Only Lennon could combine lewis Carrol, children songs, gibberish, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, graphic visuals, profundity, etc into a glorious song.
An important aspect you need to know about the group is that they pushed and experimented so much they ended up beginning or creating new genres: psychedelic music, political, hard rock ( try Helter Skelter)...you brought up basic hip- hop....also the concept album (Sgt. Pepper), drug songs, avant guard> Revolution #9, Indian mystic.
Love them or loathe them, the Beatles were so creative and innovative throughout their short existence. They remain so influential. That Goo Goo ca choo or even co o coo ca choo is used a lot in backing vocals on Doo Wop music.
A rich swirl of nursery rhyme (Humpty Dumpty), surreal poetry (Lewis Carroll`s The Walrus and the Carpenter), psychedelics (this is 1967!) and musical genius, the most cutting edge of its time, using unlikely sound combinations to stir and evoke deep aesthetic reactions seldom achieved by pop music, like the best dream you ever had. The Beatles are the aleph of modern music.
Lennon dropped Bars in 1967. I am paraphrasing when I say that Lennon heard that professors, teachers, and critics were trying to interpret and misinterpreting his lyrics, so he wrote "I Am The Walrus" to keep them up at night.
He claimed it was nonsense and silly to analysis it, but that nonsense came from a thinking mind with real ideas, so it's still legitimate to analysis it as at matter of interest.
I want to say it was a student who was given the assignment to analyze one of the songs from the Beatles and sent them a letter to ask. John Lennon thought it was hilarious and it inspired this song.
I was introduced to the Beatles the same time everybody else in America was introduced to them: Feb 9, 1964. The country was down because of the JFK assassination three months earlier and their appearance on Sullivan's show sparked a new revolution, a music revolution. I was only 10 years old, but it changed my life and started me on a path of musical Nirvana. Simply put, the GOATs. Cheers....
When this came out we (Beatles fans) didn't know what to make of it cuz it was soooo different than anything else, they, or anyone else had done. But after a few listens it really grew on us. I heard a story that John was never happy with his recorded voice and always wanted to change it. So on this song, his mic was run through a guitar fuzz pedal to give the gritty sound. Their innovations in music and recording are unmatched to this day.
The Beatles classic song was originally released in 1967. Then 42 years later, the song was remastered. I have been listening to this song about this a few times. This was close where my parents were born before it came out. So the song will always be remembered. 🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵🎻🎻🎻
This album was released the year i was born, so everyone knew who the Beatles were when i was growing up. I never really really listened to their music and meaning till i dated a little hippy chick in the early 90s and she turned me on to them. When i actually listened with open ears and an open mind they quickly became, and still remain, my favorite band of all times.
For example: “The title of the song was based on the poem ‘The Walrus and The Carpenter’ by one of Lennon’s favorite authors, Lewis Carroll. It wasn’t until later that John realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the poem! There is no ‘egg man’ in the poem, although Humpty Dumpty does make an appearance in Through the Looking Glass. Surprisingly, Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals, stepped forward to claim that he was the egg man referenced by Lennon. Burdon was known as ‘Eggs’ to his friends, due to his strange fetish of breaking eggs over naked women.”
I was never sure if this was "a guy thing" but I felt a real kinship to the craziness of this Lennon experimental tune, and at one point, to me the song kind of reaches a majestic level of emotion.....I don't know, still hard to articulate it after all these years. What was essentially a "throw away' song to him stands out as a favorite to me. Along with "Hey Bulldog".
Loved your thoughtful reaction. ❤️ Those are two great tracks of John's which pushed popular music well past where it had ever gone before. You just had to strap yourself in and surrender. 😉🎶😁
Hi Rere, always loved this song - it has such an exuberant & crazy energy... John Lennon wrote it at a time, when he was tired of the amount of over-interpretation of their lyrics, that he decided, to put together a bunch of random nonsense lyrics, and then let the critics work out its deeper meaning... so much fun!! 😎💖
this song is like a disturbing, half remembered dream... with some Wizard of Oz thrown in.... you get a tan from standing in the English Rain is a favourite line.. fun fact: the talking at the end, and the cover of the album, formed the basis for much of the silly theorizing that Paul was dead
Amiga, Los Beatles han sido pioneros en todo. Su originalidad y talento no tienen igual. Por eso han influenciado a muchísimos cantantes y bandas musicales de los '70 hasta el presente. Yo tengo sesenta años y todavía se los escuchaba a diario en las radios de mi país, Argentina. Es una alegría enorme para mí y me emociona que una chica tan jovencita tenga la sensibilidad de apreciar su música. Hay mucho temas que podría recomendarte para que escuches. Pero podrías comenzar con "Oh, darling", "" Cuando tenga sesenta y cuatro", "blackbird", "Eleanor Rigby", etc...Sería interesante también que indagases el cómo sugieron o cómo se compusieron esas canciones y cómo nacieron sus letras. Tenés todo un mundo por descubrir. ¡¡Saludos desde Argentina!!
A psychedelic classic! They could just take you away, and influenced countless band and made genres for others to follow. Do It's All Too Much, for another Beatles classic. Enjoy! 🔥🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶🔥
There is an amazing thing about you drawing a parallel between some simple elements of older school hip hop and what you hear in some of this. It's amazing because the Beatles were known for being very experimental even though they were the masters of pop songs: In this one in particular, there are just so many found snippets and samples of things, although they are not digital samples - they had to do this all with meticulously cutting up tape and taping it back together, and tape loops, which would be the equivalent of modern-day sequencers, so they were doing a lot of the things actually that hip hop does, in terms of sampling things and making it part of the art that is being produced.❤
There were a lot of crazy rumors going on about The Beatles around then (Paul is dead, No Paul is the walrus, Play the albums backwards and get satanic lyrics, etc etc etc - that may give you more context - this is psychedelic rock
With lyrics like 'I Am the Walrus', I view them as dream-like images, which, like dreams, have symbolic meanings which may not be recognized by the one writing the lyrics, or having the dream.
Ringo Starr invented hip-hop. While that isn't exactly true, he might as well have. Ringo played many styles in different bands, and picked up some knowledge along the way. The basic hip-hop beat was used occasionally in jazz bands. Ringo Starr infused that rhythm into Beatles songs. He was the earliest drummer to put hip-hop in pop recordings. Ringo himself has actually claimed that yes, he invented hip-hop. I would not argue. Ringo's the man!
If the song seems to make no sense- THAT'S THE POINT. John Lennon got so tired of people analyzing his music, trying to find some secret meaning, that he just strung some random lines together, added some really kick-ass music, then said "Let them try to figure out what THIS means."
If you want to understand a bit, how this works there is a great video about the Beatles in general and also this song: th-cam.com/video/ZQS91wVdvYc/w-d-xo.html at 13:02 (no, a click on 13:02 will land in this and not the linked video unfortunately). Alone the intro of "Walrus" has 8 chords and the song 16. Most simple pop songs have 3, 4, or 5.
The year after this came out Paul Simon paid homage to the Beatles by including "koo koo ka choo" in the lyrics to his hit song "Mrs. Robinson", featured in the movie "The Graduate".
Yup! Lennon was POed at others from his old high school who claimed to be able to interpret his lyrics so he wrote Walrus to stump them saying -""Interpret THIS M.F.ers!"
Almost every Beatles song has a deep meaning behind it,. especially from about 1966 onward, if you want to take the time, you can find all about Beatles songs online, the different scandals, publicity stunts, lyrics, etc..
At the same time, this is a song where the submerged chatter/lyrics deserve as much attention as the lead-lyrics. We just listened to the song many MANY times at first. "Yep - that's what he said!!"
If you havent already..... Sade " group " live at live aid is it a crime. Of the original group only the lead singer wasnt from Hull... East Yorkshire . But Sade is awesome.... many great smooth tunes.
How about 'She loves you.' 2 minutes of magic, an early Beatles No.1 or a live version of "Help' from 1965? th-cam.com/video/CTsB-llTzyc/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=HDBeatles
No he didn't, what are you babbling about? He always wrote in a surreal style (never read any of his books, dummy?), and once Dylan, weed and LSD hit the scene, he wrote in a psychedelic, surreal style for a period. Why would this song be any different than all the rest? He wrote the first two lines on acid trips, he wrote lots of songs in this style, he wasn't thinking of "critics" and "scholars" (who didn't even exist in 1967 when it came to The Beatles, you dopey jackass). The song that conforms closest to your drivel would be Glass Onion, not I Am The Walrus. Man oh man, give a dummy a Beatle book for Christmas, next thing you know he's on the internet, pretending I Am The Walrus was written as a way to "throw off critics". (What the f**k are you even driveling on about? Never wrote a song in your life, did you Robby The Robot?)
It's actually about a lot of things..including what you've mentioned. Song is a structure...it doesn't need to be about anything in particular or one thing only. Still its 100% more interesting than Hello goodbye.
I always thought he was saying saying koo koo kachoo from Paul Simon song Mrs Robinson, but I read Paul Simon heard Goo Goo Goo Joob as Koo Koo Kachoo so the Beatles song came first.. and the song was written to throw off scholars trying to interpret the Beatles lyrics.. if you want a Beatles song with meaning listen to "she's leaving home"
Again George Martin the producer did the orchestrations for this, truly the fifth Beatles, all others did NOT paid their dues for that title like Martin did.
Only Lennon could combine lewis Carrol, children songs, gibberish, Edgar Allen Poe, Shakespeare, graphic visuals, profundity, etc into a glorious song.
An important aspect you need to know about the group is that they pushed and experimented so much they ended up beginning or creating new genres: psychedelic music, political, hard rock ( try Helter Skelter)...you brought up basic hip- hop....also the concept album (Sgt. Pepper), drug songs, avant guard>
Revolution #9, Indian mystic.
Love them or loathe them, the Beatles were so creative and innovative throughout their short existence. They remain so influential. That Goo Goo ca choo or even co o coo ca choo is used a lot in backing vocals on Doo Wop music.
A rich swirl of nursery rhyme (Humpty Dumpty), surreal poetry (Lewis Carroll`s The Walrus and the Carpenter), psychedelics (this is 1967!) and musical genius, the most cutting edge of its time, using unlikely sound combinations to stir and evoke deep aesthetic reactions seldom achieved by pop music, like the best dream you ever had. The Beatles are the aleph of modern music.
This song blew me away when i first heard it over 50 years ago
Musically an amazing piece. The Beatles, where never scared of being different.
Lennon dropped Bars in 1967. I am paraphrasing when I say that Lennon heard that professors, teachers, and critics were trying to interpret and misinterpreting his lyrics, so he wrote "I Am The Walrus" to keep them up at night.
He claimed it was nonsense and silly to analysis it, but that nonsense came from a thinking mind with real ideas, so it's still legitimate to analysis it as at matter of interest.
@@JohnnyJohnny-f5o And to analyze it.
Only John Lennon could do it.
I believe that if you play the vinyl backwards there is a message from Satan's left hand man 🙂 Dig out your 45s folks
I want to say it was a student who was given the assignment to analyze one of the songs from the Beatles and sent them a letter to ask. John Lennon thought it was hilarious and it inspired this song.
What's amazing about The Beatles is we can sing all the words even though we have no idea what they mean. LOL!
Greatest band of all time!
John's handlebar mustache morphed into walrus tusks to those viewing his face when they were tripping hard.
This was my 1st 45. Opposite side, Hello Goodbye.
starting at the top!
Another John masterpiece. Yes, he had a wicked sense of humor, and an affection for psychedelic drugs.
I was introduced to the Beatles the same time everybody else in America was introduced to them: Feb 9, 1964. The country was down because of the JFK assassination three months earlier and their appearance on Sullivan's show sparked a new revolution, a music revolution. I was only 10 years old, but it changed my life and started me on a path of musical Nirvana. Simply put, the GOATs. Cheers....
You heard THE song. You have been baptized.💗 Everything about the track is insane abstract metaphor genius.
Been listening to Beatles since 1964. Your reaction nailed it.
John did it to piss off the amateur Sigmund Freud's of this world.
The Beatles didn't shy away from surreal lyrics and experimental music.
When this came out we (Beatles fans) didn't know what to make of it cuz it was soooo different than anything else, they, or anyone else had done. But after a few listens it really grew on us. I heard a story that John was never happy with his recorded voice and always wanted to change it. So on this song, his mic was run through a guitar fuzz pedal to give the gritty sound. Their innovations in music and recording are unmatched to this day.
Arguably This is essentially where hiphop/rap was conceived.
I don't think there's any question about it.
John being john😂😂😂😂😂 my fav Beatle🤘❤️
This EP is the most creative of the Beatles period. Stunning in every way.
The Beatles classic song was originally released in 1967. Then 42 years later, the song was remastered. I have been listening to this song about this a few times. This was close where my parents were born before it came out. So the song will always be remembered. 🎶🎶🎶🎵🎵🎵🎻🎻🎻
Love how she stuck with it all the way through. So many who do this "first time" listen don't this.
This album was released the year i was born, so everyone knew who the Beatles were when i was growing up. I never really really listened to their music and meaning till i dated a little hippy chick in the early 90s and she turned me on to them. When i actually listened with open ears and an open mind they quickly became, and still remain, my favorite band of all times.
"I really don't know where this is going to go."
Well, to tell the truth, nobody really does.😉
I remember hearing this for first time in early 1970's and it's still a trip !
Paul's still alive, 82 years awesome.
So are two other ex-Beatles, Pete & Ringo.
Paul's dead since the 60s.
For example: “The title of the song was based on the poem ‘The Walrus and The Carpenter’ by one of Lennon’s favorite authors, Lewis Carroll. It wasn’t until later that John realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the poem! There is no ‘egg man’ in the poem, although Humpty Dumpty does make an appearance in Through the Looking Glass. Surprisingly, Eric Burdon, lead singer of The Animals, stepped forward to claim that he was the egg man referenced by Lennon. Burdon was known as ‘Eggs’ to his friends, due to his strange fetish of breaking eggs over naked women.”
My favorite Beatles album... bought new back when !
Soooo glad you're back ❤
Art doesn't have to be literal or make sense, just relax and let it happen.
Great ! It sounds so modern !
I was never sure if this was "a guy thing" but I felt a real kinship to the craziness of this Lennon experimental tune, and at one point, to me the song kind of reaches a majestic level of emotion.....I don't know, still hard to articulate it after all these years. What was essentially a "throw away' song to him stands out as a favorite to me. Along with "Hey Bulldog".
Loved your thoughtful reaction. ❤️ Those are two great tracks of John's which pushed popular music well past where it had ever gone before. You just had to strap yourself in and surrender. 😉🎶😁
Hi Rere, always loved this song - it has such an exuberant & crazy energy... John Lennon wrote it at a time, when he was tired of the amount of over-interpretation of their lyrics, that he decided, to put together a bunch of random nonsense lyrics, and then let the critics work out its deeper meaning... so much fun!! 😎💖
Exactly
Great reaction, really enjoyed, thanks. :)
Word Salad ..John just wrote random stuff and thought Let them figure it out----
at least when John Lennon put together a "word salad" it was tasty
Word Salad with DEI concepts ;)
Define and explain DEI please
I could swear they're saying "everybody's going mad" at the fadeout. But supposedly it's something else.
For awhile we thought it was smoke pot smoke pot, everybody smoke pot, but John says it was everybody's got one.
this song is like a disturbing, half remembered dream... with some Wizard of Oz thrown in.... you get a tan from standing in the English Rain is a favourite line.. fun fact: the talking at the end, and the cover of the album, formed the basis for much of the silly theorizing that Paul was dead
Amiga, Los Beatles han sido pioneros en todo. Su originalidad y talento no tienen igual. Por eso han influenciado a muchísimos cantantes y bandas musicales de los '70 hasta el presente. Yo tengo sesenta años y todavía se los escuchaba a diario en las radios de mi país, Argentina. Es una alegría enorme para mí y me emociona que una chica tan jovencita tenga la sensibilidad de apreciar su música. Hay mucho temas que podría recomendarte para que escuches. Pero podrías comenzar con "Oh, darling", "" Cuando tenga sesenta y cuatro", "blackbird", "Eleanor Rigby", etc...Sería interesante también que indagases el cómo sugieron o cómo se compusieron esas canciones y cómo nacieron sus letras. Tenés todo un mundo por descubrir. ¡¡Saludos desde Argentina!!
I would classify this more as Dada than psychedelic.
A psychedelic classic! They could just take you away, and influenced countless band and made genres for others to follow. Do It's All Too Much, for another Beatles classic. Enjoy!
🔥🎵🎸🎤🎹🎶🔥
😄It's fun just to enjoy the ride!
John Lennon was an admirer of Lewis Carroll...The Walrus and the Carpenter...as well as Alice in Wonderland.
The "walrus" to which referred is from _Alice in Wonderland_ which was John's favorite book as a child.
The "Magical Mystery Tour" LP is a COMPILATION. Side 2 is singles that were released BEFORE the "Magical Mystery Tour" film and recordings.
When it comes to The Beatles, you’re better off without a video. IMHO.
There is an amazing thing about you drawing a parallel between some simple elements of older school hip hop and what you hear in some of this. It's amazing because the Beatles were known for being very experimental even though they were the masters of pop songs: In this one in particular, there are just so many found snippets and samples of things, although they are not digital samples - they had to do this all with meticulously cutting up tape and taping it back together, and tape loops, which would be the equivalent of modern-day sequencers, so they were doing a lot of the things actually that hip hop does, in terms of sampling things and making it part of the art that is being produced.❤
Great reaction, Rere!
I first heard this song when I was 8
Goo goo G'joob (AKA Koo koo katchoo) is what the walrus says... only the one in this song LOL
The Beatles also invented Hip Hop. That's news to me. ^^
You can watch the video from Magical Mystery Tour for it btw ! 😹
It was an intelligent piss take!!
Perhaps 'the' classic John Lennon song! Epic lyrics!
I'm back for that perfect face!!! 🥰
Rere. I enjoy your reviews because you appear to be truly genuine.
There were a lot of crazy rumors going on about The Beatles around then (Paul is dead, No Paul is the walrus, Play the albums backwards and get satanic lyrics, etc etc etc - that may give you more context - this is psychedelic rock
🙏❤️
With lyrics like 'I Am the Walrus', I view them as dream-like images, which, like dreams, have symbolic meanings which may not be recognized by the one writing the lyrics, or having the dream.
This song was one i always thought was trippy too. Such cool imagery. Thank you!
Ringo Starr invented hip-hop.
While that isn't exactly true, he might as well have.
Ringo played many styles in different bands, and picked up some knowledge along the way.
The basic hip-hop beat was used occasionally in jazz bands.
Ringo Starr infused that rhythm into Beatles songs. He was the earliest drummer to put hip-hop in pop recordings.
Ringo himself has actually claimed that yes, he invented hip-hop.
I would not argue. Ringo's the man!
Ah yes, psychedelic Beatles - L.S.D. was just hitting the streets and it's COO-COO-CO-CHO..
its........goo goo ga joob......
If the song seems to make no sense- THAT'S THE POINT.
John Lennon got so tired of people analyzing his music, trying to find some secret meaning, that he just strung some random lines together, added some really kick-ass music, then said "Let them try to figure out what THIS means."
I played the song upon release to my poor Mum! 😄
Same with me. She was horrified. C’est horrible, she said she said.
🤣@@jeanmarieboucherit7376... Mine was more subtle, pretending to listen as I tried to explain.
In the late sixties there were some "hints" of like "proto-metal"
Beatles - Helter Skelter
Pink Floyd - The Nile Song
Check them out 😉
The video for this is pure nightmare fuel.
John Lennon is singing✌️
"Every body smoke pot, Every body smoke pot, .... ....
Well said!
If you want to understand a bit, how this works there is a great video about the Beatles in general and also this song:
th-cam.com/video/ZQS91wVdvYc/w-d-xo.html at 13:02 (no, a click on 13:02 will land in this and not the linked video unfortunately). Alone the intro of "Walrus" has 8 chords and the song 16. Most simple pop songs have 3, 4, or 5.
John was so sick of people over analyzing his lyrics that he wrote this song that has absolutely no meaning to it.
The year after this came out Paul Simon paid homage to the Beatles by including "koo koo ka choo" in the lyrics to his hit song "Mrs. Robinson", featured in the movie "The Graduate".
Lennon sings 'goo goo g'joob'.
Isn't that what the walrus would say to you? Goo goo ka-joob!😅
At the end of the song, if you listen really close, they're singing everybody loves pot,everybody smokes pot
No, they're singing " got one got one, everybody's got one ".
I always thought they were saying everybody's fucked up lol
haha a true classic you will love it
☮
Yup! Lennon was POed at others from his old high school who claimed to be able to interpret his lyrics so he wrote Walrus to stump them saying
-""Interpret THIS M.F.ers!"
Almost every Beatles song has a deep meaning behind it,. especially from about 1966 onward, if you want to take the time, you can find all about Beatles songs online, the different scandals, publicity stunts, lyrics, etc..
These are the songs that benefit from lyrics... "What did he just say? Really - ?!!"
At the same time, this is a song where the submerged chatter/lyrics deserve as much attention as the lead-lyrics. We just listened to the song many MANY times at first. "Yep - that's what he said!!"
And grab the lyrics to BABY YOU'RE A RICH MAN as you first hear that one.
I love watching your reactions! You are awesome at describing the picture the music paints for you while listening to it. Truly great!
Peace.
Oompa oompa everybody smoke pot
Having semolina pilchards this eve
Love it
Have a look at ‘Revolution in the Head’ by Ian Williamson. All is revealed!
Good book
John was a bit of a prankster. 😀
If you want to know what "goo goo ga joob" means, you need to drop a tab of acid... then it will all make sense.
Stop pushing drugs. Nobody, even war vets with PTSD, needs hallucinogens. That stuff is poison and it will make you crazy.
Classic later Beatles cut. For another take on this song check out I Am The Walrus by Spooky Tooth. The are a vasty under appreciated group.
There is a video made for this in the TV movie they made called Magical Mystery Tour. The video was quite bizarre for it's time lol.
There is no apostrophe in its.
My favourite part in this amazing song is Goo Goo Gjoob
Walruses are a bit like sealions , if you like them.
If you havent already..... Sade " group " live at live aid is it a crime.
Of the original group only the lead singer wasnt from Hull... East Yorkshire .
But Sade is awesome.... many great smooth tunes.
🔥🔥🔥
The walrus is Paul
❤❤
How about 'She loves you.' 2 minutes of magic, an early Beatles No.1 or a live version of "Help' from 1965? th-cam.com/video/CTsB-llTzyc/w-d-xo.html&ab_channel=HDBeatles
It’s a song about nothing really. He wrote it to throw off scholars and professors who tried to interpret Beatles lyrics
Yup.
No he didn't, what are you babbling about? He always wrote in a surreal style (never read any of his books, dummy?), and once Dylan, weed and LSD hit the scene, he wrote in a psychedelic, surreal style for a period. Why would this song be any different than all the rest? He wrote the first two lines on acid trips, he wrote lots of songs in this style, he wasn't thinking of "critics" and "scholars" (who didn't even exist in 1967 when it came to The Beatles, you dopey jackass). The song that conforms closest to your drivel would be Glass Onion, not I Am The Walrus. Man oh man, give a dummy a Beatle book for Christmas, next thing you know he's on the internet, pretending I Am The Walrus was written as a way to "throw off critics". (What the f**k are you even driveling on about? Never wrote a song in your life, did you Robby The Robot?)
But it is about the angst that was John Lennon, his mind at that time.
It's actually about a lot of things..including what you've mentioned. Song is a structure...it doesn't need to be about anything in particular or one thing only. Still its 100% more interesting than Hello goodbye.
Whatever John said, I don’t agree. Some writer said: I am the walrus: I am God.
Lots of LSD back then
I always thought he was saying saying koo koo kachoo from Paul Simon song Mrs Robinson, but I read Paul Simon heard Goo Goo Goo Joob as Koo Koo Kachoo so the Beatles song came first.. and the song was written to throw off scholars trying to interpret the Beatles lyrics.. if you want a Beatles song with meaning listen to "she's leaving home"
Their psychedelic period brought about the birth of hip hop - just listen to Tomorrow Never Knows. 30 years before its time
Again George Martin the producer did the orchestrations for this, truly the fifth Beatles, all others did NOT paid their dues for that title like Martin did.