Severim Ben Seni

About the Song

This setting draws on a beloved devotional poem attributed to Yunus Emre (13th–14th c.), a central voice of Sufism. He carried metaphysical ideas, the unity of being, the annihilation of the ego, and compassion for all creation into a language ordinary people could sing. The text speaks in the plain, intimate register Yunus is known for, yet it opens onto deep metaphysical ground: love of the Beloved “from the very core of the soul” (candan içerû), the hidden self “within the self” (benden içerû), the disciplined path of practice (erkân), and theophany (tecellî).

Think of the Turkish Ney as both a simple reed flute and a spiritual teacher. In Sufi tradition its core lesson is: empty yourself so breath can speak. The Ney is a hollow reed; only when it is truly empty can breath (nefes, a sign of the soul) turn into tone. Rumi begins the Masnavi with the reed cut from its bed; that cut stands for human existence, a life lived at a distance from the Source, so the Ney’s voice sounds like longing rather than display.

Learning Ney is slow, sometimes months on one note, and that pace trains humility, patience, and adab, meaning respectful conduct. You shape the tone by shaping yourself. We are hollow reeds; when ego quiets, breath tells the truth and the ney makes it audible.

Lyrics

Severim ben seni candan içerû
Severim ben seni candan içerû
Yolum vardır bu erkândan içerû
Yolum vardır bu erkândan içerû

Sorma beni bana, ben bende değilem
Sorma beni bana, ben bende değilem
Bir ben vardır bende benden içerû
Bir ben vardır bende benden içerû

Tecellîden nasîb erdi kimine
Kiminin maksûdu bundan içerû

Senin aşkın beni benden alıptır
Ne şirin dert bu dermandan içerû

Severim seni ben candan içerû
Yolum vardır bu erkândan içerû

Nereye bakar isem dopdolusun
“Süleyman kuş dilin’ bilir” dediler
“Süleyman kuş dilin’ bilir” dediler
Süleyman var Süleyman’dan içerû
Süleyman var Süleyman’dan içerû

Kesildi takâtim dizde dermân yok
Bu ne mezhep imiş dinden içerû
Yunus’un sözleri hundur, ateştir
Yunus’un sözleri hundur, ateştir
Kapında kul var sultandan içerû
Kapında kul var sultandan içerû