I Am the Walrus
John Lennon wrote the song to confound listeners who had been affording serious scholarly interpretations of the Beatles' lyrics. He was partly inspired by two LSD trips and Lewis Carroll's 1871 poem The Walrus and the Carpenter. The lyric came from three song ideas that Lennon had been working on, the first of which was inspired by hearing a police siren at his home in Weybridge. Lennon wrote the lines Mis-ter cit-y p'lice-man to the rhythm and melody of the siren. The second idea was a short rhyme about Lennon sitting amidst his garden, while the third was a nonsense phrase about sitting on a cornflake. Unable to finish the three different songs, he combined them into one. The lyric also included the phrase Lucy in the sky, a reference to the Beatles' earlier song Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The walrus refers to Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter from the book Through the Looking-Glass. Lennon later expressed dismay upon belatedly realising that the walrus was a villain in the poem. Eric Burdon claimed that he inspired the line I am the eggman after telling John Lennon about a sensual experience he had with his girlfriend involving a raw egg. The final piece of the song came together during a visit from Pete Shotton, Lennon's friend and former fellow member of the Quarrymen. Shotton recalled the nursery rhyme they sang as children. Lennon borrowed a couple of images from the first two lines. Shotton was also responsible for suggesting that Lennon change the phrase waiting for the man to come to waiting for the van to come. The Beatles' official biographer, Hunter Davies, was present while the song was being written and wrote an account in his 1968 book The Beatles. According to this biography, Lennon remarked to Shotton, Let the fuckers work that one out.
The song is in the key of A. Verse 1 begins with a I, III, IV, I rock pattern: I am he you are me and we are all together. Verse 2 involves a VI, VII, I Aeolian ascent: waiting for the van to come. The chorus uses a III, IV, V pattern: I am the eggman they are the eggmen I am the walrus. At the line in an English garden the D melody note establishes a Lydian mode. This mode is emphasised more strongly with the addition of a D note to the B chord on If the sun don't. The song ends using a Shepard tone, with a chord progression built on ascending and descending lines in the bass and strings. Musicologist Alan W. Pollack analyses the chord progression as a harmonic Moebius strip with scales in bassline and top voice that move in contrary motion. The bassline descends stepwise A, G, F, E, D, C, and B, while the strings part rises A, B, C, D, E, F, G. This sequence repeats as the song fades, with the strings rising higher on each iteration. Pollack also notes that the repeated cell is seven bars long, which means that a different chord begins each four-bar phrase. The fade is described by Walter Everett as a false ending, in the form of an unrelated coda consisting of the orchestral chord progression, chorus, and sampling of the radio play.
I Am the Walrus was the first studio recording made by the Beatles after the death of Brian Epstein, in August 1967. George Martin arranged and added orchestral accompaniment that included violins, cellos, horns, and clarinet. Paul McCartney said that Lennon gave instructions to Martin as to how he wished the orchestration to be scored, including singing most of the parts as a guide. The Mike Sammes Singers, a 16-voice choir of professional studio vocalists, also took part in the recording. They sang Ho-ho-ho, hee-hee-hee, ha-ha-ha, oompah, oompah, stick it up your jumper!, everybody's got one and making a series of shrill whooping noises. In 2015, founding Moody Blues member Ray Thomas said in an interview that he and fellow band member Mike Pinder contributed backing vocals to the song. The dramatic reading in the mix is Shakespeare's King Lear Act IV, Scene 6, lines 219, 222 and 249, 262. It was added to the song on the 29th of September 1967, recorded directly from an AM radio Lennon was fiddling with. Lennon tuned around the dial and settled on the 7:30 pm to 11 pm broadcast of the play on the BBC Third Programme. On the radio broadcast, the roles were read by Mark Dignam, Philip Guard, and John Bryning.
Shortly after release, the song was banned by the BBC for the line Boy, you've been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down. The song was banned by the BBC for the use of the word knickers in the line Boy, you've been a naughty girl, you've let your knickers down. This ban occurred despite the track reaching number one on the British singles chart alongside Hello, Goodbye which reached number two. The controversy highlighted the tension between artistic expression and broadcasting standards in late 1960s Britain. Critics like Derek Johnson noted that John growls the nonsense and sometimes suggestive lyric backed by complex scoring incorporating violins and cellos. Nick Logan wrote that listeners could almost visualise John crouching on a deserted shore singing I am the walrus to some beautiful strings from far away on the horizon. Richard Goldstein of The New York Times described it as their most realized work since A Day In The Life. Rex Reed of HiFi/Stereo Review said the song defies any kind of description known to civilized man and is utterly silly and pointless.
Since the Hello, Goodbye single and the Magical Mystery Tour EP both reached the top two slots on the British singles chart in December, I Am the Walrus holds the distinction of reaching numbers one and two simultaneously. The single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc. Chart history shows peak positions including number one in Belgium and New Zealand, number 56 on US Billboard Hot 100, and number 46 on US Cash Box Top 100. Oingo Boingo performed a cover of the song on their final album Boingo in 1994. Frontman Danny Elfman stated that the song stayed with him his whole life and redefined what a song could do. Oasis performed the song many times throughout their history, and a live recording was included as a B-side to their 1994 single Cigarettes & Alcohol. The film Across the Universe features I Am the Walrus performed by Bono playing the character of the guru Doctor Robert. Spooky Tooth performed a cover of the song on their album The Last Puff in 1970. After receiving a letter from a student at his former school, Quarry Bank High School for Boys, about how their literature classes were analysing the Beatles' songs, Lennon wrote I Am the Walrus to confuse those who tried to interpret it.
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Common questions
Who wrote the song I Am the Walrus and what was his primary motivation for writing it?
John Lennon wrote the song to confound listeners who had been affording serious scholarly interpretations of the Beatles' lyrics. He later expressed dismay upon belatedly realising that the walrus was a villain in Lewis Carroll's poem The Walrus and the Carpenter.
When was the song I Am the Walrus released and how did it perform on the British singles chart?
The song is the first studio recording made by the Beatles after the death of Brian Epstein in August 1967. It reached number one on the British singles chart alongside Hello Goodbye which reached number two during December 1967.
What specific musical elements define the structure of the song I Am the Walrus?
The song ends using a Shepard tone with a chord progression built on ascending and descending lines in the bass and strings. Musicologist Alan W. Pollack analyses the chord progression as a harmonic Moebius strip with scales in bassline and top voice that move in contrary motion.
Why was the BBC ban applied to the single I Am the Walrus in late 1960s Britain?
Shortly after release the song was banned by the BBC for the line Boy you have been a naughty girl you let your knickers down. This ban occurred despite the track reaching number one on the British singles chart alongside Hello Goodbye which reached number two.
How many copies of the single I Am the Walrus were sold in Australia and what award did this achieve?
The single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc. Chart history shows peak positions including number one in Belgium and New Zealand and number 56 on US Billboard Hot 100.