Many of her song lyrics were inspired by the tormented Crimean Tatar history, and her patriotism and strong affinity for her cultural homeland of Crimea. For several years, Zarema was enlisted to read her lyrics at the annual commemorative ceremony at the grave of the legendary Crimean Tatar poet, Eshref Shemyi-zade, who in 1978 had been laid to rest in a cemetery near her hometown.