Zülfü Livaneli made a clear decision this week. The musician and novelist put an end to the playing of his celebrated composition at opposition rallies protesting the operations that have targeted Ekrem İmamoğlu — and subsequently numerous other mayors and municipal officials — since March 19, 2025.
“Enough is enough,” he said. He no longer considers it appropriate for “Yiğidim Aslanım Burda Yatıyor” (My Brave One, My Lion, Lies Here ) to be played or sung. Both his decision and his reasoning were right on the mark. His explanation, in essence, was this:
“The poem is by Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu. It is a lament. We sang this lament in memory of Nazım Hikmet, the communist poet, for Deniz Gezmiş, the socialist executed in 1972, and for Uğur Mumcu, the journalist assassinated in 1993. We sang it for them. We sang it for the martyrs of democracy. This is not a ban, but let us no longer sing this lament. Let us sing more joyful and uplifting songs.”
RIGHT ON THE MARK
Why was this correct? Detentions and arrests are not occasions for mourning. Playing a song that speaks so directly and mournfully of death and killing for those behind bars is both unnecessary and meaningless, particularly in a climate in which being arrested and sent to prison has become so routine. And it has to be said: the opposition has used this well-known song, as it does with other matters, conveniently and indiscriminately.
LEFTIST MUSIC AND LİVANELİ
For more than 50 years, Zülfü Livaneli has been a commanding figure in left-wing opposition music. He has set to music poems by Nazım Hikmet, Orhan Veli, Sabahattin Ali, Enver Gökçe and Gülten Akın.
Livaneli's songs — first perceived as 'revolutionary anthems,' the very label he now objects to — have also become indispensable works of popular music. That much is fact.
LİVANELİ'S DECISION ON ERDOĞAN
Zülfü Livaneli, in his own words 'past 80,' was born in Konya’s Ilgın district. But 'Livane,' from which he took his surname, is in Yusufeli in Artvin close to the Georgian border. He has been a composer and musician for over 50 years. You do not have to be a music critic to appreciate the strength of his compositions.
In later years, though, he also chose to write novels and make films. That's his right — nothing to be said. Still, plenty of voices were raised telling him to 'stick to music.' He was Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rival in the 1994 election, the one in which Erdoğan was first elected mayor of Istanbul. The line 'the left can't win an election without uniting' dates back to those days — and who does it actually serve?
Just this week, he was back on stage again. His duets with Greek singer Maria Farantouri are famous — as is his work with the legendary Greek musician Mikis Theodorakis. Zülfü is music. And the music is good.
