The song titled “Vatan”, which in Turkish means homeland, refers to the reinstatement in 1908 by Sultan Abdul Hamid II of the 1876 Ottoman Constitution, following the Young Turks’ Revolution (for more information see here).

It was also recorded by Gülistan Hanım, with Arap Mehmet on the zurna, on March 8, 1909 in Constantinople (Istanbul) under the title “Hürriyet Şarkı - Gecemiz gündüz oldu” [Gramophone 12418 b – 6-12380 and reissued by Victor (63058-A)].

It should also be noted that other recordings possibly related to this song have been identified in discographical catalogues. However, no audio material has been located for any of them (for example):

– “Neva Hürriyet Şarkı – Kalkın ey vatandaşlar”, Ibrahim Effendi, Istanbul, February 26, 1909 (Gramophone 12261 b – 6-12224, Zonophone X-4-102073 and Victor 63062-A).
– “Hürriyet Kanto – Kalkın ey vatandaşlar”, Karakaş Efendi, March 8, 1909 (Gramophone 12395 b – 6-12359 and Zonophone X-6-102149).
– “Vatan Kanto – Kalkın ey vatandaşlar”, Naki Efendi, Thessaloniki, March 1909 (Gramophone 12722 b – 6-12586).

As noted by Rivka Havassy and Edwin Seroussi in the music publication "Eastern Mediterranean Judeo-Spanish Songs from the EMI Archive Trust (1907-1912)", a song with a similar theme— the reinstatement in 1908 of the 1876 Ottoman Constitution— based on the same melodic material, is also found in the Sephardic repertoire. According to this source, it is an abridged version of “Cante nuevo por la constitución, compuesto por se[ñor] Joseph Pinto, cantado a la misma voz del cante en turko Yaşasın Hürriyet adalet…”, that is, “New song for the constitution, composed by the elder Joseph Pinto, sung to the same melody as the Turkish song Yaşasın Hürriyet adalet” [Long live freedom, justice], which was published in the Judeo-Spanish periodical El Djugueton (Istanbul) on November 10, 1908. It was recorded by Jacob Algava in Thessaloniki in March 1909 under the title “Hermanos mis queridos” (Gramophone 12750 b – 2-12650).

A song with similar subject matter and the title “Marche de Niyazi et Enver Bey – Hürriyet Marşı” was also composed by Vasileios Sideris, with Turkish lyrics by Anastasios Tokatloglou.

The Turkish song “Caranfilim har bana” is also based on the same melody. It was recorded on February 26, 1909 in Istanbul by Ibrahim Effendi (Gramophone Concert Record 12268 b – 6-12231, Zonophone X-4-102080 and Victor 63064-B).

On the label of the record, the song is characterized as "kanto". In other words, it is considered part of the repertoire of the kantolar, a term that seems to have been first used by Turkish-speaking Muslims mainly in large urban centers and especially in Constantinople (Istanbul) since the time when Italian troupes performed there. Although initially the kantolar were associated only with theatrical music, they soon became autonomous, when the term "kanto" (singular form of kantolar) came to describe any popular and light secular singing forms (see Pennanen, 2004: 9, O'Connel, 2006: 276, Beşiroğlu & Girgin, 2018: 49).