Ey Çerh-i Sitemger Dil-i Nalana Dokunma - Medeni Aziz Efendi - 19th Century Turkish Music

"Ey Çerh-i Sitemger Dil-i Nalana Dokunma" is a Turkish song composed by Medeni Aziz Efendi with lyrics by Aşık Ömer. The song is in the Hicaz makam and Türk Aksağı usul. It is a melancholic song about heartbreak and separation, with lyrics that urge the listener not to touch the wounded heart that is already suffering from being separated from its beloved.

Medeni Aziz Efendi was a Turkish composer and musician born in Medina in 1842. He wrote numerous vocal works in both religious and secular areas of Turkish music, and was known to be a good player of tanbur, lavta, and piano. Aziz Efendi also had a background in education and taught at various schools. He was appointed as the director of Nehari Girls' Industrial School in 1881 and later served as the inspector general for Girls' Rüştiye Schools. He was a second imam in the palace during the reign of Sultan Aziz and held several positions in the military. Aziz Efendi had around 45 surviving musical compositions. He passed away in his house in Bebek and was buried in the Çürüklük Cemetery in Eyüp in 1895.

Turkish Lyrics

Ey çerh-i sitemger dil-i nalana dokunma
Hicr alemidir etdiğin efgana dokunma
Ey tiğ-i elem yareledin cismimi, bari
Cananıma nezr eylediğim cana dokunma

English Translation

Oh cruel fate, do not touch my weeping heart
Do not add to the pain of my separation with your touch
Oh sword of sorrow, you have wounded my body
At least do not touch the life I have dedicated to my beloved