THE INDEPENDENCE MARCHE

Fear not! For the crimson flag that proudly waves in these dawns, shall never fade,
Before the last fiery hearth that is ablaze within my nation burns out.
And that, is the star of my nation, and it will forever shine;
It is mine; and solely belongs to my nation.

Frown not, I beseech you, oh thou coy crescent,
But smile upon my heroic nation! Why the anger, why the rage?
The blood we shed for you will not be worthy otherwise;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation.

I have been free since the beginning and forever will be so.
What madman shall put me in chains! I defy the very idea!
I'm like the roaring flood; powerful and independent,
I'll tear apart mountains, exceed the heavens and still gush out!

The lands of the of the West may be armored with walls of steel,
But I have borders guarded by the mighty chest of a believer.
Recognize your innate strength! And think: how can this fiery faith ever be killed,
By that battered, single-toothed monster you call "civilization"?

My friend! Leave not my homeland to the hands of villainous men!
Render your chest as armor! Stop this disgraceful rush!
For soon shall be come the day of promised freedom...
Who knows? Perhaps tomorrow? Perhaps even sooner!

See not the soil you tread on as mere earth,
But think about the thousands beneath you that lie without even shrouds.
You're the noble son of a martyr, take shame, hurt not your ancestor!
Unhand not, even when you're promised worlds, this paradise of a homeland.

What man would not die for this heavenly piece of land?
Martyrs would gush out if you just squeeze the soil! Martyrs!
May God take all my loved ones and possessions from me if he will,
But may he not deprive me of my one true homeland for the world.

O Lord, the sole wish of my heart is that,
No infidel's hand should touch the bosom of my temple.
These adhans, the shahadah of which is the base of the religion,
Shall sound loud over my eternal homeland.

Then my tombstone - if there is one - will a thousand times touch its forehead on earth (like in salah) in ecstasy,
O Lord, tears of blood flowing out of my every wound,
My corpse will gush out from the earth like a spirit,
And then, my head will perhaps rise and reach the heavens.

So flap and wave like the dawning sky, oh glorious crescent,
So that our every last drop of blood may finally be worthy!
Neither you nor my nation shall ever be extinguished!
For freedom is the absolute right of my ever-free flag;
For freedom is the absolute right of my God-worshipping nation!
Mehmet Âkif ERSOY