Gaining The Freedom To Listen To Music

My Story with International Music — Latin, Arabic, English, Turkish

11 months ago, I arrived in Turkey. The first thing that struck me was how different it was from Palestine; it was kind of freer. Moreover, it was incredibly more diverse in ways I couldn’t imagine. The people I met came from all over the world, from Latin America, Kazakhstan, Russia, and so many other countries.

In Palestine, I have never exchanged songs with a friend, for a common belief that songs are in a way ‘haram’, a religious term that points to things which are not allowed for Muslims. Of course, each community would be conservative to a certain degree. The Turkish community and the world of Istanbul, is, although far from perfect, much more free and open-minded than Palestine.

I have started listening to music. Every time that I took the 2 hours ride from Beykoz to my university in Kadikoy, I listened to music while enjoying the scenery of the Bosphorus. My playlist consisted of songs that were lovingly recommended to me by my international friends.

Reggatone

The first obvious winner for my taste was Latin Reggaeton. I fell in love with the Latin culture, in every way, from the way that they treat their relationships with people to the music that is so energetic and party-like.

The first song that I loved was for the artist Mora.

MEMORIAS is a story of a breakup; the artist has given his girlfriend everything he could, and unfortunately that was not enough, for he one day come back and found her cheating. It’s the story of a broken heart.

Here’s some the best lyrics from the song:

Spanish

Hoy borro tus memorias, tu contacto y to’ tus videos Llegó el final de esta historia, no te arrepientas porque ya no te creo

Y a ti yo te leo, aunque tú seas Piscis Cuando no tenía ni carro te buscaba en bici Pero tú me fallaste y la pusiste easy Quédate con toas las Louis Vuitton y con las Yeezy Si quieres, busca a otro cabrón que te lleve de compras No te vo’ a dar mi corazón pa que otra vez lo rompas

English Translation

Today I’ll delete your memories, your contact and all your videos The end of your story is here, don’t regret it because I don’t believe you anymore

And I read you even if you’re Pisces When I didn’t have a car, I used to pick you up in byke But you failed me and made it easy

Stay with the Louis Vuitton and the Yeezy If you want to, get another bastard to take you shopping I won’t give you my heart so that you break it once again

It’s interesting that I have learned my A2 level Spanish mainly from songs that I was so passionate about.

In this genre, there are so many amazing songs that just come out of my playlist, including :-

Calm Latin Music

A really close friend recommended this song to me and I have been in love ever since. The song is emotional, relaxing, and beautiful in every way.

My favorite lyrics : -

Vivo fingiendo un sueño que no se cuenta Vivo imaginándote, sólo imaginándote Pero el amor se escapa, aunque yo te mienta Yo estaba buscándote, sola aquí esperándote Y tú, mirándome sin hablar Y yo, hablándote sin mirar Y tú, no sé lo que estás sintiendo Pero yo me estoy muriendo No aguanto más

Translation

I live pretending a dream that cannot be told I live imagining you, only imagining you But the love escapes, even if I lie to you I was looking for you, alone here waiting for you

And you, looking at me without speaking And I, speaking to you without looking And you, I don’t know what you’re feeling But I am dying I can’t take it anymore

Other famous latin artists for this style include Morat, my favorite of his songs is Salir Con Vida

Arabic Songs

For a long time I was thinking that Arabic music wasn’t attractive to me, especially that my ears didn’t like the loud songs of Egyptian party songs, and for some reason, I over-generalized this image. Little did I know that Arabic music is magical.

My first song that I really liked was an Iraqi song with the name of “Taal”, which in Arabic means “Come”. In fact, I liked it so much that I decided to translate all of its relics and make them into a video, which I then shared to Instagram.

Favorite Lyrics are:

اريد اكلك اني قافل عليك I want to tell you that I like you no matter what واريد اشرد بيك and I want to escape with you تروح ما اخليك I’ll not let you go تعال تعال تعال Come Come Come

يا ويلي ويلي شلون انام Oh my, Oh my, how can I sleep واني موتني الغرام and I’m dying of love روحي متخبلة عليك, هواي My soul is fond of you, so much تعرف احساسي شنو You know how my feeling is يخبل وكلش حلو is so likable and so nice والي متخبل عليك هواي and this who’s fond of you, is me

Here you can hear the entire song with its lyrics:

Another beautiful Arabic song is the famous “LM3ALLEM”, which means “The Boss” from Morocco. It has a notable catchy melody, made with the blend of various musical instruments, which makes it perfect for dancing!

Some Lyrics Translated to English:

You’re the boss and from you, we learn You’re the boss and from you, we learn We stay quiet in your presence We can’t talk We stay quiet in your presence We can’t talk

And whoever leaves you doesn’t understand, he’ll regret it one day And whoever leaves you doesn’t understand, he’ll regret it one day

There are so many other beautiful Arab songs, some of which are sad and are about lost love and break up, some are upbeat like the ones I shared, and some others are beautifully motivating and uplifting. I’ll share with you my Arabic playlist.

English Music

This is probably the first music type that I have started exploring. Now that I notice a pattern in my taste, I find the electronic, party music to have dominated most of my liked list.

At the time, I loved Tiesto’s song “The Motto” for how crazy and upbeat it was.

Some of its lyrics:

Oh, you know, you know, you know that’s the motto (mm-mm) Drop a few bills then pop a few champagne bottles (mm-mm) Throwin’ that money like you just won the lotto (mm-mm) We been up all damn summer makin’ that bread and butter Tell me, did I just stutter? That’s the motto (mm-mm)

Some other English songs I liked include :-

Sad Boy (feat. Ava Max & Kylie Cantrall) I’m Good (Blue) Around the World (La La La La La) — Radio Version Say My Name Acapulco Dance Monkey Takeaway (feat. Lennon Stella) — Pilton Remix

I want to listen to many more English songs because I feel that I haven’t explored the culture and different tastes enough. I was too distracted and fascinated by the ones of other languages. For that reason, if you have a song you’re passionate about, write about it in the comments!

Turkish Songs

I have been learning Turkish for almost 11 months now, and until now I still can’t understand 100% of Turkish lyrics. The language is so wide and complex that it takes a while to really immerse myself in its music culture. Mind you, Turkish music is so amazing and diverse. It goes all the way from Rap to Reggaetón to Sad Love music, my favorite in this language.

I’d like to share with you a song “Başıma Belasın” or “You are a trouble to my head,” by the awesome singer Aleyna Tilki, which I’ll attend one of her concerts this week.

Some of the lyrics are

Ben kalbimin orta yerine seni yazdım Bir gülsen razıyım Nasıl aldın ahımı, ne geçti söyle eline? Ben kara, sen ner’deysen orası beyazdır Ah, başıma belasın Ne günlere kaldık, o yıllar dönmez geriye

In English

I wrote you in the middle of my heart I’m okay with a smile How did you get my heart, tell me what happened to you?

I’m black, wherever you are there was white Oh, you trouble me What days are left, those years will not return

Another Turkish song I loved is “Bilmem Mi?” It’s one of the first Turkish songs that I managed to understand, a song of finding your love by your side when you search for it.

Turkish Bilmem mi? Zor günlerimde hep sen yanımda vardın (oo, ya) Oo, ah Günlerdir Hissettiğim bu şey, ben yarım mı kaldım? (ah) Oo, ah

English Don’t I know? You were always there for me in my hard days (oo, ya) Oo, ah For days This is what I’m feeling, am I half done? (ah)

This is only a small part of the music that I have stumbled upon in Turkey, and I wish to meet more people and expand on it. Music to me is passion, it’s art, it’s stories and cultures. Each song tells a little bit about the people who made it and a story filled with emotions and memories. If you have a similar music playlist that makes you move or be emotional, please share with us in the comments.