I Am the Walrus

"I am the Walrus" was a 1967 The Beatles song credited to Lennon/McCartney that was released on the B-side track of the Hello, Goodbye solo album. This fact angered Lennon as "(he) felt that it was better."

Writing
The song was originally written as three independent songs by Lennon. One was inspired by the up and down patterns of a police siren (the "mister city p'licemen" portion). Another was an odd line about cornflakes. The third was a tune about sitting in his garden. One line of the song was taken from a nursery rhyme that Lennon had asked his friend, Peter Shotton to remind him of the lyrics to. The rhyme went:


 * "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 cold cup of sick."

The song was also written in response to a letter he recieved about how a teacher had begun to analyze songs of the Beatles. The song was intentionally written to decieve those trying to find a meaning within the song.

Trivia

 * The song makes a reference to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in the line "See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky."
 * This song is referenced in "Glass Onion" by saying "the walrus was Paul."
 * This song was covered in the Beatles movie-musical Across the Universe by Bono who was playing a man called Dr. Roberts in the film.