türkü Dostları. The collection date on the score sheet falls in 1939, though the day and month are not legible on the scanned copy. Repertükül notes that the source singer listed as “Berber Ali Ahçı” on the collection card of Gidiyorum Çorum’a appears as “Berber Ali Bilgin” on other cards. According to Repertükül, the song uses the muhayyerkürdi scale (makamsal dizi) in a 2/4+3/4 meter.
For more on the district, see Alaca.
Lyrics
In short, the singer describes the obstacles around the beloved’s house and insists that love comes before everything, even family ties. (The Turkish opening lines are quoted on the Turkish page; line variants differ between sources.)