Darío Moreno (April 3, 1921 – December 1, 1968) was a Turkish-Jewish polygl… Read Full Bio ↴Darío Moreno (April 3, 1921 – December 1, 1968) was a Turkish-Jewish polyglot singer, as well as an accomplished composer, lyricist and guitarist, who was born in İzmir, Turkey, in 1921, and who attained fame and made a remarkable career centered in France and which also included films, during the fifties and the sixties.

His real name was David Arugete and he was born in the poorer Jewish quarter of İzmir to a large family. He was orphaned in early childhood when his father, who worked in a train station in the city, was shot to death under tragic circumstances. He was placed in the Sephardic orphanage of İzmir (Nino De Guerfanos) by his mother and remained there until he was four.

After a patchy primary education in the Jewish educational establishments of İzmir, he did many odd jobs during his early youth. But he has also put great effort into bettering his education at the same time as working for the bread, and having started as an errand boy in the cabinet of one of the city's prominent lawyers, he was in time raised to becoming a clerk in his office. In the evenings, he would study French in İzmir's Central Library. With a guitar that had fallen into his hands by chance, he also learned, mainly on his own with occasional tutoring asked here and there, to master playing that instrument.

He started singing in the Bar Mitzva feasts as a secondary occupation. In his early twenties, he had already become a well-known singer in İzmir, and particularly among the Jewish community. During his military service in the Turkish army, he was employed as a singer in officers quarters in various garrisons and became more focused on music. His first truly professional musical performance started in his hometown right after his discharge, through connections established while under the arms. Since he had started making money thanks to music, he moved to the more well-off Jewish quarter of Karataş to a house in a street leading to the historical building of Asansör, one of the city's landmarks (and which means, literally, the "Escalator", people taking an actual escalator to go to the higher part of the quarter, this part being separated by the coastal strait with a steep slope). This street is named Dario Moreno Sokağı (Dario Moreno Street) today in his memory.

A hyper-active personality, Darío Moreno died of a heart attack in a taxi while going to the airport in İstanbul on 1 December 1968. He was only 47. He has been buried in Israel against his wish.

Istanbul
Dario Moreno Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night
Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've got a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

Istan-Istan-Istan-Istan-bul

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night
Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
So if you've got a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

Even old New York
Was once New Amsterdam
Why they changed it I can't say
People just liked it better that way

Istan-Istan-Istan-Istan-bul

Istanbul was Constantinople
Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
Been a long time gone, Constantinople
Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night
Every gal in Constantinople
Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople

So if you've got a date in Constantinople
She'll be waiting in Istanbul

Overall Meaning

The song Istanbul by Dario Moreno is a musical journey through the history of the city, formerly known as Constantinople. The singer opens by announcing the change that has occurred in recent times, from Constantinople to Istanbul. He prompts the listener to reflect on the fact that this transformation has been taking place over a long time, questioning whether the latter name is preferable. Despite this, he manages to paint a clear and romantic picture of the city by evoking the imagery of the Turkish delight that would be enjoyed by moonlight by anyone visiting Istanbul. The second verse returns to the central premise, with the idea that every gal in what was once Constantinople now lives in Istanbul, driving home the point that the name change has affected everyone who resided in the city. The final line of the verse expresses the reassurance that if you have a date in Constantinople, she will be waiting for you in Istanbul, tying the metaphorical and literal interpretations of the song together neatly.

Line by Line Meaning

Istanbul was Constantinople
The city that was once commonly known as Constantinople is now called Istanbul.

Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople
The name of the city was eventually changed to Istanbul from Constantinople.

Been a long time gone, Constantinople
The city's name was changed a while ago from Constantinople to Istanbul.

Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night
Istanbul is now associated with Turkish delights, especially during a moonlit night.

Every gal in Constantinople
All the women that were in Constantinople before now reside in Istanbul.

Lives in Istanbul, not Constantinople
These women now live in Istanbul, which is the city's new name.

So if you've got a date in Constantinople
If you happen to have a date in the old Constantinople city.

She'll be waiting in Istanbul
Your date will be present waiting to see you in the renamed Istanbul city.

Even old New York
Even New York City.

Was once New Amsterdam
At some point in history, New York City was named New Amsterdam.

Why they changed it I can't say
It is not clear why the name was changed from New Amsterdam to New York City.

People just liked it better that way
The name New York City was preferred over New Amsterdam, possibly due to various reasons such as linguistic, ethnic, or cultural issues.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Jimmy Kennedy, Nat Simon

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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