The song gained a new, legendary status during the . Khudayar Yusifzade , a 22-year-old warrant officer in the Azerbaijani Army, was filmed by his fellow soldiers singing "Vətən yaxşıdır" in a trenches-style performance just days before he was martyred in the battle for Zangilan.
Yusifzade, who had studied at the BulBul Art School in Barda , possessed a professional-grade voice. The video of him singing the lines "Motherland is better... even if it's a desert, it's better than a garden abroad" went viral across social media, turning the song into an anthem of resilience and sacrifice. Cultural Significance: "Khudayar Təsnifi"
Alibaba Mammadov, who lived to see the song's resurgence before his death in 2022, expressed his pride and sorrow that his composition became the "last song" of a national hero.
"Vətən yaxşıdır" was one of his many compositions based on classical Azerbaijani poetry, specifically the ghazals of . The lyrics express a profound, bittersweet devotion to one's homeland, reflecting the spiritual depth characteristic of the Azerbaijani national khanende school . The Hero’s Voice: Khudayar Yusifzade
Following his death, the Azerbaijani people began referring to the melody as the to honor his memory.
The song was originally composed by Alibaba Mammadov , a prominent Azerbaijani singer, composer, and People's Artist. Born in 1929, Mammadov was a master of mugham and the author of over 100 songs and tasnifs (rhythmic vocal sections of mugham).