Armenian revolutionary songs (Armenian: Հայ յեղափոխական երգեր, Hay heghapokhagan yerker) are songs that promote Armenian patriotism. The origins of these songs lay largely in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, when Armenian political parties were established to struggle for the political and civil rights of Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire.

History

The Armenian revolutionary movement, initially led by the Social Democrat Hunchakian Party (est. 1887) and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (est. 1890), took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.^[1] This was caused by years of oppression from the Ottoman Empire, especially under the rule of sultan Abdul Hamid II. This was the period when Armenians began demanding their most basic rights and defending Armenian towns from Ottoman oppression. Certain armed Armenian patriotic groups formed to fight the Turkish oppression and defend Armenian towns from Kurdish brigands. These volunteer fighters were called fedayees. In some instances, they were successful in defending Armenian locals, earning them popular support and elevating them to the status of heroes. This environment was thus ideal for the development of Armenian patriotic songs to support these freedom fighters.^[2]

Meaning

Some of the songs tell the stories of individual fedayees, such as Serob Pasha and General Andranik, who confronted the Turkish onslaught. They also talk about historical battles, successful guerrilla operations, heroic deaths, and genocide, among other sensitive topics.^[3]

The songs are generally heard at Armenian gatherings. It is also seen as a way to educate the newer generation of Armenians about their history through the songs.

Armenian revolutionary songs are very popular among the youth of the Armenian diaspora.

List

Below is a list of several well-known Armenian songs. Popular current singers of these include Karnig Sarkissian, George Tutunjian, Nersik Ispiryan, Harout Pamboukjian, Berj Nakkashian, Samuel Vartanian.

Note that the English transcription of their Armenian names has been carried out in the Eastern Armenian dialect.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160305234018/http://armcamping.com/2011/04/ergum-enq-arshavneri-yntatsqum

Lyrics

Full of wounds, I am a fedayee

Wandering, I have no home,
Instead of my lover, I embrace my gun,
Nowhere have I had a peaceful sleep.

The mourning and weeping of the bloodied land,
Called me from my cloistered life.
The love of my tortured fatherland
Made me unafraid of danger.

I was dubbed a fedayee,
I became a soldier of an ideal:
Let the rivers of blood I have shed
Be an example to the Armenian soldier

I was crucified as a fedayee
For our sacred principles,
Let the blood that I have shed
Strengthen the Armenian soldier.

Lines from the traditional song "Verkerov Lee" ^[5]