İstanbul
BİRSEN TEZER Lyrics

The lyrics to BİRSEN TEZER's song İstanbul paint a picture of the city as viewed through the eyes of a restless traveler. The singer is seen rushing to board a boat or ferry to unknown destinations, ignoring the hurried pace of the motor engine and the fluttering of seagulls behind. The verses are suggestive of two things simultaneously- a sense of enthusiasm to explore the unknown, the unexpected; and an underlying feeling of anxiety, desperation as if one is running away from something. The repeated phrase "Bırakıp gitmek var" (there is a need to leave) reinforces this impression.

The chorus emphasizes a contrast between the singer's vision and that of the city. The voice narrates of itself, how it feels- a voice of thousands- explaining the romance of its gaze fixed on its lover. And yet the lover, in turn, is not looking back at the voice (or the singer). The words reveal the sense of hurt and disappointment- the singer expects to be seen, to be reciprocated, but all it is getting is the eyes that belong to the city of Istanbul- cold, indifferent, and distant. The final lines repeat the urgency to leave, departing from the city, the pain of having to part accompanies the singer.

Overall, the song İstanbul uses the metaphor of a city to comment on the nature of human relationships. Istanbul, for the singer, is hard to read, ambivalent, just like the person the singer shares a relationship with. The city is a metaphor for the potential of what could be- infinite possibilities, both unknown and familiar.