Sari Gelin is a folk song popular among northern Middle Eastern peoples, such as Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Iraqis, Kurds, Persians, and Turks. The origin of the song is uncertain, though it is believed to have a Turkic origin. Sari Gelin has many different lyrical interpretations in many languages, but the melody remains unchanged. Whether the name Sari Gelin refers to a blonde bride, a girl/bride of the mountains, or simply a bride in yellow garments is unknown since the history and precise origin of many songs, originally belonging to oral folk traditions such as Sari Gelin, are difficult to determine.
A controversial documentary with the same title as the song (due to it being linked to Armenians in Turkey) was distributed in Turkish schools which shows the official Turkish version of the Armenian Genocide.
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Sarı is a Turkic adjective meaning "yellow." However, it can also mean "fair-skinned" or "blonde." The word gelin means someone who comes to the family (i.e. a bride), with its root in the Turkic word gel (meaning "come"). It is mainly used in the Turkish and Azerbaijani languages, and is a popular loan word from the Ottoman Turkish language by local minorities, like Armenians and Kurds.
Alternatively, local words were often adopted in the Ottoman Turkish language, and sarı may also derive from the Armenian word sari (meaning "of the mountain"). In Armenian, the song is also known as Sari Aghjik which means "Mountain Girl" and Vard Siretsi which means "I loved a rose."
In short, Sari Gelin could translate to "blonde bride/maiden" or "fair-skinned young girl", but also to "mountain bride," which would complement the folklore of the Turkish man falling in love with an Armenian maiden from the mountains (see Meaning below).
The song is known in Turkey to be based on a story similar to Romeo & Juliet, where a Muslim Turkish man falls in love with a Christian Armenian girl.[1][2] In Turkey, Sari Gelin is often used in documentaries or television programs about Armenians, and is somewhat recognized as a mourning song for the tragedy that befell the two nations. In Azerbaijan, Sari Gelin is known to be a legend in which "Blond Maiden" symbolizes the love between a Turk and a Christian lady after a Seljuk Turkish victory against the Byzantine Empire.[3]
Here are a few translated portions of the song in different languages:
In Azerbaijani:
In Armenian:
From Vard Siretsi (Sari Aghjik) / I Loved A Rose (Girl of Mountain):
From Sari Gyalin:
In Persian:
In Turkish: