Come, dear souls, let us be one
Let us strike the denier with the sword
Let us avenge the blood of Husayn
We have put our trust in God Most High
Pir Sultan Abdal, song 33, Abdülbâki Gölpınarlı and Pertev Naili Boratav, Pir Sultan Abdal (first edition 1943).
This quatrain is taken for a gentle invitation.
What follows has a sword, has blood, has a red banner.
It begins "Come, dear souls, let us be one."
The second line says against whom the unity stands.
It is easy to take the first line and leave the rest.
The song grows softer, but it loses something.
Unity has not always been a meek word.
Sometimes it is the voice of people
gathered against injustice.