Top of the World in Kham Mueang: Words for Happiness

Top of the World is a worldwide favourite, best known in the voice of Karen Carpenter of the Carpenters. It is about someone so happy she feels she is standing on top of the world, and who says the reason for that happiness is the person she loves. In this article we ask: how would a Northerner (khon mueang) talk about a happiness that fills the heart like this?

One of the words closest to the heart of the song is muan ม่วฯร (Kham Mueang reading muan), which the dictionary defines as pleasing, enjoyable, sweet-sounding, fun.

This article is part of the set World songs in Kham Mueang, within Kham Mueang through songs and literature. The song is still under copyright, so we do not translate it line by line, and we quote only two short lines. What we take from it is its ideas, and then we try saying those ideas in Kham Mueang.

Where Top of the World comes from

The music was written by Richard Carpenter and the English words by John Bettis, as both the Carpenters' official website and Wikipedia state. The song is on the album A Song for You (1972). Wikipedia records the album version as recorded on 1 March 1972. At first the duo saw it as a pleasant album track, but according to the official website audiences responded warmly when they played it live and there were radio requests, so it was clear the song could go further. Songfacts records a single release in Japan the same year, where it went gold.

Country singer Lynn Anderson then recorded it on an album of the same name. The official website and Wikipedia agree that her version reached No. 2 on the US country chart (Wikipedia adds No. 74 on the Hot 100). The sources differ on the date: Songfacts says 1972, Wikipedia says June 1973, and we do not choose between them. With Anderson's version doing well, Karen and Richard released their own version as a single in late 1973, with a new lead vocal and a slightly changed mix. Wikipedia records that Karen re-recorded her vocal on 15 August 1973 because she was not satisfied with the original, and that the single came out on 17 September 1973. The official website and Songfacts say only "late 1973" or "September", so we write "late 1973".

The single went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks, starting with the chart of 1 December 1973, as Billboard's chart pages and Stereogum's "The Number Ones" column agree. Wikipedia adds that it reached No. 1 in Australia and Canada and No. 5 in the UK.

In the studio, according to the official website, Richard arranged the music and played keyboards, Karen sang lead, Joe Osborn played bass, Hal Blaine played drums and Buddy Emmons played pedal steel guitar. The official website lists the producers as Richard, Karen and Jack Daugherty.

You can hear the song from the "Carpenters – Topic" channel, which YouTube generates from audio supplied by the record label. It is the actual recording, the single mix.

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Yuen yu pai doi: standing on the summit

The title is the first idea: someone so happy she feels she is at the highest point there is. The line people remember is "I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation" (John Bettis, "Top of the World", 1972). The picture is close to that of a person who climbs a mountain and looks down from the top. Central Thai says "yot khao", but Kham Mueang has several words of its own.

Pai doi ปลฯายดอฯยฯ (Kham Mueang reading pai doi) means the top of a mountain, and chom doi จอฯมดอฯ means the same. Pai ปลฯายฯ alone means peak, top, highest point. Doi ดอฯย is a high mountain, and yuen อยฯนฯ is to stand with the feet on the ground. For "look" Kham Mueang uses pho ผํอฯ, which means to look, to watch, to look after, and long ล฿งฯ is to go down from high to low.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: ยืนอยู่ป๋ายดอย ผ่อลงมา ม่วนอ๋กม่วนใจ๋ ("standing on the mountain top, looking down; so happy at heart")

The last word is muan ok muan chai ม่วฯรอ฿กฯม่วฯรไจ, meaning touched, at ease in the heart. The meaning is: standing on a summit, looking down, and feeling very happy. It is a general thought, not a translation of any line of the song.

Fa sai, daet song, lom pat yen: a bright day

The second idea is a day with a clear sky, soft sunshine and a cool wind, when everything around you makes you feel at ease. The song paints a bright day with sky, sunlight and wind.

Kham Mueang has the words for this picture. Fa ฟ้า in the dictionary is the visible expanse above covering the land. Sai ไส means clear, bright, not cloudy. Mek เมฆฯฯ is cloud and bo mi บมี is "there is none". Daet แดดฯ is sunlight and song ส่อฯง means to shine, and the dictionary gives "daet song" (the sun shines) as its example. For wind use lom ล฿มฯ with pat พัดฯ (to blow) and yen เอยฯันฯ (not hot).

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: ฟ้าใส บ่มีเมฆ แดดส่อง ลมปั๊ดเย็น ม่วนหลาย ("clear sky, no clouds, the sun shining, a cool wind blowing, so much fun")

The last word, lai หลฯายฯ, means many, much. The meaning is: a clear sky without clouds, sunshine, a cool breeze, and a lot of ease.

Pho tuenget mot ngam tae: everything looks beautiful

The third idea is that happiness makes the world around us look more beautiful. The song opens with a feeling flooding in; the line people remember is "Such a feeling's coming over me" (John Bettis, "Top of the World", 1972), and it goes on to say that there seems to be wonder hidden in everything she sees. Anyone who has had a day when the heart is light will know the feeling.

Kham Mueang has ngam tae งาแท้, meaning truly beautiful, very beautiful, which is ngam (beautiful) with tae แท้ (genuine, true). Tueng mot ทึงฯห฿มฯด means all, and chuen yao ชื่นฯย้าวฯ is happy, cheerful.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: ผ่อตึงหม๋ดงามแต๊ จื้นย้าวหลาย ("looking at everything, truly beautiful, so cheerful")

The meaning is: everything seen looks truly beautiful, and the heart is very cheerful.

Tua yu tuai poen: the reason is the one she loves

The fourth idea is the heart of the song. The singer says all this happiness has a reason: the person she loves is beside her. It is not the sky or luck. So it is more a love song than a nature song.

Kham Mueang uses hak รักฯ for love. The dictionary defines it as care and attachment, or romantic fondness, as when a young man and woman love each other, and ti hak ที่รักฯ means a sweetheart. Couples use tua ต฿วฯ for "you" (second person) and poen เพิ่นฯ for "I". To be beside someone use yu อยฯู่ with tuai ทวฯยฯ (along with, together), and the heart is chai ไจ.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: ตั๋วอยู่ตวยเปิ้น ใจ๋เปิ้นม่วนหลาย ("you are with me; my heart is so happy")

The meaning is: you are with me, so my heart is full of joy. This retells the idea of the song; it is not a translation of any line.

Muan chon muean fan: happy as a dream

The last idea is a happiness so great that you are not sure whether it is real or a dream. The song hints that if this were a dream it would not be a surprise, because everything is too lovely.

The Kham Mueang word is fan ฝันฯ, which the dictionary defines as seeing a story while still asleep, or imagining something one wishes for. Muean เหิอฯร means like, as, and chon จ฿นฯ is used as a link meaning "until". There is also un chai อุ่รไจ, meaning at ease, free of worry.

Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna: ม่วนจ๋นเหมือนฝัน ("so happy it is like a dream")

The meaning is: so happy it feels like a dream.

Kham Mueang words from the song's ideas

Many levels of happiness in Kham Mueang

The words for happiness are the most worthwhile group to learn from this song. According to the dictionary each emphasises something a little different.

All of these renderings are phrasings we put together from dictionary words. They are not the one standard way to say it, and Northerners from different places may say the same idea with other words. We would like native Kham Mueang speakers to check our phrasing before it is used for real.

Compared with Sao Chiang Mai: two kinds of summit

Jaran Manopetch's song Sao Chiang Mai has a word that matches this song exactly: pai doi ปลฯายดอฯยฯ. The dictionary gives a line from Sao Chiang Mai as its example of the word. Both songs talk about a "summit", but the mood is different. In Top of the World the summit is where happiness takes you, and the singer looks down with a joyful heart. In Sao Chiang Mai, as our article summarises it, a young woman who feels let down says, half in jest, that she will go and live up in the hills, so the tone is playful, teasing, and tinged with hurt.

Their sources differ too: Top of the World is sung in English, while Sao Chiang Mai tells the story of a Northern girl in Kham Mueang itself. If you would like another song by the same duo about memory and radio, keep reading in Yesterday Once More, and for a song that looks back over a life, My Way.

Summary

• Pai doi and chom doi mean the top of a mountain and are used for the highest point, and pho means to look.
• Fa sai, daet song and lom pat are a word set for describing a bright day.
• Muan is fun, chuen yao is cheerful and muan ok muan chai is touched at heart: Kham Mueang has many levels of happiness.
• Hak, ti hak, tua and poen are for love between close people.
• The "Kham Mueang rendering by MoradokLanna" lines in this article retell ideas; they do not translate the song's lyrics.

Look up more of the words in the MoradokLanna dictionary (in Thai). Keep reading in the same series: My Way · Yesterday Once More 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.

Sources

• Moradok Lanna dictionary (dict2), words muan, muan ok muan chai, chuen yao, yim yuai, di chai, chom chuen, suk, yin di, pai doi, pai, chom doi, doi, fa, sai, mek, bo mi, daet, song, lom, pat, yen, yuen, long, pho, ngam tae, tae, tueng mot, hak, ti hak, tua, poen, tuai, yu, chai, fan, muean, chon, un chai, lai (in Thai)
• Richard & Karen Carpenter (official website). Top of the World: credits and notes
• Songfacts. Top of the World by Carpenters
• Billboard. The Hot 100, 1 December 1973 and 8 December 1973
• Stereogum. The Number Ones: The Carpenters' "Top of the World"
• Wikipedia. Top of the World (Carpenters song) (used as a lead and cross-checked)
• Carpenters – Topic (YouTube channel). Top Of The World (Single Mix). YouTube
• Moradok Lanna articles Sao Chiang Mai, Yesterday Once More and My Way