Iuda (The Beatles' "Hey Jude" in Latin)

Take a Sad Song and Make It Better — in Latin

The Beatles, with Paul McCartney’s left-handed guitar playing. (Modified image from Lawren’s Flickr)

[Editor’s note — This song was translated in a brief interlude after lunch hour at the Paideia office in Brooklyn. I was aware that we needed more Beatles’ songs in our Latin catalogue, and this is one of the easiest and most fun to sing, so I sat down to translate it. The vocative “Iuda” seemed fine for “Hey Jude,” and “noli queri” had a good ring for “don’t make it bad,” and the rest came easily. I’m especially fond of the “hoc onus Atlantis ferre noles” for “don’t carry the world upon your shoulders.” I sent it to Jason Pedicone, who made a number of key improvements, including the “memento si tu cor aperies” and “astringere huius mundi moles,” which sings much better than anything I could come up with. It’s one of the best Latin karaoke songs out there — easy to sing and positively unifying at the close.]

IUDA / HEY JUDE (Lennon/McCartney) (tr. Kuhner/Pedicone) [1968]

Iuda, noli queri

Carmen triste ameliora

Memento si tu cor aperies

Viam carpes ad meliora

Iuda, ne timeas

Natus eam es amaturus

Simul ac eam sub cute sines

Viam carpes ad meliora

Et quotienscumque doles

Iuda, cesses

Hoc onus Atlantis ferre noles

Nam stulti esse bene scis

sine curis

astringere huius mundi moles

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na

Iuda, ne me fallas

Inventam nunc tu assequere

Memento si cor tu aperies

Viam carpes ad meliora

Tunc demitte et remitte

Iuda, age

Adhuc quaeris te inferiora

Sed nonne scis iam satis te, Iuda, esse?

Quae quaeris pete interiora

Na-na-na-na-na-na-na

Iuda, noli queri

Carmen triste ameliora

Simul ac eam sub cute sines

Viam carpes ad meliora

Na-na-na-na, Iuda [usque finem]