| Songfacts: You can leave comments about the song at the bottom of the page. |
| John Lennon wrote this, but it was released as the B-side to “Hello Goodbye,” which Paul McCartney wrote. This angered Lennon because he felt this was much better. |
| Lennon wrote most of this while tripping on acid. The up and down rhythm was inspired by a police siren he heard. |
| Lennon made sure the lyrics didn’t make sense so he could confuse all the people trying to analyze his songs. He got the idea for the oblique lyrics when he received a letter from a student who explained that his English teacher was having the class analyze Beatles songs. Lennon answered the letter; his reply was sold as memorabilia at a 1992 auction. (thanks, Emery - San Jose, CA) |
| The voices at the end are from a BBC broadcast of the Shakespeare play King Lear. |
| The idea for the Walrus came from the poem The Walrus and The Carpenter from Alice in Wonderland. In his 1980 Playboy interview, Lennon said: “It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the capitalist and social system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles’ work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, s–t, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, ‘I am the carpenter.’ But that wouldn’t have been the same, would it?” |
When Lennon decided to write confusing lyrics, he asked his friend Pete Shotton for a nursery rhyme they used to sing. Shotton gave them this rhyme, which Lennon incorporated into the song:
“Yellow matter custard, green slop pie, all mixed together with a dead dog’s eye.
Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick, then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick.” |
| The song’s opening line, “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together” is based on the song “Marching To Pretoria,” which contains the lyric, “I’m with you and you’re with me and we are all together.” (thanks, bertrand - Paris, France, for above 3) |
| The choir at the end sings “Oompah, oompah, stick it in your jumper” and “Everybody’s got one, everybody’s got one.” |
This song helped fuel the rumor that Paul McCartney was dead. It’s quite a stretch, but theorists found these clues in the lyrics, none of which are substantiated:
“Waiting for the van to come” means the 3 remaining Beatles are waiting for a police van to come. “Pretty little policemen in a row” means policemen did show up.
“Goo goo ga joob” were the final words that Humpty Dumpty said before he fell off the wall and died.
During the fade, while the choir sings, a voice says “Bury Me” which is what Paul might have said after he died.
During the fade, we hear someone reciting the death scene from Shakespeare’s play “King Lear.” (thanks, Tommy - flower mound, TX) |
| The BBC banned this for the lines “pornographic priestess” and “let your knickers down.” |
| Lennon got the line “Goo Goo Ga Joob” from the book Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce. |
| In The Beatles song “Glass Onion,” Lennon sang, “The Walrus was Paul.” He got a kick out of how people tried to interpret his lyrics and figure out who the Walrus was. |
| “Semolina Pilchard” was Detective Sergeant Norman Pilcher, head of the Scotland Yard Drugs Unit. He led the arrests of both John Lennon and Brian Jones et al, before being investigated himself for blackmail and bribery in the ’70s. (thanks, Matt - London, England) |
| Eric Burdon (of Animals and War fame) stated in his biography that he is the Egg Man. It seems he told John Lennon of a sexual experience he was involved in where an egg played a major part. After that, John called him Egg Man. |
| ELO’s song “Hello My Old Friend” has an identical form to this - almost the same tune and orchestration but different words. No wonder Jeff Lynne is sometimes referred to as the 6th Beatle. |
| In the Anthology version of this song, they experiment with 4 octaves in the intro. Also, just before Lennon says, “Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun,” Ringo does 2 hits on snare and floor tom before hitting crash. (thanks, Riley - Elmhurst, IL) |
| In an episode of The Simpsons, “The Bart Of War,” airing May 18, 2003, Bart and Milhouse break into a secret room in the Flanders’ household to discover that Ned is a Beatles fanatic. Bart takes a sip from a can of 40-year-old Beatles-themed novelty soda and quotes this song: “Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye,” while Milhouse takes a trip and sees various Beatles inspired hallucinations. (thanks, Ashley - Moncton, Canada) |
| Styx covered this song in 2004. They made a music video for it with a cameo from Billy Bob Thornton. (thanks, Caitlyn - Farmington Hills, MI) |
| After John Lennon went solo, he wrote a song called “God” where he sang, “I was the walrus, but now I am John.” (thanks, Webspin - Daytona, FL) |
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| Comments: |
Near the end of the song the chant is: Smoke Pot, Smoke Pot, Everybody Smoke Pot!
- Scott, Newport Beach, CA |
This was originally on an double EP (extended play) called Magical Mystery tour: not on an LP or album as such. There were two EPs in the sleeves of a booklet which had stills from the film Magical Mystery tour. It was later released on an LP of the same name but included Hello Goodbye, Penny lane, Strawberry fields and Baby you’re a rich man. I have both copies at home but have never - ever seen the film Magical Mystery tour broadcast again since it was originally shown on TV! We thought it was strange but wonderful: even in black n white. I have read since that it got bad reviews….
- ANDREW, LONDON, England |
Best. Song. Ever.
- Conley, Mequon, WI |
dont you all think that this song is about human nature! ie emotions!helo!! anyways its upto you..
- tweet, wigan, China |
why do you feel the need to ask? it means what it means to you…THATS IT…
- tweet, wigan, - |
koo koo ca choo
- jer, round lake, IL |
Brilliant arrangement, astounding chord progression.. Genius Johnny
- John, Manila, Other |
the walrus was paul
- john, newcastle, TX |
what does “pornographic priestess” and “Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your Knickers down” actually mean?
- Katie, Sunderland, United States |
the walrus was paul.
- Jim, Stonerville, CA |
wonderful. RIP John you rock
- Shelby, Idiotville , KY |
Has anybody heard of Spooky Tooth? They did a pretty good cover of the song in the early seventies-Terry,Pekin,IN
- Terry, Pekin, IN |
OMG there r a lots of clues that “Paul is dead”. But everyone knows he very much a live. John was on acid when he wrote it because I was reading a book on him and he said it himself that he was on acid. Also he wanted to make a song that made no sense so no one could understand it and find a meaning. And if they did they were lying cause he didn’t even make it to have one. I twas just a song it is a bit wierd but a good song.
- Krissy, Boston, MA |
I heard this dong was for the “paul is dead” publicity stunt and was about the day paul died.The walrus symbolising death. in glass onion they say.”heres another clue for you all the walrus is paul.”
- alex, new york, NY |
I recently heard that the choir at the end is singing “everybody’s f*cked up” over and over. Has anyone else ever heard of this?
- David, Selma, AL |
The lines from “King Lear” that are recited in the background were recorded by accident.
- montelimat, Jacksonville, FL |
He killed John Lennon. It’s as simple as that.
- krissy, Boston, MA |
i agree, but the goverment are now saying that mrak champton was brain washed into killing john lennon:it does’nt at up y he killed him. so there’s more 2 mark champton than most people think.
- john, newcastle, TX |
name-dropping lol lol lol
- john, newcastle, TX |
krista: hate is a stong word there’s no need 2 use it.
- john, newcastle, TX |
John, We don’t need to know anything but he was an idiot who killed John Lennon. It is as simple as that.
- krissy, Boston, MA |
John, there is nothing to know but he was an idiot who killed John Lennon. It is as simple as that.
- krissy, Boston, MA |
John from newcastle, what is to know? We know he killed John Lennon. We know he was an idiot because only an idiot would kill a legend. My friend John Lennon is a legend and a whole hell of a lot more.
- krissy, Boston, MA |
Don’t say things like that about mark champton, yes he was evil, but don’t judge into u know all the facts.
- john, newcastle, TX |
All water under the bridge and mass histiria. Hate is such an unessercery word.
- john, newcastle, TX |
All water under the bridge and mass histiria. Hate is such an unessercery word.
- john, newcastle, TX |
david: that’s ur opinion no one eles. 
- john, newcastle, TX |
david: that’s ur opinion no one eles.
- john, newcastle, TX |
John Lennon was a genius, “I Am The Walrus” Is the greatest song ever recorded, and Mark David Chapman s*cks the devils d*ck.
- David, Fort Worth, TX |
Actaully I read that somehwere thats John purposely made this song this way. Some many people were trying to find a message or meaning in their songs. So he deiced to make one that no one could understand. John was also working on three different songs at once and couldn’t finish one so deiced to join them all together. It is an odd song by it’s pretty good.
- krissy, Boston, MA |
I’m sitting on a cornflake! Which is Kellogg’s. Kellogg was my maiden name. Eric Burden of The Animals and war fame is the Eggman.
- Cheryl Lynn Herman, Glenpool, OK |
BASICALLY THE GUY HAD A HEAD FULL OF ACID AND A LOT OF GENREAL KNOWLEDGE, I PERSONALLY THINK LENNON WROTE THIS SONG TO DANCE VERY MELLOW AND SLOWLY TO D’YOU KNOW WAT I MEAN. THE LYRICS ARE MADE TO MAKE NO SENSE WITHIN THE REAL WORLD BUT WHEN YOU ENTER THE WORLD OF ACID IT ALL MAKES SENSE ANDY STE SALFORD SCALLY LAUGHIN IN THE FACE OF LOVE
- andrew, salford, England |
ANDY THE YANK BET YOU TAKE BARE DRUGS MATE U PARANOID FREAK. I THINK THE SAME AS YA IM PARAED UP ABOUT THE NUMBER 27(SERIOUSLY NOW)WHEREAS JOHN LENNONS SIGNIFICANT NUMBER IN LIFE WAS 9. HE WAS SHOT ON THE NINTH OCTOBER HIS SON WAS BORN ON THE NINTH HIS HOUSE NUMBER 126(1+2+6+9) AND SO ON IT CROPPED UP THROUGHOUT HIS “DRUG FUELLED LIFE” WHEREAS I AM THE SAME ABOUT 27 WAS BORN ON THE 27TH OF OCTOBER (2+7=9) I WAS BORN NINE YEARS LATER AFTER HE HAD BEEN SHOT YES I AM JOHN LENNONS REINCARNATION
- andrew, salford, England |
OMG ANDREW
- Krista, Elyria, OH |
Best song in world history!
- Krista, Elyria, OH |
This has to be one of the most original rock songs ever I defy anyone to find an example like this before this song came out.
- Taylor, Manchester, England |
John Lennon predicted 9-11 34 years before it happened!!!!!!!!!!!! Just look. Pretty little police men sitting in a row is describing the all the cop cars lined up, stupid bloody Tuesday because 9-11 was on a Tuesday, Man you’ve been a naughty boy you let your face grow long because terrorists have long beards, corporation t-shirt referes to the office workers working for corporations wearing suits which are their corporation t-shirts, John sings i’m crying over and over again refering to all the people crying, choking smokers refering to people choking on the smoke of the towerss…………………………………… Just Kiding, Anybody can interpret anything from any beatles song, esp. those written by John Lennon, he wrote this as joke on people who try to interpret his lyrics. Peace, Make Love not War
- Andrew, Indianapolis, IN |
THIS IS MY FAVEORITE SONG! (Well, 1 of them!) P.S I HATE U MARK CHAPMAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- Krista, Elyria, OH |
This song has live sampling of a radio program.
- Liam, New York, NY |
I’m sitting on a cornflake
- boi, Koolvilles, MN |
i can honestly say i dont see the fascination with the beatles: they’re not that great
- Jaclyn, Buffalo, NY |
To Warrior: Ringo is still alive along with Paul. What proof do you have that Paul died other than some album covers? John wrote this song to get people to stop analyzing his songs. Maybe he tried to do the same with Paul’s death hoax. How do you think they managed to get a replacement Paul with the same voice and face too? The original Paul is still alive.
- Bryan, New York, NY |
Anybody ever seen the video for this? John Lennon eyes are really spaced out! Easy one of the top 5 Beatles songs ever!
- Lance, Pittsburgh, PA |
Great example of avant garde with pop rock only the Beatles seem to master this concept. A proto progressive rock masterpiece.
- George, Yonkers, NY |
walrus is such a funny word.
- Karissa, Venice, Italy |
The King Lear snippets are not samples as such, they were recorded live off the radio as the final mix was being done.
- Matt, Brisbane, Australia |
Best song in the history of songs
- Caleigh, Austin, TX |
The Styx version was FAR better. After the original Paul McCartney’s death, the Beatles got WAY too into rap/hip hop. Isn’t it weird how all of the Beatles are dead except the fake Paul?
- Warrior, St. Paul, MN |
I think I am the Walrus is John Lennon’s masterpiece. I also think it’s mostly or entirely about Pauls’ death in 1966. As a matter of fact the last 4 years of the Beatles are about Pauls’ death. I cannot explain many of the lyrics because I have not understood all the circemstances of his demise. I say this because EVERYTHING about the Beatles and Paul changed after his death. Paul either died or something just as tramatic happened. Maybe someone else has something to share.
- jay, kamloops, Canada |
It’s kind of weird that this song is a favourite of Gemini’s (my sign) as it’s one of my favourite Beatles songs!
- Sarah, USA, IA |
I Am The Walrus is an early progressive rock tune, that has cacophony with nonsensical lyrics. It combines avant garde with classical influnece in another pyscedelic tune. It has a strange sounding type choir, siren sounding organs, distored vocals and a unusual fade out of noises. sal, bardonia, ny
- sal, bardonia , NY |
god y r some of u guys just dissin styx they werent that bad cmon. give them a break already. They may not be as good as the beatles but like leave the poor guys alone they made some good songs, like come sail away. and btw stop yellin at anonymous also its just an opinion dont spaz out. i think that the beatles version is ten times better. That doesnt mean I can persecute him just cuz he likes styx’s version better.
- Justin, Albany, NY |
Nonsensical lyrics, John’s strange vocals, and the odd siren-like melody seem like they should be reasons to hate this song… but for some reason, they make it a work of downright brilliance!
- Ian, Lethbridge, Canada |
John Lennon was killed exactly 13 years, to the day, after the album was released, December 8, 1967 to December 8, 1980.
- Mike, Germantown, MD |
mark b., to me, christian hip-hop is evil. im jewish, and i find that most christian ’songs’ are just saying that you should do whatever jesus says to, even if it means being really mean to animals and kids. which i find hypocritical, cuz thats the opposite of what jesus wanted. and jesus was jewish. anyways, getting off track. i don’t care what you say, hip-hop is evil, and shouldn’t be considered music.
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
Could anyone else write such lyrics??Probably not.
- Nathan, Bruges, Belgium |
Sorry, Izzy. I will always be a fan of The Beatles’ music, no matter what you may believe. I agree that The Beatles are amazing. One of my favorite things about them is their musical diversity, which ranges from early rock and roll to late psychedelia and everything else that they had absorbed thrown in between. As you said, hip-hop had not yet existed, so they obviously had not adopted that style into their music. However, in one of the many ways that The Beatles are known to have been pioneers in the musical world, they provided us with one of the earliest examples of the genre with this song, similar to how The Doors, The Stooges, and The Velvet Underground were creating prototypical punk rock songs in America during the same time period. Hip-hop generally is vulgar, but isn’t always; this generalization can also be applied to many forms of rock music though, rendering the vulgarity of a type of music irrelevant. Evil is a force that can pervade anything, and is not represented by hip-hop (ever heard of Christian hip-hop? It’s certainly not evil). I would understand if you had said that Norwegian black metal is evil, given it’s recurring themes of Satanism and the occult, but hip-hop is not quite there. Considering the properties of most hip-hop: rhythmic lyrical flow, lyrics that are randomly pieced together to fit the pattern, keyboard-synthesized strings, steady drum beat, etc., this song qualifies as an early hip-hop song.
- Mark B. Stoned, Desperate Hot Springs, CA |
mark b., as of now, you are no longer a beatles fan(if you even were one in the first place) THIS IS NOT HIP-HOP! the beatles didn’t do hip-hop. hip-hop is evil and vulgar, and it burns out my ears. the beatles are amazing and genious’s, and they rock hard. notice how there’s no connection? there wasn’t hip-hop then, and there shouldn’t be hip-hop now. and anyone else who thinks that this is a hip-hop song should be severly punished
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
if i ever had to analize this song in a lit class, i would run out of the class, unlock my bike, and bike home without a second thought. i would be disgusted and appalled if we had to. lennon wrote this song because he didn’t want people analyzing his songs!
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
Ryab, from Lackawanna, New York, I was thinking the same thing the other day. I don’t see how I never thought of it before, but, yeah, this song is the earliest hip-hop song. Yet another pioneering first for The Beatles. Most people would probably see this idea as absurd, given the fact that when you think of The Beatles, you think of classic rock, psychedelic rock, rock and roll, country rock, pop; pretty much everything but hip-hop. Yet, everything about the song is hip-hop flavored: from the strings, to the drum beats, to Lennon’s lyrical flow, and even the King Lear samples. Play this for someone who likes hip-hop, but doesn’t know The Beatles’ music, and they’ll probably appreciate it just as much.
- Mark B. Stoned, Desperate Hot Springs, CA |
annonymous, you are wrong and should be punished. how can you say that styx is good in the first place? and how can you say that they can do a better cover of an awesome bands song then the band themself, IF STYX SUCKS? answer that. oh, i didn’t say the beatles and the band mentioned above in the same sentece. are you proud of me, steve? jk. (p.s. the ‘band mentioned above is styx, incase you didn’t get it)
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
Makes less sense than the english language but a true classic. And of all things to mention, people being eggmen????
- John Smith, Southington, CT |
The page below has a theory about who the Walrus is. Seems it’s something to do with Morse being french for Walrus, among other things… http://decmalone.stumbleupon.com/review/4636651/
- Woger, Chichester, England |
Wonderful song! It catched me at once and my first thought was “what the!!!??” However, I soon realised that THIS was a masterpiece.
- Olle, Stockholm, Sweden |
Anonymous in Nashville: are you serious? I’ve never heard the Styx version, and don’t get me wrong, Styx has done (some) good stuff, but we’re talking about one of the greatest moments in rock history here. (I made sure not to put The Beatles in a Styx sentence). Oops, sorry Steve!
- Jack, Mesa, AZ |
“the umpa umpa/stick it up your jumper” chant probably came from the 1935 song “Umpa Umpa” by The Two Leslies (a.k.a. Leslie Sarony & Leslie Holmes), the chorus of which was “Umpa, Umpa, stick it up your jumper, tra la la la la la” (no, really). Either that or “umpa umpa/stick it up your jumper” was a now-forgotten expression that was used in both songs.
- Jennifer, Los Angeles, CA |
a few things i think i hear a little bit of Imagine in the intro but that might be only for me there and another thing there is a japanese video game series called Sonic The Hedgehog from Sega there is an evil egg shaped scientist in the series named Dr. Robotnik but Sonic The Hedgehog refers to him as Dr. EGGMAN I wonder if Sega took that from this song.
- nathan, insomeplace, KY |
Styx’s cover is nowhere near as good as this. Never mention Styx and The Beatles in a sentence together.
- Steve, Laconia, NH |
Styx’s cover is better.
- Anonnymous, Nashville, TX |
If you have Windows XP, go play this song on your sound recorder (every windows xp user can use it) and play it til the line “See how they smile like pigs in a sty see how they snied” and right after it ends stop it and play it backwards by going to effecs/backwards and listen real closely to what is heard. I heard John say,” Take this ax and his life is going out tonight.” I am serious! Try it out for yourself to hear it! Also during the line “If the sun dont come then you’ll get a tan from the english rain” I heard something but cant remember it (I am having trouble getting the recorder going. The song has to be in wav format in order to start the recorder with it.
- John Smith, Southington, CT |
Also, during the line about the english garden, what I heard while played backwards was,” Worst of all, he’s in the dark chills. Remember this please.” “Worst of all” is very creepy because it is so clear like he accually said it. The other words are also pretty clear, though.
- John Smith, Southington, CT |
I got another one! In the choras just before the english garden part, backwards, it says,” Sir old man, you’re a gay buyer, yer a gay man.” THis is starting to creep me out like John wrote the words so they say these kind of things backwards.
- John Smith, Southington, CT |
THIS SONG IS INSANE BACKWARDS!!!!!!! During the line starting with “corporation T-Shirts” I heard ?You?d wish they?d all be small and you?d be mad at two, he slept and hitched her sheets and shaved her butt.” Funny but creepy. Also, during the the line “Climbing up the Effel Tower” backwards I heard the most creepy thing yet,”I smoke marijuana.”!!!!!! You have to really pay close attention to get the word marijuana so it sounds like it.
- John Smith, Southington, CT |
I think it would have been an honor to Edgar Allen Poe being mentioned in the Beatles lyrics.
- Ric, Baltimore, MD |
I read somewhere, it could be here, on this site, that the walrus was supposed to be PAUL. Lennon liked to think of himself as the walrus though. He did get the idea from the walrus and the carpenter. It wasn’t until later that he found that the walrus was the villian! He didn’t seem to mind and ignored this fact.
- Phil, Holland, PA |
in the movie dogma, it is mentioned how the walrus from the walrus and the carpenter represents eastern religion while the carpenter represents western religion. and which beatle was a well known hindu? george harrison is the walrus ladies and gentlemen. you may thank me later.
- Marcus, Maitland, FL |
Tom in Bluemont your wrong Lenonn was not the genius of the Beatles Paul was. Paul was always looking for changes way before Lennon. Paul invented Sgt Peppers and The White Album he wrote Helter Skelter way ahead of its time John just followed but he knew he had to. He admitted in a Playboy interview he Likes to take One chord and ram it home where as Mccartney was more creative and worked with songs together they were Brilliant but apart Paul was More creative. He is a true Musician and Composer and Artist. He was caught up in the Love movement and Paul was Just writing Movement Lennon changed his mind with the wind. And as George Martin said the Beatles wouldnt have lasted past Revolver if it wasn’t for Mccartneys constant concern for the Band. And we have to thank Paul for everything from there on in. Someone had to Lead the Group
- FRANK, LAS VEGAS, NV |
I am He, I am the Eggman = He is the Eggman: You are He -> You are the Eggman! Yes, You are the Eggman. Accept it.
- Jack, Mesa, AZ |
in the end there’s a voice that says ‘bury my body here’, this aroused more suspicion about the whole ‘paul died’ conspiricy theory(which is a not true and b just plain weird)
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
this is my FAVEORITE song! although the line ‘pornographic priestess’ cracks me up. im jewish, and we have rabbis, not priests. this line makes me more happy with my religion.
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
this song is really cool! but i still don’t get the ‘Semolina Pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower’. who was this allegid Semolina, and why was she/he trying to climb up the eiffel tower?
- izzy, buffalo, NY |
Well, for me, it isn’t about nothing particular, but have some antimilitaristic lyrics (see how they run like pigs from a gun). The “Oompa Loompas” were the weird guys in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, “Yellowmater custard…” were of a song that John and a friend heared as childs. But who was the walrus, Paul or John?
- Eduardo, Santa Tecla, Other |
“I am the egg man. I am the walrus.” In another classic Beatles song, “Glass Onion”, Lennon reveals a clue for us all: the walrus is Paul. This is not Lennon just being clever with words. Paul really was known as the egg man. Paul’s song “Yesterday” was originally titled, “Scrambled Eggs”. The reason is because Paul’s constant marijuana use gave him a severe case of the munchies. He staved off his hunger by eating large amounts of scrambled eggs, much to the chagrin of the other Beatles who were forced to endure his flatulence in the cramped confines of the recording studio. One day, everyone but Paul was assembled in the studio. George looked up and saw Paul entering and muttered, “Oh God, it’s the egg man.” This caused John to fall off his stool from laughing so hard. At the end of “I Am The Walrus”, there is a chant which many have claimed is, “Smoke pot, smoke pot”. In fact, they are actually chanting, “Egg fart, egg fart”.
- Zoloft, Milton, WV |
to the person who said that shakespeare was on LSD when writing some of his plays: pure bull. acid was invented in 1938. shakespeare died in 1616.
- ahmed, houston, TX |
Hey all. I love this song. But I’d like to ask why is everyone digging in to the meaning?! Face it we won’t find out. It was a joke and it will remain a joke for ever.
John Lennon, if he did have a secret meaning, will not be able to tell you right now. Face it. Well then thats that. Regards
- Buzz, Hamilton, - |
And…doesn’t anyone ever wonder where he got all these ideas? I mean I’m not trying to get the meaning or anything. I just like this song a lot.
- Buzz, Hamilton, - |
on old records when you play the i am the walruss Goo Goo Ga Joob backwards it says “smoke pot smoke pot everybody smoke pot”
- dylan, abilene, TX |
i love this song a lot. i find it interesting how the kid wrote a letter to John telling him that they were analyzing Beales songs in class. especially because i analyzed “i am the walrus” in Lit class freshman year.
- Christine, Chicago, IL |
This is my second-favourite Beatles song. I’m in awe everytime I hear it. There’s never been anything like it before or since (except maybe the Rutles “Piggy In The Middle”). Truly an absolute masterwork of abstract musical art. John Lennon used words like Picasso used paint. Sheer genius! He may have been on acid when he wrote it, but who cares? It’s well known that Shakespeare was on acid when he wrote King Lear.
- joe, lethbridge, Canada |
Well this just goes to show that John really knew we would be here babbling about the meaning of his songs many years after his death. it is fun though and i thank him for the good he spoke and sang, a true inspiration, to whom we shall never call SIR.
- joe, pontevedra, Spain |
Amazing! From “She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah” to “Goo Goo Ga Joob” in less than three years. Imagine The Beatles playing this song at the Royal variety show in 1963 or on Ed Sullivan in 1964? Again, what’s truly amazing is how far their creativity had gone in such a short span of two or three years!! Innocence lost!! Thanks Mr. Dylan….
- Andy, florida, FL |
This also appeared on another simpsons episode - the one with the chilli cook off, where homer has his “trip” and Jasper say ” Go Go GaJoob”, well its not played, the line is said though, thats what’s important
- Mustafa, Cairo, Egypt |
It turns out “semolina” isn’t a detective , it was a pudding John Lennon been forced to eat as a kid and “pilchard” was a sardine he often fed to his cat , not the last name to the detective! ( Seminola Pilchard may have been a detective who busted Lennon, but in ” I am the Walrus” , Lennon is making a refrence to the above.)
- Margaret, Hanceville, AL |
After the part from “King Lear” there are more sentences.. something about death. I heard “We knew his death” and then more sentences like “Did he is dead?” or something like that.
- Or, Holon, Israel |
I personally just believe this song was written because (like stated) Lennon got pissed people were trying to make sense of all his lyrics many people, believing this all talked about Paul dying. Believed “I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together” To be him saying it was a conspiracy between all the Beatles that they killed Paul. The reference to the police men were suppose to be the ones all at the accident where Paul was killed. Those two examples right there go to show you how STUPID people are sometimes………or how brilliant our song writers are Lennon was a great, but controversal man.
- Jeremy, Downingtown, PA |
I Am the Walrus. Yeah yeah; there are many strange and wonderful rumours going around about this song. I have my own theory. I think that the Walrus was The Fool on the Hill. In Glass Onion Lennon refers to the walrus as Paul. Fair enough. I tried to hard to connect Paul with the walrus and I didn’t get very far, until I tried to connect Paul with the eggman. In the video of the fool on the hill it is Paul who plays the main part. He is dressed as the eggman. You can see this because he is wearing almost identical clothes as John is in I am The Walrus. I think that John was trying to say that the walrus was the fool on the hill. So what about the fool on the hill? He is the guy who sees everything. He sees it all but everybody thinks that he is stupid. I put it to you that I am the Walrus is a small extract from the fool on the hill’s mind. This is the Beatles letting us get a glimpse of what the so called fool sees. The song starts by connecting all of us. It starts by telling us that we are all equal. (I am he as you are he as you are me and we are al together). John means that we are all misunderstood. We are all fools on our own hills. So why does John use extracts from childhood rhymes? I think he is trying to show us that we are born misunderstood. We are never understood. We are misunderstood as children and we are misunderstood as adults. We are quiet simply always misunderstood. The fool on the hill sees the sun coming down and they eyes in his head sees the world spinning round. See how they run like pigs from a gun see how they fly. We are all waiting around waiting to be slaughtered. We should run, but pigs will fly before we do. Pigs will fly before we “the fools” pluck up the courage to speak. The fool was silent. Maybe that is why he was misunderstood. For more clues I suggest you read The Tell-tale Heart by Edgar Allen Poe. The walrus = The Eggman = The Fool on the Hill Regards Ping
- Ping, Norrtälje, Sweden |
Is “stick it in your jumper” a sexual reference of some kind? If so, what… uh… does it mean?
- Ian, Lethbridge, Canada |
Joey, What they say Is “Slave, thou hast slain me, villain take my purse, if ever thou wilt thrive, bury my body, send my letters to Edmund, Earl of Glouscter, Seek Him out among the British Party, Oh Untimely Death!” It’s From a BBC Production of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear”.
- Mike, Germantown, MD |
To some of the comments underneath, The Beatles wrote many songs under the influence of drugs, but “Got To Get You Into My Life” Is the only Beatles Song That’s about Drugs.
- Mike, Germantown, MD |
‘Elementary Penguin’ is actually a reference to Allen Ginsberg.
- Kevin Murphy, Ridgewood, NJ |
didn’t the BBC ban this song or something because part of the song said “Boy, you been a naughty girl you let your knickers down”??? i think i saw it on a quiz on some website, but I’m not sure.
- joey, Nowhere Land, CA |
supposedly the end of the song says something about Paul being dead, but it’s actually played at the end of “Revolution 9″ instead. well, now I can’t remember what it was, but I have all the songs on my computer at my moms, so i’ll repost it in a few days
- joey, Nowhere Land, CA |
In this song, John writes, ” elementary penguin” singing Hare Krishna”. After becoming disenchanted by one bhogi yogi, John and George became inspired to hear from a genuinely self-realized soul, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who introduced the western world world to the wonderful experience of chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. This is the first song of the Beatles that introduced everyone to this chanting, leading up to George including the full chant in “My Sweet Lord” . I became intrigued to research the meaning of Hare Krishna and by meditating on this chant,it gave me the strength to give up intoxication and meat-eating and become a Hare Krishna minister for over 30 years. Paul still orders out from the Hare Krishna resturant on Soho in England. These profound words changed my life. Thanks a million John, George, Paul and Ringo !
- Gaura, Peterborough, Canada |
It was widely disputed that the choir at the end of the song was made to sound like,”smoke pot, smoke pot, everybody smoke pot”.
- ryan, Seattle, WA |
(1) The NGO-currently-calling-itself-Styx’s version of this song sucks! Why couldn’t those washups remake a Beegees song or something. (2) The lyrics are meant to be silly nonsense but I suppose there’s a backwards satanic messages somewhere. (3) They used a keyboard called a mellotron to create the string sounds in this. (4) The video they did for this in ‘Magical Mystery Tour’ is pretty freaky.
- Liquid Len, Ottawa, Canada |
I had heard that the choir at the end actually sings “uumpah uumpah - everybody uumpah - like it is supposed to be a dance
- JOYCE, INDIANAPOLIS, IN |
i have always thought that the eggman refered to the painting by Hieronymous Bosch, the Garden of Earthly delights (?) in which three separate panels portray heaven, earth and hell. In the hell panel, there is an image of a man without legs and his his torso is an egg. It’s usually refered to as ‘the egg man’. The picture, although painted in the 1600’s, looks like the painter was tripping on something and i would have thought that this was more likely to be what John, with his interest in art and intention to write a song with confusing lyrics, meant. It seems more likely than a bloke cracking an egg over a groupie?!
- mike, birkenhead, England |
When the band chants “Everybody’s got one” at the end of the song, it sounds a lot more like “everybody smokes pot.”
- Max, parma, OH |
The Canadian group Men Without Hats recorded this song on its Sideways CD, but, if I were you, I’d stick with the original. The same goes for the group’s remake of the Roxy Music song Editions of You. However, the group’s remake of the ABBA song S.O.S. is well worth a listen. And almost all of the original songs by Men Without Hats are terrific, with the few exceptions of Safety Dance and almost everything from the Sideways CD, except Kenbarbielove. In fact, just get the Pop Goes The World CD (with a cameo by Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson) and be done with it.
- Bill, southeastern part of, FL |
I think this song is great and for those of you who say that it “Lacks depth” Well I got TWO words for you “Hello Goodbye”
- Dan, Lee, NH |
Hey um, “The Walrus and the Carpenter” wasn’t in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, it was from Through the Looking Glass.
- SJB, Waco, TX |
This song was covered by Styx, and Styx’s version is a lot better. It was also made while the Beatles were high.
- Dawson, Draper, UT |
I heard that the only meaningful part of this song was the first line in while John says how everybody is equal. I never really thought about “the joker laughs at you” being meaningful, but I see now. So maybe there’s TWO lines with meaning. Neato! Eh, the walrus was Paul. In “Glass Onion” John sang, “Here’s another clue for you all - the walrus is Paul.” Plus, on the cover of Magical Mystery tour, the chicken, I think it is, is John. You can see he’s got his glasses on. Go figrue! =P
- Jo Bob, McCleary, WA |
the only line with any meaning in this song: the joker laughs at you. see…john is laughing at you because you’re trying to interpret his random stuff. and the walrus was john. well the walrus on the cover of the album anyway.
- Jeanette, Irvine, CA |
jim carrey sings this? haha…hes my favorite actor but i’m not sure i wanna know…i saw him singing elvis behind the scenes of that one movie…can’t remember the name…
- Jeanette, Irvine, CA |
Luna: I get your point about the drugs thing. I don’t think this song’s about drugs. I just think John was trying to mess with everyone’s heads on this one. It is hilarious though!!!
- Stefanie magura, Rock Hill, SC |
This is my favorite Beatles song. When John sings ‘don’t you think the joker laughs at you?’ It’s Ringo doing the first laugh … the ho-ho-ho part. listen and you’ll see what I mean. Also everyone knows the Beatles did drugs! It’s not a big deal! John,Ringo,and George were heavily into LSD and Paul was heavily into pot. John also had a speed addiction, George a cocaine, and Ringo did a lot of cocaine, drank heavily,and he also smoked pot. So you all are being such babies and complaining and saying” this song is about drugs …blah blah blah” yeah so what?! a lot of Beatles songs are about drugs but not all of them! just face it! even though they did alot of drugs doesnt make every song about drugs!
- Luna, London, England |
in “ferris bueler’s day off” when ferris gets out of the shower in the beginning of the movie he says “i could be the walrus”
- james, edwardsville, IL |
Trey Anastasio of Phish (the “Phab Four”) covered this tune on his 2005 spring tour.
- Barry, New York, NC |
This is definitely one of the most screwed up songs ever made, but the best screwed up song ever made. The lyrics are just wonderfully out of nowhere at all. I especially like the part about kicking Edgar Allan Poe, not that I have anything against the guy, I just think it’s really awesomely random. It’s like some of the the 12 pages of complete randomness I have written for no reason at all, like “Let’s lie to the prophets and carry a cable.” Maybe it’s not random though, maybe it’s some insane metaphor that no one can remember what it means.
- Ashley, Moncton, Canada |
easily my favorite Beatles song ever, its so obscure, and the vocals kick ass
- Danny, Sydney, Australia |
I still think the walrus was Paul.
- Jordan, Wimette, IL |
hey jack he says,goo goo ga joob. i think it sorta sounds like coo coo cuchoo. also this is a great song. this is my favorite song by the beatles.
- thomas, lubbock, TX |
John doesn’t want you to know who the Walrus is, or the Eggman. He said that many songs he was curious to see who would read meanings into his lyrics. Its jibberish, intentionally. It shouldn’t matter, this song is great anyway.
- Nathan, Defiance, OH |
oasis has a good cover of this one… is a live version contained in “the masterplan”
- alejandro, Mexico D.F., Mexico |
I’ve heard the Styx cover, Gary, which was surprisingly decent. Also, does John say “goo goo g’joob” or “coo coo cuchoo?”
- jack, St. Paul, MN |
I agree Lennon had alot of respect for Bob Dylan and would have recognised the fact that Dylan’s songs though semingly nonsense had meaning to them even if Dylan was the only one to ever fully understand some of his most cryptic songs. Maybe there are extra meanings for I am the Walrus we dont get and Lennon maybe is the only one that does or maybe the whole meaning of the song is that not everything has meaning its a great song thats for sure and its fun listening to it and thinking about hwat it might or might not all mean.
- dave, Eastbourne, England |
See how they fly, like LUCY in the sky!? Can that possibly be Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds??? Hmm… Well this song is AWSOME
- Nick, Solvang, CA |
this song is the best! my fav song ever and the whole album is great and has anyone heard of the cover by styx?
- Grey-ham, Comox, B.c, Canada |
How dare they kick Edger Alen Poe! What’s so bloody about tuesday? Why is the Joker laughing at me? WHAT’S GOING ON?
- Nick, Solvang, CA |
In the Beatles Anthology book; Paul says the ending of the song is: “Got one, Got one, everybody’s got one” Sorry- no reference to smoking pot
- Ocean1, Atlanta, GA |
In an episode of the simpsons Bart and Milhouse break in to Flanders’ Beatles parafanalia, and after Bart drinks a thrity year old “John Lemon” novelty drink e starts to hallucinate and recites the line “yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye.”
- Clare, Hmilton, Canada |
The song was actually the result of fanmail recieved from students at John’s old school. An English class was trying to analyze his lyrics. John wrote the song to confuse school children  “Let the f**kers try and work that one out, Pete!”
- Cristian, Brooklyn, NY |
near the end of the song you can hear a voice saying “Oh untimely death!” referring to the paul is dead rumors
- Ross, Atlanta, GA |
When John became a “guest DJ” for a few hours at a New York radio station in the early 1970’s he made sure to play “I Am The Walrus” because he said it was one of his favorite Beatles songs “I wrote it, of course, and it’s got a lot of little biddies on it that’ll keep you interested.”
- Ken, Louisville, KY |
John also said the line “Elementary peguins, singing hare krishna” was his commentary that the Hare Krishna movement was too simplistic for him, that there had to be more than just chanting “hare krishna”.
- Ken, Louisville, KY |
******written by the inspiration of Jude,******* **************Thomasville, GAokay,************** im not “banging my head up” on this song. just as you, i thought it was brilliant. and i didnt know who semolina pilchard was so i looked it up and got this site. i think you just need to except one’s curiosity without assuming that we’re so strung up. and even if we were, we have all the reason to. it just shows how in love we all are with their work and lust to comprehend it. -thank you
- trisha, sanfrancisco, CA |
What does the song mean? It means John Lennon was a brilliant composer who had a sense of humor and quick wit like Groucho Marx’s. I hope Joha and Groucho are up there laughing their heads off at all these fools banging their heads against a wall trying to figure out what every last little syllable “means”!
- Jude, Thomasville, GA |
The walrus was David Crosby
- Kevin, Toronto, Canada |
I read that Goo Goo Ga Joob were the last words Humpty Dumpty reputedly said…HUMPTY DUMPTY IS THE EGGMAN….obviously!?!
- Guisseppe, Bradford UK, England |
i suppose i was looking for a little more depth from the song than just a way to throw others off. but either way, its still a fantastic song by a band that needs no logic. -trisha, sanfrancisco, california
- trisha, sanfrancisco, CA |
charlotte, that is the whole point of this song…to not make sence.
- Dustin, Black Mountain, NC |
Also, during the line “Sitting in the english garden waitnig for the sun to come” backwards, it also sounds like “Worst of all, he’s in the dark chills……” It’s weird. I have also been hearing backwards things like “Here, have this ax and this city girl’s going out tonight”
- Cameron, Southington, CT |
During the line “See how they smile Like pigs in a sty See how they snied” played backwards (use your recorder if you have windows xp) it acually sounds like “Take this ax and his life is going out tonight”! I mean it! Try it out! A bunch of other weird stuff I heard!
- Cameron, Southington, CT |
No-one touches John Lennon in the music industry. He stands above all others, bar none. Harrison and McCartney were excellant artists in their own right, but the genius of The Beatles was Lennon. His writing was so far ahead of his time it was as if he was visiting us from the future. ‘I am the Walrus’ in the 60’s…are you kidding me? My 20 year-old son, who was into a lot of current bands, was blown away when I gave him Beatles, Zeppelin, Rush, and CSN&Y CD’s for his B’day…and now listens almost exclusively to 60’s thru 70’s music.
- tom, Bluemont, VA |
Jim Carrey made a cover version of this song on a beatles tribute album.
- Vincent, St. Davids, England |
Dude, I think I am the eggman and you are the eggman . . . just as the first line of the song demonstrates/./ …//. get it? We’re all defenseless eggs . . .
- R2-D2, San Francisco, CA |
That Eric Burden story is a bit disturbing- I really don’t want to think of Eric Burden in that way. At the end, don’t they chant: “Smoke Pot, Smoke Pot, everybody smoke pot”
- Nicole, Boston, MA |
“Expert Texpert Choking smokers Don’t you think the Joker Laughs at You?” Read the lyrics people. John knew a bunch of people smoking dope would start trying to figure it out and now look at what we’re doing. Maybe not smoking dope but most definately trying to define nonsense. John laughs at us all.
- Miranda, St. Cloud, MN |
This is hilarious reading everyone’s personal analysis. I love how someone said “The walrus was a capitalist.” hahaha. Can’t we just enjoy the song for the nonsense that it is???
- Mary, New York, NY |
This was the title of the 2005 season premere of Summerland on the WB.
- Kristen, Aurora, IL |
I Always felt this song was about being bigger than life. I also feal this one of the earliest rap songs.
- Ryab, Lackawanna, NY |
I LOVE this song. Not just for what no sence it makes, but for the nice sound and I just like to listen to it all the time
- Cameron, Southington, CT |
who cares what it means, who was walrus/eggman, or this or that??! it’s just awesome song, probably about an acid trip or something. and btw the whole thing about the walrus meaning death in an eastern religion is absolute and complete bullcrap.
- claudio, Belo Horizonte, Brazil |
John from Perth in Aussie: I loved that movie my aunt gave it to me on DVD for my B-day
- Scott Baldwin, Edmonton, Canada |
Styx also does a good cover of this song, complete with trippy music vid.
- siri, milwaukee, WI |
hey, a fellow chicoan! I agree w/ ya blake, people are delving a little too far into this song, doing just what john wanted. its quite ironic. he was tripping on acid, his senses were magnified, his altered perceptions became his reality, and the song is just a nice tune with a jumbled combination of things from throughout john’s life. (even though john said in his famous rolling stone interview “we write songs that you dont know what they mean til afterward” and said that their music was like abstract art, each person making what they want of it, etc.) Not everything has to have a meaning, because is ANYTHING really meaningful??? As humans, we just tend to need an explanation for everything, but maybe sometimes its better to let the dogs with yellow matter custard dripping from their eyes lie.
- Natasha, Chico, CA |
did lennon really say that stuff about bob dylan? cuz if he did, i just lost some respect for john. dylan’s a poetic genius, and nobody can write the kind of stuff he writes.
- Natasha, Chico, CA |
maybe its just me but i like the beatles better when they were stoned.
- austin, charlotte, NC |
When everybody was thinking nothing new could be done in pop music Lennon blow up with a surprising, exciting and unexpected song. New chords cadence, new lyrics, new sounds in a magic world. Thank you very much indeed, John.
- Piti, El Ferrol, Spain |
Better than the scene in The big Labowski is one in Leslie Nelson’s Wrongfully Acused-hilarious movie- when he is tough talkng to the love interest and says “it’s like the beatles said it: she loves you yeah yeah yeah,But guess what pancakes, this apeman is now the walrus coo-coo-cacho”
- John, Perth, Australia |
Styx does a version of this song and that’s how I heard it for the first time. I had to find out more about becuase it was such an intriguing song. So thanks everyone for posting such useful info about it.
- siri, milwaukee, WI |
My favorite Beatle song; it’s so freaky and haunting. The image of yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye creeps me out a bit too much though…
- Lisa, NYC, NY |
I don’t know if this is true but somebody told me that if you play I think this song backwards you will here Paul is alive. Not sure though! I am not from China also. I’m from Canada.
- Kristine, Hamilton, China |
Did you also know that the “yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye” was a song that his teacher used to make them sing. It really wasn’t “yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye” he just played with words and got that.
- Kristine, Hamilton, China |
Yeah, Goodman and bridges were talking about Lenin, and Buscemi thought they were talking about Lennon.
- James, Tacoma, WA |
Now this is a very interesting little number. John had been reading “Finnagan’s Wake” by James Joyce in which Humpty Dumpty and the Walrus can be found. Misunderstanding the walrus to be the hero of the book, John then sang that he was the walrus who would dispel all this mystery and chaos. Soon he found out that the walrus was the villain, therefore in “Glass Onion” in the following year he pinned Paul as the walrus, as a cheap jibe to Paul. The only reason why this added to the Paul-is-dead rumour is because Vikings, when setting out on a sea voyage, if they saw a dead walrus when leaving port, they would turn back as it is a sign of imminent death and bad luck. So there you have it. The death scene from Shakespeare’s King Lear can be heard at the end (”Sit you down father, rest you!”), curiously enough, and was found in the BBC archives as was “Number 9″ and the other sound effects like this that the Beatles used, probably why John mentions the FBI, CIA and BBC in “Dig It” 2 years later. (Even though by this stage the FBI had a file on him.)
- Mike, London, England |
In the movie ‘The Big Lebowski’ Steve Buscemi plays a character who is a bit of an idiot. At the start of the movie John Goodman and Jeff Bridges are discussing something and Steve keeps repeating in the background, “I am the walrus, I am the walrus.” Very Funny!!!!!
- Taal, Brisbane, Australia |
Simply genius.
- Mike, Jackson, NJ |
anyone here that is putting in their 2 cents on what this song may mean is doing exactly what john wanted you to do, make sense out of his nonsense.
- Blake, Chico, CA |
In The Beatles ‘Magical Mystery Tour’, Lennon was actually playing the role as The Walrus {as many of you know}, and he was also an EGGMAN!
- Jennifer, Liverpool, England |
According to the BBC lennon took inspiration for this song from procol harum’s “a whiter shade of pale” (look it up), which in turn was inspired by a poem of deliberate nonsence. Yeah the music is great too, really off the wall even today.
- richard, leeds, England |
This is the best song ever, I don’t even care what the lyrics mean.
- Brian, St. Louis, MO |
“One afternoon, while taking “lucky dips” into the day’s sack of fan mail, John, much to both our amusement, chanced to pull out a letter from a student at Quarry Bank. Following the usual expressions of adoration, this lad revealed that his literature master was playing Beatles songs in class; after the boys all took their turns analyzing the lyrics, the teacher would weigh in with his own interpretation of what the Beatles were really talking about. (This, of course, was the same institution of learning whose headmaster had summed up young Lennon’s prospects with the words: “This boy is bound to fail.”) “John and I howled in laughter over the absurdity of it all. “Pete,” he said, “what’s that ‘Dead Dog’s Eye’ song we used to sing when we were at Quarry Bank?” I thought for a moment and it all came back to me: Yellow matter custard, green slop pie, All mixed together with a dead dog’s eye, Slap it on a butty, ten foot thick, Then wash it all down with a cup of cold sick. “That’s it!” said John. “Fantastic!” He found a pen commenved scribbling: “Yellow matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye….” Such was the genisis of “I Am the Walrus” (The Walrus itself was to materialize alter, almost literally stepping out of a page in Lewis Carroll’s ‘Through the Looking Glass’) Inspired by the picture of that Quarry Bank literature master pontificating about the symbolism of Lennon-McCartney, John threw in the most ludicrous images his imagination could conjure. He thought of “semolina” (an insipid pudding we’d been forced to eat as kids) and “pilchard” (a sardine we often fed to our cats). Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower….,” John intoned, writing it down with considerable relish.
- Brittanie, Liverpool, England |
Lennon was an introspective guy. in strawberry fields he tells us that no one ‘i think is in my tree’…no one quite understands him. ‘i am the walrus’ is an extension of that; a brief vision into a world many fear to tread.
- Ian, Urbana, IL |
what’s a walrus? seriously, Oingo Boingo does a great cover of the song….
- YO, Honolulu, HI |
“the walrus was Paul” (for those of you who haven’t seen Magical Mystery Tour”) refers to the fact that during the “I Am The Walrus” sequence of that movie, Paul is indeed the one in the walrus costume. This is something that is very easily verified by a simple screening of the film.
- don, rapid city, SD |
You guys are over analyzing this song. Just like Lennon said.
- Mathew, Orlando, FL |
In the last part of the song it sounds like they’re saying “smoke pot, smoke pot, everybody smoke pot”
- Jessy, Kettering, OH |
A good beatles song very different from most of their other songs
- Joel, Panama city, FL |
Was covered by a band called Gray Matter
- Joel, Panama city, FL |
the array of music and musical instruments in this song is never talked about-the words are fantastic-so is the arrangement- Lennon was a genius!
- Steve, Willmar, MN |
| who cares who was the walrus or not, all you need to know is that it’s a good song |
Lennon supposedly thought that Bob Dylan’s lyrics were too twisted and nonsensical for their meaning to have any significance, and said ‘I can write this crap too!’ so he did. If you haven’t heard any Bob Dylan songs, you should, but listening to his words will also put this in perspective.
- Julian, Philadelphia, PA |
I love singing this song. It’s great
- dan, london, England |
Ok, lets get a few points in here: 1) For all practical purposes, Lennon was the walrus. That’s what we, the media, and the fans have named him based on this song. Remember, the song is meaningless. Lennon, because he later said he wanted to make Paul feel adequate (his way of putting Paul in his place), gave him “the gift” of being the walrus–that was why he said the Walrus was Paul. Basically, he was being a dick. 2) The eggman is based on Eric Burden, the lead singer of the Animals and later of War. According to legend, Burden would crack an egg over groupies while he was having sex with them. I guess he got off on it. Lennon thought this was hilarious, and started calling him “the eggman.” 3) Lennon was actually not that big of a pothead. He was a speed junkie for the majority of his life, and he went through “phases” where he did one drug intensely–for instance, LSD during Sgt. Pepper, coke after the beatles broke up, etc. The REAL pothead in the beatles was…Paul. He claims to have done it every night from 1965-1985.
- Matthew, New York, NY |
Jim Carrey sings a good cover to this song. download it…!
- Emery, San Jose, CA |
He says “the walrus was Paul” in Glass Oinon.
- John, West Covina, CA |
john was the eggman. ringo was the walrus.
- ben russell, durham, NC |
This song contributes to the Paul is dead rumors. In some asian religion (you know how the beatles were into all those religions), the walrus was the animal of death. Personally i think all of the paul is dead stuff is a joke that the beatles played on people.
- Ross, Cleveland, OH |
George Martin released an album a few years back called in my life, where he and other artists sang beatles songs. In it, I am the Walrus was sung by Jim Carrey.
- Roddy, Southampton, England |
A “Semolina Pilchard” is a rather strange combinations: pudding and sardines.
- Randy, Beaumont, TX |
Who was the eggman?
- Michele, Butte, MT |
Later John said he hadn’t realised that the Walrus was a capitalist. He also sang in Glass Onion “Here’s another clue for you all, the Walrus was Paul” It wasn’t anything more than word play..and as much as anything an attempt to get people like us trying to work it all out! Hey..here’s another twist…if you read the Alice books you’ll see that one of the characters is a Knight. So maybe Sir Paul qualifies as the Knight now eh folks???
- John, London, England |
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Edmund Earl of Gloster. (4:10) Seek him out upon the British party. :- O, (4:14) Untimely Death!