Ай бөпем (Ay Bopem)
This song is about a woman who is leaving her village to move with her husband's family to a new place.
Ай бөпем (Ay Bopem)
Oh, My Little One
Lullaby
Lullaby
(Kazakh)
(English)
Аулым көшiп барады-ау
Алмалыға кiм көнбейдi тағдырдың
Салғанына-ай.
Көрмегелi көп айдың
Жүзi болды ата-анамның хабарың
Алмағалы-ай.
Припев:
Ай-ай бөпем кейiн қалған елiмдi
Көрер мекем-ай.
Игигай-игигай -оу.
Көрер мекем-ай.
Туған жерден сағыным
Топырағың көз алдыма келедi
Cол турағым-ай.
Ата-анамның аяулы
Аңсағанда ақ бөпемдi аялап
Отырамын-ай.
My village traveled to
Almaly, to build a life,
Oh, it is fate.
So many months,
Since I last got news
From my parents.
(Chorus)
Oh-oh, my little one,
Will I ever see the motherland
I left behind?
Will I ever see the motherland?
I miss the land where I was born,
I still see the land before my eyes,
My motherland,
My dear parents,
I miss, while cherishing my little one,
I sit here.
 - Kazakhstani Children's Songs - Kazakhstan - Mama Lisa's World: Children's Songs and Rhymes from Around the World
"Pin It")
Notes
Note: "Ай literally means "moon". But here it's just a kind of la-la-la (it has no meaning), it just shows her pain. It's used mostly in lullabies." -Ruslan Abdirashid
Pronunciation:
Aulim koship baradi
Almaliga kim konbeidi tagdirdin
Salganina-ai
Kormegeli kop aidin
Juz jil boldi akennin habarin
Almagali-ai.
(Chorus)
Ai-ai, bopem, keyin kalgan elimdi
Korer me ekem-ai?
Igigai-igigai-au,
Korer me ekem-ai?
Tugan jerdi saginip
Topiragi koz aldima keledi
Sol turagim-ai
Batirimdi ayauli
Ansaganda ak bopemdi ayalap
Otiramin-ai
Comments
Assylbek Alimbekov sent the following translation:
My awil's* gone far away --
Woman should obey her destiny,
When her fiance's taking her from her father's home.
And there is sorrow in my soul:
Still no breeze (news) about my parents
For several months.
Chorus:
-Sleep, my baby! When will we return back
-To our homeland?
-Sleep, my baby! When will we return back
-To our homeland?
-Igigay-igigay-au**!
-To our homeland?
-Igigay-igigay-au!
-To our homeland?
And when there is no place to hide from anguish,
I'm walking back there
- To my homeland...
And rocking the cradle of my daughter,
I sing her this lullaby,
In memory of my folks...
*Awil - Kazakh nomadic village.
**Kazakh special interjection.
Thanks!
Thanks!
Thanks and Acknowledgements
1st translation by Mama Lisa and Ruslan Abdirashid. 2nd translation by Assylbek Alimbekov.
Photo: Inside a Kazakh Yurt (1911 - 1914)
Рақмет!
