“KÖLN BÜLBÜLÜ” YÜKSEL ÖZKASAP’IN TÜRKÜLERİNDE GÖÇ OLGUSU
THE PHENOMENON OF MIGRATION IN THE FOLK SONGS OF YÜKSEL ÖZKASAP, “THE NIGHTINGALE OF COLOGNE”

Summary/Abstract: With the “Turkish Labor Recruitment Agreement” signed between the Federal Germany and the Republic of Türkiye in 1961, labor migration from Türkiye to Germany began. Following this migration, the difficulties experienced by migrants were more easily expressed through literature. Problems such as homesickness, exclusion, harsh living conditions, language barriers, and racism were reflected not only in stories and writings but also in folk songs. During this period, themes such as loneliness and sorrow, alienation, exile and longing, and labor exploitation frequently appeared in these songs. Migrant folk songs constitute primary sources in terms of sociology, literature, and cultural studies. This article focuses on the problems experienced by the first generation, known as the first wave of migrants to Germany. One of the first names that comes to mind when discussing exilethemed folk songs and the reflection of first-generation experiences in music is Yüksel Özkasap. She became widely known throughout Germany by the nickname “The Nightingale of Cologne,” given to her by Germans. The aim of this study is to examine the phenomenon of migration and migrant identity in the selected exile-themed folk songs of Yüksel Özkasap, a pioneering figure in migrant folk music. In seven selected works by the artist, the theme of “exile/gurbet” was analyzed through the hermeneutic method in order to identify the difficulties experienced by the first generation of migrants.

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