Ervah-ı Ezelden (folk song)

“Ervah-ı Ezelde Levh-i Kalemde” is a folk song within the tradition of Turkish folk music and âşıklık. Its name is derived from its opening line. The work was produced within an oral culture and transmitted from generation to generation. Sources associate the song with the tradition of âşık literature and attribute it to the poet Aşık Sümmânî. Today, the song has been documented through musical notation, written records, and audiovisual recordings.

The âşıklık tradition is a form of folk literature centered on the performance of poetry accompanied by the saz, transmitted orally from performer to performer. Works in this tradition are performed without reliance on a fixed written text; lyrics and melodies may vary across different renditions over time. According to information on the Culture Portal, âşıks address themes such as fate, love, and social relationships alongside personal emotions in their poetry.
The song “Ervah-ı Ezelde Levh-i Kalemde” exemplifies these core characteristics of the âşıklık tradition through its conceptual content and expressive style.

Aşık Sümmânî was a folk poet who lived at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. His poems and songs were performed orally within the âşıklık tradition and later collected and transcribed into written form.
The song “Ervah-ı Ezelde Levh-i Kalemde” is listed among the works attributed to Sümmânî in repertoires and oral transmission sources. This attribution is based on oral tradition and compilation studies.

The lyrics of the song were transmitted orally and are now preserved through written and visual sources. The version found in the provided sources is as follows:

Ervah-ı ezelde levh-i kalemde
Şu benim bahtımı kara yazmışlar
Bilirim güldürmez devr-i âlemde
Bir günümü yüz bin zâra yazmışlar
Arif bilir aşk ehlinin hâlini
Kaldırır gönlünden kil ü kâlini
Herkes dosta vermiş arzuhâlini
Benimkini ürüzgâra yazmışlar
Olaydı dünyada ikbâlim yâver
El etsem sevdiğim acep kim ever
Bilmem tecellî mi yoksa ki kader
Beni bir vefasız yâre yazmışlar
Yazanlar Leylâ’nın Mecnun kitabın
Sümmani’yi bir kenara yazmışlar

Themes such as fate, fortune, love, and individual destiny are prominent in the lyrics. These themes are commonly found within the repertoire of the âşıklık tradition.

^{Ervah-ı Ezelden türküsü (yapay zeka ile oluşturulmuştur.)}