THE TURKISH NATIONAL ANTHEM
-To Our Heroic Army-

Fear not! For the red banner that waves in these dawns shall never fade, Before the last hearth that is burning atop my nation is extinguished. That is the star of my nation; it shall shine; That is mine; it belongs to my nation alone.

Frown not, I beg of you, oh coy crescent! Smile upon my heroic race! Why this violence, why this wrath? Otherwise, our blood shed for you shall not be worthy, Independence is the right of my God-fearing nation.

I have been free since eternity, and free I shall live. Which madman shall put me in chains? I would be surprised! I am like a roaring flood; I would trample my banks and overflow; I would tear through mountains, I cannot be contained by the vastness; I overflow.

If the horizon of the West is encircled with a wall of armored steel, I have a frontier like my chest filled with faith. You are mighty, fear not! How can such a faith be suffocated by The monster you call "Civilization," which has but one tooth left?

My friend! Do not let the low-minded approach my homeland; Shield your body, let this shameful assault stop. The days that God has promised you shall be born… Who knows, maybe tomorrow… maybe even sooner than tomorrow.

Do not pass by the ground you tread upon, saying "it is just soil," recognize it! Think of the thousands who lie beneath without shrouds. You are the son of a martyr, do not hurt your ancestor, it is a pity; Do not give away this paradise of a homeland, even if you were given worlds.

Who would not sacrifice their life for this paradise of a homeland? Martyrs would gush out if you were to squeeze the soil, martyrs! May God take my soul, my loved ones, and all I possess, But may He not deprive me of my only homeland in this world.

Oh Divine, the only wish of my soul from Thee is this: Let no infidel’s hand touch the bosom of my sanctuary! These adhans (calls to prayer), whose testimonies are the basis of religion, Should echo over my eternal homeland.

Then, my tombstone—if there is one—shall prostrate a thousand times in ecstasy; Bloody tears shall flow from my every wound, Oh Divine, My corpse shall gush forth from the earth like a pure spirit; Then, perhaps, my head shall rise and touch the Heavens.

Wave then, like the dawns, oh glorious crescent! May all my blood shed be worthy now. No extinction for you, no extinction for my race eternally: Freedom is the right of my ever-free flag; Independence is the right of my God-fearing nation!

-Mehmet Akif Ersoy.