"SUN KING" or what ARE they saying at the end of the song?

Note that the Beatles freely mixed dialects and languages here, (Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese) and when this is combined with less than perfect enunciation and accent, many uncertainties arise, leading to many possible interpretations.

The lyrics are usually published as:

Quando paramucho mi amore de felice corazon
Mundo paparazzi mi amore chica ferdy parasol
Cuesto obrigado tanta mucho que can eat it carousel

NOTE: "chicka ferdy" is a Liverpool expression (see John's comments on this below) but could also be a combination Spanish/Liverpudlian pun "chica verde" [green girl]

"Parasol" is an umbrella, of course, but literally translates as "para sole" [for the sun], or perhaps "pa Re sole" [for sun king],

"Paparazzi" are people who take pictures of celebrities.

"que can eat it" should be "que/cake and eat it", (see John's comments below on this pun),

"carousel" is a popular brand of chocolates in Britain.

"Obrigado" is Portuguese [thank you],

 

So now a rough literal translation would most likely be:

Quando para mucho mi amore de felice corazon
WHEN FOR MUCH OF MY LOVE OF HAPPY HEART

Mundo paparazzi mi amore chicka/chica ferdy/verde para sole
WORLD PAPARAZZI, MY LOVE, CHICKA FERDY (or GREEN GIRL) FOR THE SUN

Cuesto obrigado, tanta mucho, que/cake and eat it, carousel
THIS THANKS, VERY MUCH, CAKE AND EAT IT, CAROUSEL (chocolates)

 

On the bootleg lp "Abbey Road Talks" John is interviewed about the lyrics to his song "Sun King" and says:

"We just started joking, you know, singing `quando para mucho'. So we just made up, ah, Paul knew a few Spanish words from school, you know. So we just strung any Spanish words that sounded vaguely like something. And of course we got `chicka ferdy' in. That's a Liverpool expression - just like sort of - it doesn't mean anything to me but `na-na, na-na-na' [John says this as one child would to taunt another].

"The one we missed, we could have had paranoia, you know. Forgot all about it. We used to call ourselves `Los Paranoios' [this translates as `The Paranoids']. Quando paramucho/paranoios.

"Thought we'd have a hit with that in other countries if we take it off separate.

" `Cake and eat it' is another nice line too. Because they have that in Spanish - que - or something - and eat it. So we could have `que/cake and eat it'."

 

So if John had it to do over again, the lyrics would be "Quando paranoios"

[When the paranoids] instead of "quando para mucho" [If for much].

 

© Mario Giannella 1993 and (revised) 2010

Knoxville, TN

beatlesong@yahoo.com

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