Hayat Bu İşte [English translation]

Sometimes I wish I could just abandon and leave too

There's an Istanbul inside me, that's why I can't give up

For perhaps one day you will pass its bridges too

I can't burn it down, nor can I tear it off my psyche

That's how life is,

When you could have just flown off,

You get confined within four walls

Searching for a reason to live,

You find one for dying instead

Tell me, what good is it even if it's worth a treasure?1

My hopes are like a cracked jug, leaking from the bottom drop by drop

Tell me, what use is it to live in a golden cage?

Half waiting for you, the other half of me slowly awaits death

That's how life is,

When you could have just flown off,

You get confined within four walls

Searching for a reason to live,

You find one for dying instead

1. Literal translation: "What good is it even if all its rocks and soil is golden?" - "All its rocks and soil is golden" is a common phrase referring to Istanbul, meaning it's a land of opportunity.