Bu şarkı bana eski günleri hatırlatıyor.

A natural breakdown is:

• Bu = this
• şarkı = song
• bana = to me
• eski günleri = the old days
• hatırlatıyor = is reminding / reminds

So the structure is:

subject + person affected + thing remembered + verb

More literally, Turkish is expressing something like:

This song is causing the old days to come back to me.

Bana is the dative form of ben and means to me.

With hatırlatmak (to remind), the person who receives the reminder is marked with the dative:

• bana = to me
• sana = to you
• ona = to him/her/it

So in this sentence, bana shows who is being reminded.

This is just one of the irregular pronoun forms you have to learn.

• ben → bana = to me
• sen → sana = to you

Even though the dative ending is usually -a / -e, these two pronouns do not behave in the most predictable way. So bana is simply the correct standard form.

Because eski günleri is the direct object, and it is specific/definite here: the old days.

In Turkish, a specific direct object usually takes the accusative ending.

• günler = days
• günleri = the days / old days as a specific object

So eski günleri means something like the old days, not just old days in general.

Not in this sentence.

It is true that günleri can be ambiguous when seen by itself, because forms like this can sometimes involve possession. But here, the context clearly shows that it means:

• günler
  • -i
• days
  • accusative

So here it means the old days as the thing being remembered, not his/her old days.

Because hatırlamak means to remember, while hatırlatmak means to remind.

Compare:

• Ben eski günleri hatırlıyorum. = I remember the old days.
• Bu şarkı bana eski günleri hatırlatıyor. = This song reminds me of the old days.

In your sentence, the song is not doing the remembering. The song is making someone remember. That is why Turkish uses hatırlatmak.

The dictionary form is hatırlatmak = to remind.

It is built from hatırlamak (to remember) with a causative element:

• hatırla- = remember
• -t- = cause to do
• -ıyor = present continuous

So hatırlatıyor literally carries the idea of:

is causing someone to remember

That is exactly why it matches English reminds.

It is the present continuous form.

• hatırlatıyor = is reminding / reminds

In Turkish, the present continuous is used not only for actions happening at this exact moment, but also for things that are currently true, emotionally vivid, or repeatedly experienced.

So here it can naturally translate as either:

• is reminding me
• reminds me

depending on the English style you want.

Yes.

Hatırlatır is the aorist/simple present, and it sounds more like a general fact or habitual truth.

• hatırlatıyor = more immediate, vivid, common in everyday speech
• hatırlatır = more general, timeless, or literary

So both can work, but hatırlatıyor often feels more natural in conversation.

Because Turkish usually uses case endings instead of separate prepositions like English of, to, or from.

With hatırlatmak:

• the person is marked with the dative: bana
• the thing remembered is the direct object: eski günleri

So Turkish does not need a separate word meaning of in this sentence.

Because Turkish adjectives do not agree with nouns in number or case.

So:

• eski gün = old day
• eski günler = old days
• eski günleri = the old days

Notice that eski stays the same every time. The endings go on the noun, not on the adjective.

Not completely. Turkish word order is fairly flexible, but the version you have is very natural and neutral:

Bu şarkı bana eski günleri hatırlatıyor.

This order clearly gives:

• Bu şarkı = subject
• bana = to me
• eski günleri = direct object
• hatırlatıyor = verb

You can move parts around for emphasis, but the verb usually stays at the end, and the original sentence is the most straightforward way to say it.