The B-side of their current single was the first track the Beatles worked on after the death of their manager, Brian Epstein. John received a letter from a student at his old high school saying one of his instructors required the class to analyze Beatle lyrics. So John took some LSD (ok, a LOT of LSD) and wrote the most nonsensical words possible in order to confuse everyone, with more than a hint of “Through The Looking Glass” going on. (There’s also a very R-rated reason behind the term “Eggman” involving the Animals’ Eric Burdon.) They even included a BBC radio broadcast of “King Lear.” The final stereo version has a very weird mix for that reason, as everything feeds into a single channel for an extended period. The “Walrus” clip from the “Magical Mystery Tour” film is even stranger. I suppose you needed to ingest certain substances to watch it. The fact this was a B-side and a Paul song was the A-side irked John to no end, saying he got tired of being Paul’s backing band. That resentment lingered to the very bitter end of the group in 1970.
Beatles - I Am The Walrus
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