Sun King (song)
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| "Sun King" | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
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| Song by The Beatles | ||
| from the album Abbey Road | ||
| Released | 1969-09-26 | |
| Recorded | July 9-July 11, 1969-08-06 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 2:26 | |
| Label | Apple Records | |
| Writer(s) | Lennon-McCartney | |
| Producer(s) | George Martin | |
| Abbey Road track listing | ||
| "You Never Give Me Your Money" (9) |
"Sun King" (10) |
"Mean Mr. Mustard" (11) |
"Sun King" is a song by The Beatles which appeared in the Abbey Road album. It is the second song of the album's B-side climactic medley, although it is in a different key and rhythm.
[edit] Release history
It was originally to be titled "Here Comes the Sun King" but was shortened to just Sun King to avoid confusion with Here Comes the Sun. The lyrics to start the song are the same as the title and lyrics of Here Comes the Sun, but with the word "King" inserted afterwords, although George Harrison wrote the latter and Sun King is written by John Lennon. Later, the song, in minor key with an organ in the background, breaks into a faux Romance language mixing English, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. The song is in three part harmony, sung by Lennon, McCartney, and Harrison. At the end of the song, the music stops abruptly and a Ringo Starr drum fill leads into the next track, "Mean Mr. Mustard".
The "faux Romance mixing" of languages occurs in the last three lines of the song. On the bootleg LP "Abbey Road Talks" John is interviewed about these lyrics and said:
| We just started joking, you know, singing 'cuando 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 ferdi' in. That's a Liverpool expression – just like sort of – it doesn't mean anything to me but 'na-na, na-na-na'. |
Another notable aspect of the song is its use of cross-channel movement, or stereo panning/fading. The fast guitar line slowly moves from right to left channel and then back. This occurs in the beginning of the song, and then again when the "faux Romance mixing" of languages occurs.
In another interview, George says that the recording is inspired by Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross". "At the time, 'Albatross' (by Fleetwood Mac) was out, with all the reverb on guitar. So we said, 'Let's be Fleetwood Mac doing Albatross, just to get going.' It never really sounded like Fleetwood Mac… but that was the point of origin."[1]
In 1976, The Bee Gees covered the song for the evanescent musical documentary All This and World War II.
In 2006, a reversed a cappella from "Sun King" was included on a track titled "Gnik Nus" in the album Love.
[edit] References
[edit] External link
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