Let It Be in Kham Mueang: Telling the Song's Ideas

Let It Be by The Beatles is a song of comfort that people around the world can sing along to. It is about someone in a dark time who receives a simple word of reassurance from their mother. In this article we ask a playful question: how would a Northerner (khon mueang) talk about accepting things, staying calm, and not worrying too much? We pick up several useful Kham Mueang words for the heart and for comforting someone.

The closest word to the sense of "let it be" in the Kham Mueang dictionary is chai yen ไจเอยฯันฯ, which is glossed as having a steady heart, not quick to anger, not hurried.

The song is still under copyright, so we do not translate it line by line, and we quote only two short phrases (besides the title). What we take from it is its ideas, and then we try saying those ideas in Kham Mueang. This is one of the articles in the series World songs in Kham Mueang. If you have not read the first one, see My Way.

Where Let It Be comes from

The origin. Paul McCartney wrote and sang the song, which is credited to Lennon–McCartney, according to Wikipedia and The Beatles Bible. McCartney said it came from a dream of his mother, Mary, who died of cancer in 1956 when he was 14. The Beatles Bible says he wrote it during the White Album sessions, a time when he felt isolated as the only member still keen to keep the group together. In the dream, he remembers his mother telling him that it would be all right, though he is not sure she actually said the words "let it be".

The sources do not agree on where the song came from. Wikipedia reports that Mal Evans, the band's road manager, claimed McCartney got the idea after a vision of Evans himself during the band's meditation stay in India in 1968, and points out that a rehearsal on 19 September 1968 used the words "Brother Malcolm" in place of "Mother Mary", which supports Evans's account. As for religious meaning, Wikipedia says many people hear a reference to the Virgin Mary, and McCartney has said listeners may read it however they like. The Beatles Bible adds that he did not mind the religious overtones. In this article we follow McCartney's own account, his mother, and we do not claim any religious meaning.

The recording. According to Wikipedia, the song was rehearsed at Twickenham Film Studios on 3 January 1969 with McCartney on piano. The master take (take 27-A) was recorded on 31 January 1969 at Apple Studios, with George Harrison on guitar, Ringo Starr on drums and Billy Preston on Hammond organ. Overdubs followed on 4 January 1970: brass and cellos (as The Beatles Bible lists them), backing vocals (including Linda McCartney, her only known contribution to a Beatles song), and Harrison's second guitar solo. For 30 April 1969, Wikipedia says it was the day of Harrison's first guitar-solo overdub, while The Beatles Bible lists it as a mixing session. The sources also name the producers differently. Wikipedia says George Martin produced the single version, while the album version is a remix by Phil Spector on 26 March 1970; The Beatles Bible names George Martin and Chris Thomas.

The release. The single came out in Britain on 6 March 1970 and in the United States on 11 March 1970. It reached number 2 in Britain and number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in April of that year. The song entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2004, according to Wikipedia. Before that, Wikipedia records, McCartney sent a demo to Jerry Wexler, and Aretha Franklin released her version in January 1970, ahead of the band's own release.

Listen to the song from the band's official channel, to compare with the ideas we go through next.

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Yom, chai yen, bo tong kuet lai: the heart of the song

The title, "Let it be", means to allow things to take their course. The dictionary has no word for "let go" in Kham Mueang, so we use other words close to this idea. Yom ยอฯม in the dictionary means to agree, not to resist, to go along, to settle one's mind. Chai yen ไจเอยฯันฯ is a steady heart, not hurried. Bo tong บต้อฯง means "it is not necessary to…", kuet คึดฯ means to think, to ponder, and lai หลฯายฯ means much, many.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: ยอม ใจ๋เย็น บ่ต้องกึ๊ดหลาย ("Accept it, stay calm, no need to think so much")

Mae ma nai fan: she stands in front of me

The second idea is that in a hard time, a mother appears in a dream. The phrase people remember is "Mother Mary comes to me" (Lennon–McCartney, "Let It Be", 1970), the first phrase we quote, and in McCartney's own words "Mary" in the song is his mother.

Kham Mueang words that tell this: mae แม่ is the one who gave birth to a child, and the word a child uses for the woman who bore or raised them. Ma มา is the opposite of "go". Yuen อยฯนฯ means to put the feet on the ground and stand up, to stand. Na ห้นฯา in the dictionary means the side opposite the back, the front, and hao เรัา is "we", used for the speaker.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: แม่มาในฝัน ยืนอยู่หน้าเฮา ("Mother comes in a dream and stands in front of me")

Mue yak, mue muet: when life is hard

The third idea is that in the time when everything is dark, mother comes. Kham Mueang uses mue มื้, which the dictionary glosses as a time, an occasion, a turn. Yak ยากฯ is distress, suffering, hardship, and muet มืดฯ is lacking light, with little light.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: มื้อยาก มื้อมืด แม่ก็มา ("In hard times, in dark times, mother comes")

Mae u son: a simple word of comfort

The fourth idea is that mother's words are simple but comforting. The refrain people sing along to is "Speaking words of wisdom, let it be" (Lennon–McCartney, "Let It Be", 1970), the second phrase we quote. Kham Mueang has u อู้, meaning to speak, chat, talk, and son สอฯร, meaning to pass on knowledge, to begin training someone.

The dictionary has no word for "wisdom" in Kham Mueang, so we use "u son" in place of "speaking words of wisdom".

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: แม่อู้สอนเฮา ("Mother speaks and teaches me")

Saeng song hot phuk: the light that is still there

The last idea is that even when the night is dark, a light keeps shining until tomorrow. Kham Mueang has saeng แสงฯ, meaning light, what lets the eye see. Song ส่อฯง means to shine a light. Hot รอฯด means to arrive at the destination, to reach, and phuk ระฯพูก means tomorrow, the day after today.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: แสงส่องฮอดพูก ("The light shines until tomorrow")

The words at a glance

All of these renderings are phrasings we put together from dictionary words. They are not a single standard version, and Northerners from different places may say the same idea in other words. We would also like a native speaker to check them.

Compared with Ui Kham: remembering someone dear

Ui Kham by Jaran Manopetch (ui อุ้ is the word for an elder of the grandparents' generation) is also a song about a loved one who is no longer there, like Let It Be, but it is told from a different place. Let It Be lets us hear someone who receives comfort from a mother in a dream. Ui Kham is told by a neighbour who watches a kind old woman (chai di ไจดี) working quietly by the pond, and then one day does not see (bo han บหันฯ) Ui Kham any more.

One song says that a loved one can still come to us in a dream and tell us to stay calm. The other says that an ordinary kind person is remembered too. Both use memory as a place for the heart to rest. The difference is that the first listens to words of comfort, while the second remembers quietly. (By Jaran's own account, the real Ui Kham lived a happy life and was not sad as in the song; see the article on Ui Kham for details.)

Summary

• Chai yen, yom and bo tong… talk about accepting and not worrying too much. The dictionary has no word for "let go" in Kham Mueang.
• Mae, ma, fan and yuen tell the picture of a mother appearing in a dream.
• Mue, yak and muet talk about a hard time in life.
• U and son talk about a simple word of comfort.
• Saeng, song, hot and phuk talk about light shining until tomorrow.
• The "Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna" lines in this article tell the ideas; they are not a translation of the lyrics.

Look up the words in the Moradok Lanna dictionary (in Thai). Read on in the same series: My Way · Ui Kham or see the whole set at Kham Mueang through songs and literature (in Thai).

Copyright and courtesy

This article was made by Moradok Lanna, a non-profit website, for learning the Lanna language and culture. It is not an adaptation, translation or new version of the song. We quote only a few short lines, with credit, for study, criticism and review, as fair use allows (Thai Copyright Act B.E. 2537, section 32). The Kham Mueang lines are our own wording of the song's ideas, not a translation of its lyrics. Embedded videos come from the rights holders' official channels and remain their property.

With thanks and respect to the songwriters, performers and rights holders. If a rights holder would like anything changed or removed, please write to moradoklanna@gmail.com and we will act promptly.

References

• MoradokLanna Dictionary (dict2): chai yen, yom, bo tong, kuet, lai, mae, ma, fan, yuen, na, hao, mue, muet, yak, u, son, saeng, song, hot, phuk, ui, chai di, bo han.
• Wikipedia. Let It Be (song) (used as a lead and checked against other sources).
• The Beatles Bible. Let It Be
• TheBeatlesVEVO (official YouTube channel). The Beatles – Let It Be (Official Music Video) [Remastered 2015]. YouTube
• Moradok Lanna articles My Way and Ui Kham.