Beatles – I Am the Walrus

I first heard this when I was a kid and I tried wrapping my brain around it. It starts with a siren-like sound and dives into chaos…my favorite place. John famously said he wrote the first line on an acid trip on one weekend and the second line on another acid trip the next weekend and filled in the rest after he met Yoko.

This was the first song recorded after Beatle’s manager Brian Epstein’s death in 1967. After John first sang the song to Beatle’s producer George Martin…the did this before they worked on their songs so George could get a feel for it. George  said: “Well, John, to be honest, I have only one question:  What the hell do you expect me to do with that?” John was not happy about it but after being played a song with two notes… and singing about a Walrus and Eggman…you can’t really blame him.

The song was the B side to the Hello, Goodbye. I think…as well as John the A side should have been I Am the Walrus.

I Am the Walrus

I am he as you are he as you are me
And we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun
See how they fly
I’m crying 

Sitting on a cornflake
Waiting for the van to come
Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man you’ve been a naughty boy
You let your face grow long

I am the eggman
They are the eggmen
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’ joob

Mr. City policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the sky
See how they run
I’m crying
I’m crying, I’m crying, I’m crying

Yellow matter custard
Dripping from a dead dog’s eye
Crabalocker fishwife
Pornographic priestess
Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl
You let your knickers down

I am the eggman
They are the eggmen
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’ joob

Sitting in an English garden
Waiting for the sun
If the sun don’t come you get a tan
From standing in the English rain

I am the eggman 
(“How do you do sir”)
They are the eggmen 
(“The man maintains a fortune”)
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’ joob Goo Goo Goo g’ joob

Expert, texpert choking smokers
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you
(Ho ho ho hee hee hee hah hah hah)
See how they smile like pigs in a sty
See how they snide
I’m crying

Semolina Pilchard
Climbing up the Eiffel tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking
Edgar Allen Poe

I am the eggman
They are the eggmen
I am the walrus
Goo goo g’ joob
Goo goo goo g’ joob
Goo goo g’ joob
Goo goo goo g’ joob 
Goo goo
Juba juba juba
Juba juba juba
Juba juba juba
Juba juba

(Oh I’m tired, servicible villain
Set you down father, rest you)

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

22 thoughts on “Beatles – I Am the Walrus”

    1. A producer today would have ran probably… yes they were lucky although at times they probably didn’t appreciate it.

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    1. I do like the the Love version.

      With the Beatles I grew up with the inferior American versions in the 70s because the UK versions were not readily available over here… where they added echo and chopped their albums up…
      I was happy when the orginals were rereleased here in the 80s.

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  3. I agree with you and John- I Am The Walrus a much better song. Paul could write a song like Hello Goodbye in his sleep- nothing special. I Am The Walrus- a unique song.

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    1. Can you imagine George Martin listening to this song on an acoustic from John? You can’t blame him almost… It’s a creation that doesn’t work as well with a single instrument.

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      1. This is true… as far as Hello, Goodbye- I have always thought it a likeable but lazy song. Paul’s worst songwriting tendencies realized- not one of his best.

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      2. It was a weak number 1…I think it’s one of the very few 1’s that were pushed by their name as much as the song…that sounds harsh…I don’t hate the song.

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      3. I guess I judge it- as a Beatles song- pretty high standards. It’s ok I don’t hate it but I wouldn’t want it played at my funeral either…although thinking on that….

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      5. I didn’t think of it–until i typed it. Maybe that would work. Having thought about it- do you think I Am The Walrus -although a better song would have been as successful on the charts? Hello Goodbye is a type of song that goes to #1. I Am The Walrus- is a bit different!

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      6. Well they did have Strawberry Fields…and now it doesn’t sound odd but then it was very different but yes I Am the Walrus takes it to a new level.
        Honestly…no I think top ten maybe where their name pushes it but not 1. That is a great question…
        artistically though it’s a no brainer.

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      7. I think what we’ve likely learned is that Paul needs others around him to write with, preferably John, but failing that maybe Denny Laine. While he has written some good stuff on his own, I don’t think those ones have been numerous or reaching the heights he did with Lennon.

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    1. Yes I read that…just to have fun with them. Someone in the class actually wrote John.

      I found this awesome site that dives into Beatles songs…here is the link on I Am The Walrus…you may or may not be interested…but it’s a great writeup on every song.
      http://www.beatlesebooks.com/walrus

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    1. Yes! His old school…teachers and students would write him asking what this and that meant in different songs…he wrote this for them to think on.

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