kaatib

[MonsieurGonzalito]

Friends,

In the Pakistani program "Coke Studio" they have a song called "Ishq Kinara" that has some opening lines in Turkish. [Youtube: Pxds9ELol1A]
They go:

Üsküdar’a gider iken aldı da bir yağmur
On the way to Uskudara, it suddenly started to rain

Kâtibimin setresi uzun eteği çamur
My handsome kaatib’s coat was long, and its hem became muddy

I know from internet searches that "kaatib" is a word from Arabic origin meaning "scribe, scholar, clerk", etc.

Does it mean anything different in this song?
Is it used as a proper name?
Is there any obvious, specifically Turkish cultural reference one should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any hint.

 

[alibey71]

Kâtip means here "civil servant", nothing else.

 

[MonsieurGonzalito]

It would seem that it is a well-known folk song:

Kâtibim - Wikipedia

and that the clerk is, aside from his clerical duties, a love interest of the singer

 

[Cagsak]

It would seem that it is a well-known folk song:

Kâtibim - Wikipedia

and that the clerk is, aside from his clerical duties, a love interest of the singer

I

Friends,

In the Pakistani program "Coke Studio" they have a song called "Ishq Kinara" that has some opening lines in Turkish. [Youtube: Pxds9ELol1A]
They go:

Üsküdar’a gider iken aldı da bir yağmur
On the way to Uskudara, it suddenly started to rain

Kâtibimin setresi uzun eteği çamur
My handsome kaatib’s coat was long, and its hem became muddy

I know from internet searches that "kaatib" is a word from Arabic origin meaning "scribe, scholar, clerk", etc.

Does it mean anything different in this song?
Is it used as a proper name?
Is there any obvious, specifically Turkish cultural reference one should be aware of?

Thanks in advance for any hint.

Those men who write something especially official petitions, or the records, or letters, were called Katip in old Turkish. These people were earning money by writing and they were important. Remember we are talking about the period of time that lots of people were unable to write or read. People needed "katips" to send letters to their loved ones or to handle their official affairs. In the song, she is in love with a man whose profession is clerkship, which means he is well-educated and has an important job. She calls him "katibim" (my clerk) due to her love.
You may also be interested in the song Katip arzuhalim yaz yare böyle.