In a folk song that was compiled by Cahit Öztelli there is a saying as "to give the shaiwar for wine" which means "to give up the last and the most important thing owned to buy wine". To express "giving up the most valuable thing owned", there are different sayings. In Turkish folk literature it is "to sell the shaiwar for wine", in Divan and Persian literature it is "to give the cardigan or the notebook for wine", in Arabic literature it is "to give the camel or the cardigan for wine". In this image the teller is mostly the poet. However the teller changes in some occasions. He might be different persons like "abdal, sufi, zahit, rint", wine drinkers (ayyaş, harabat ehli, müflis, mest), religious-historical figures (Bey Bayezit, Şeyh-i San'an) or a transcendental figure like the soul. The object that the teller sacrifices for is mostly wine but according to its importance in society it turns to a shaiwar, a cardigan, a book, or a camel in different occasions.A similar expression as "to give the cardigan for wine" can be seen in the 14th century texts of Divan literature. Very same phrase can be read in the Persian verses of Eastern famous poet Hâfız-ı Şirazî (1318-1389). Furthermore this expression can be traced to the 6th and 7th century Arabian literature.The vastness and the depth of this image throughout history give us hints about the sources of Divan literature, the relation among Divan, Arabic and Persian literatures, and common elements in Divan and folk literatures. By using the diachronic method this study aims to find out how far an expression in a Turkish folk song can be traced throughout history and by which means it was transferred to this folk song.