TEK GÖZ (The Eye Beneath the Mountain) A6

Anatolian progressive folk metal, blackened groove metal

[Intro: solitary plucked kopuz, grinding stone, one immense heartbeat]
[V1: spoken, buried, almost smiling]
Ben Tepegöz'düm. (I was Tepegöz.)
Şimdi taşın içindeki yankıyım. (Now I'm the echo inside the stone.)
You tell the tale of how I died.
Tell it well. You left a little out.

[Verse 1: 9/8 limping davul, bowed kemençe, clawing bass]
My mother walked beyond your world;
A fairy's ring made arrows fail.
Beş yüz koyun, iki can, (Five hundred sheep, two lives,)
You bought one dawn, and nothing more.
Oğuz obasında korku büyüdü, (Fear grew in the Oghuz encampment,)
Fear knelt behind a hundred doors.
Ben tek gözle gördüm sizi; (I saw you all with one eye;)
One eye was plenty for your wars.

[Pre-Chorus: galloping toms, bağlama doubles guitar riff]
Then Basat came with fire in hand,
The lion-raised son of Oghuz land.
Kızgın demir, tek bir göz! (Red-hot iron, a single eye!)
The cave grew bright; my world went black.
And when my own sword found my neck,
The Oghuz took their morning back.

[Chorus: huge 4/4 stomp, crushing riff, fierce clear melody]
TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!)
You killed the sun behind my brow!
TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!)
Can you hear the mountain now?
Bir göz söndü, taş uyandı! (One eye went dark, the stone awoke!)
You carved your triumph into stone.
You counted every eye you saw,
But never counted what lay below.

[Instrumental: crooked 9/8 guitar riff, electric bağlama, kemençe above bass]

[Verse 2: stalking half time, low Turkish declamation]
Koyunlar çıktı mağaramdan, (The sheep came out of my cave,)
A stolen fleece slipped through my hands.
Basat, kendi kılıcımla (Basat, with my own sword,)
You cut the nightmare from your land.
Başımı aldın, oba sevindi, (You took my head; the encampment rejoiced,)
The Oghuz sang; the fires burned.
Ben öldüm; yalan değil bu. (I died; that is no lie.)
But something far beneath me stirred.

[Refrain: nearly dry vocal, bass and stone percussion]
Mezarımı mühürlediniz. (You sealed my grave.)
I died. That much is true.
Dağ sustu mu? Dinle! (Did the mountain fall silent? Listen!)
The mountain's listening to you.

[Chorus: double kick, wide distorted guitars, no backing voices]
TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!)
You killed the sun behind my brow!
TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!)
Can you hear the mountain now?
Bir göz söndü, taş uyandı! (One eye went dark, the stone awoke!)
You carved your triumph into stone.
You counted every eye you saw,
But never counted what lay below.

[Bridge: all drums vanish, bowed bass, brittle rock fracture]
Yüzyıllar geçti kemiklerimin üstünden. (Centuries passed over my bones.)
You built your houses on the slope.
Taşa kuyular açtınız, (You dug wells into the rock,)
And called the deep earth safe to own.
Çocuklar artık benden korkmaz. (Children no longer fear me.)
They laugh at how the giant fell.
Kuyu suyu geceleri ısınır, (The well water grows warm at night,)
And something blinks beneath the well.

[Breakdown: 7/8 cracking rhythm, crawling sub bass]
[V1: whispered from deep stone]
Dağın altında ne var? (What lies beneath the mountain?)
What sleeps beneath your feet?
Bu benim dönüşüm değil. (This is not my return.)
This is not my return.
Ben onun sakladığı en küçük şeydim. (I was the smallest thing it kept hidden.)
I was the eye that had to burn.

[Build: accelerating davul, tremolo kemençe, guitar harmonics]
Dağ yarıldı, ses çıkmadı, (The mountain split without a sound,)
The sky goes narrow, black and red.
Taştan bir göz kapağı açıldı, (An eyelid of stone opened,)
And shadow falls across the dead.
[V1: shouted, fiercely melodic]
DAĞ UYANDI! DAĞ UYANDI! (THE MOUNTAIN AWOKE! THE MOUNTAIN AWOKE!)
The stone is looking back!

[Final Chorus: colossal riff, full drums, single savage lead]
TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!)
You killed the sun behind my brow!
TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!)
Can you hear the mountain now?
Bir göz söndü, DAĞ UYANDI! (One eye went dark, THE MOUNTAIN AWOKE!)
Your swords cannot undo what's done.
I was the first eye that you closed.
The mountain opens its other one.

[Outro: sudden collapse to heartbeat, lone plucked string]
[V1: intimate, almost grateful]
Basat... beni öldürdün. (Basat... you killed me.)
And yes, you set your people free.
Ama mezarın altına bakmadın. (But you never looked beneath the grave.)
You never saw what sheltered me.
[V1: whispered, rock splits, cold silence]
İkinci göz açıldı. (The second eye opened.)
Sizi görüyor. (It sees you all.)
[End: one stone impact, hard silence]

4765/7500

[Cast: V1 Inara] [V1: deep feral female alto, articulate Turkish, ancient predatory storyteller, low rasp, melodic controlled power, solitary lead] [Tempo: 112 BPM] [Key: E Phrygian dominant, dark modal turns] [Time Signature: 9/8 aksak verses, 4/4 choruses] [Intro: solitary plucked kopuz, grinding stone, one immense heartbeat] [V1: spoken, buried, almost smiling] Ben Tepegöz'düm. (I was Tepegöz.) Şimdi taşın içindeki yankıyım. (Now I'm the echo inside the stone.) You tell the tale of how I died. Tell it well. You left a little out. [Verse 1: 9/8 limping davul, bowed kemençe, clawing bass] My mother walked beyond your world; A fairy's ring made arrows fail. Beş yüz koyun, iki can, (Five hundred sheep, two lives,) You bought one dawn, and nothing more. Oğuz obasında korku büyüdü, (Fear grew in the Oghuz encampment,) Fear knelt behind a hundred doors. Ben tek gözle gördüm sizi; (I saw you all with one eye;) One eye was plenty for your wars. [Pre-Chorus: galloping toms, bağlama doubles guitar riff] Then Basat came with fire in hand, The lion-raised son of Oghuz land. Kızgın demir, tek bir göz! (Red-hot iron, a single eye!) The cave grew bright; my world went black. And when my own sword found my neck, The Oghuz took their morning back. [Chorus: huge 4/4 stomp, crushing riff, fierce clear melody] TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!) You killed the sun behind my brow! TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!) Can you hear the mountain now? Bir göz söndü, taş uyandı! (One eye went dark, the stone awoke!) You carved your triumph into stone. You counted every eye you saw, But never counted what lay below. [Instrumental: crooked 9/8 guitar riff, electric bağlama, kemençe above bass] [Verse 2: stalking half time, low Turkish declamation] Koyunlar çıktı mağaramdan, (The sheep came out of my cave,) A stolen fleece slipped through my hands. Basat, kendi kılıcımla (Basat, with my own sword,) You cut the nightmare from your land. Başımı aldın, oba sevindi, (You took my head; the encampment rejoiced,) The Oghuz sang; the fires burned. Ben öldüm; yalan değil bu. (I died; that is no lie.) But something far beneath me stirred. [Refrain: nearly dry vocal, bass and stone percussion] Mezarımı mühürlediniz. (You sealed my grave.) I died. That much is true. Dağ sustu mu? Dinle! (Did the mountain fall silent? Listen!) The mountain's listening to you. [Chorus: double kick, wide distorted guitars, no backing voices] TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!) You killed the sun behind my brow! TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!) Can you hear the mountain now? Bir göz söndü, taş uyandı! (One eye went dark, the stone awoke!) You carved your triumph into stone. You counted every eye you saw, But never counted what lay below. [Bridge: all drums vanish, bowed bass, brittle rock fracture] Yüzyıllar geçti kemiklerimin üstünden. (Centuries passed over my bones.) You built your houses on the slope. Taşa kuyular açtınız, (You dug wells into the rock,) And called the deep earth safe to own. Çocuklar artık benden korkmaz. (Children no longer fear me.) They laugh at how the giant fell. Kuyu suyu geceleri ısınır, (The well water grows warm at night,) And something blinks beneath the well. [Breakdown: 7/8 cracking rhythm, crawling sub bass] [V1: whispered from deep stone] Dağın altında ne var? (What lies beneath the mountain?) What sleeps beneath your feet? Bu benim dönüşüm değil. (This is not my return.) This is not my return. Ben onun sakladığı en küçük şeydim. (I was the smallest thing it kept hidden.) I was the eye that had to burn. [Build: accelerating davul, tremolo kemençe, guitar harmonics] Dağ yarıldı, ses çıkmadı, (The mountain split without a sound,) The sky goes narrow, black and red. Taştan bir göz kapağı açıldı, (An eyelid of stone opened,) And shadow falls across the dead. [V1: shouted, fiercely melodic] DAĞ UYANDI! DAĞ UYANDI! (THE MOUNTAIN AWOKE! THE MOUNTAIN AWOKE!) The stone is looking back! [Final Chorus: colossal riff, full drums, single savage lead] TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!) You killed the sun behind my brow! TEK GÖZ! TEK GÖZ! (ONE EYE! ONE EYE!) Can you hear the mountain now? Bir göz söndü, DAĞ UYANDI! (One eye went dark, THE MOUNTAIN AWOKE!) Your swords cannot undo what's done. I was the first eye that you closed. The mountain opens its other one. [Outro: sudden collapse to heartbeat, lone plucked string] [V1: intimate, almost grateful] Basat... beni öldürdün. (Basat... you killed me.) And yes, you set your people free. Ama mezarın altına bakmadın. (But you never looked beneath the grave.) You never saw what sheltered me. [V1: whispered, rock splits, cold silence] İkinci göz açıldı. (The second eye opened.) Sizi görüyor. (It sees you all.) [End: one stone impact, hard silence]

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