Gather the sun for me

Dawn wind, you go to the mountains,
gather the sun for me.
you transmit news to the four lands,
gather the sun for me.
Among the hopes,
from the black of eyelashes,
from the knife’s wound at bosom,
gather the sun for me.
Dawn wind, from the beloved one,
from the bird footsteps,
from the sky of night,
you gather the sun for me.

This song lyrics belong to Ulku Tamer, composing by Zulfu Livanelli. It tells hope with it’s words and music. It is well known song like many song of Livanelli in Turkey. Zulfu Livanelli, Turkish composer, writer, singer, poet, director, he has a rich past. He has got music album more than 20, awarded films and compositions.

Being leftist artist, Z. Livaneli was imprisoned three times during the 1971 Turkish coup d’état because of his leftist views and had to leave Turkey in 1972. He lived in Switzerland at first, after France and Greece. In 1984 he turned back to Turkey.

His songs many times have performed by the singers such as Joan Baez, Maria Farantouri, Mikis Theodorakis, María del Mar Bonet, Udo Lindenberg, Haris Alexiou.

He composed Nazim Hikmet’s poems and sang also. Like Livanelli’s song “the snowy beech forest” which is from “longing” poem of Nazim Hikmet.

The snowy beech forest

In the snowy beech forest
I am walking at night.
I feel out of sorts
Give me your hand, where is your hand?

Which one is more far away,
my homeland, stars or my youth?
Among the beechs
it is a window, yellow and hot.

While I pass from there,
If one says “uncle, come inside”
I wish I’d salute them by entering
within households.

I left my rosebud
at my city of seven hills.(*)
And,
Neither fear of death nor to think of death is shameful.

 

Livaneli directed four feature films until today: Iron Earth, Copper Sky( it is the adaptation from novel of Yasar Kemal); Mist; Shahmaran; and Farewell. He got reward with his film Iron Earth, Copper Sky in 1987 at San Sebastián International Film Festival, and his film Mist was rewarded in 1989 at Valencia International Film Festival and Montpellier Festival of Mediterranean Cinema. Besides, he has composed many international awarded movie’s musics like “The road” directed by Yilmaz Guney in 1982.
(*city of seven hills is Istanbul at Nazim Hikmet’s poem, he had written this poem while he was in exhile in Russia)

For more information:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._Z._Livaneli
and for the movie “the road”
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yol