Editing I Am the Walrus

{{Short description|1967 single by the Beatles}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2010}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox song
| name       = I Am the Walrus
| cover      = I Am the Walrus picture sleeve.jpg
| alt        = 
| caption    = US picture sleeve (reverse)
| type       = single
| artist     = [[the Beatles]]
| EP         = ''and album'' [[Magical Mystery Tour]]
| A-side     = [[Hello, Goodbye]]
| released   = {{Start date|1967|11|24|df=y}}
| recorded   = 5, 6, 27 and 29 September 1967
| studio     = [[Abbey Road Studios|EMI]], London
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Psychedelic pop]]<ref>{{cite news|first=Stereo|last=Williams|title=The Beatles' 'Magical Mystery Tour' at 50|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-the-beatles-magical-mystery-tour-is-more-fun-than-sgt-pepper|newspaper=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=26 November 2017|access-date=29 January 2020|archive-date=9 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201109014448/https://www.thedailybeast.com/why-the-beatles-magical-mystery-tour-is-more-fun-than-sgt-pepper|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name= "Rolling Stone Staff 2024">{{cite magazine|last= Rolling Stone Staff|title= The 101 Greatest Soundtracks of All Time|magazine= [[Rolling Stone]]|date= September 24, 2024|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-movie-soundtracks-1235083518/|accessdate= October 5, 2024|quote=...featuring studio-tweaked psych-pop bedrock like "I Am the Walrus," "The Fool on the Hill," and the title track...}}</ref>|[[psychedelic rock]]<ref>{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Tyler |url=https://www.consequenceofsound.net/2020/05/ranking-every-beatles-album-from-worst-to-best/amp/ |title=Ranking: The Beatles' Albums from Worst to Best |publisher=Consequence of Sound |date=8 May 2020 |access-date=22 December 2020 |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119075720/https://consequenceofsound.net/2020/05/ranking-every-beatles-album-from-worst-to-best/amp/ |url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| length     = {{duration|m=4|s=33}}
| label      = 
*[[Parlophone]] (UK)
*[[Capitol Records|Capitol]] (US)
| writer     = [[Lennon–McCartney]]
| producer   = [[George Martin]]
| prev_title = [[All You Need Is Love]]
| prev_year  = 1967
| title      = [[Hello, Goodbye]]
| title2     = I Am the Walrus
| next_title = [[Lady Madonna]]
| next_year  = 1968
| misc       = {{Audio sample
 | type        = single
 | file        = I Am the Walrus.ogg
 }}
}}

"'''I Am the Walrus'''" is a song by the English rock band [[the Beatles]] from their 1967 television film ''[[Magical Mystery Tour (film)|Magical Mystery Tour]]''. Written by [[John Lennon]] and credited to [[Lennon–McCartney]], it was released as the [[B-side]] to the single "[[Hello, Goodbye]]" and on the ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' EP and album. In the film, the song underscores a segment in which the band [[lip sync|mime]] to the recording at a deserted airfield.

Lennon wrote the song to confound listeners who had been affording serious scholarly interpretations of the Beatles' lyrics. He was partly inspired by two [[Psychedelic experience|LSD trips]] and [[Lewis Carroll]]'s 1871 poem "[[The Walrus and the Carpenter]]".<ref>{{cite web |last=Einav  |first=Dan |url=https://ig.ft.com/life-of-a-song/i-am-the-walrus.html|title=The Beatles’ I Am The Walrus — nonsense poetry meets LSD|publisher=[[Financial Times]] |date=6 March 2018 |access-date=14 May 2025}}</ref>Producer [[George Martin]] arranged and added orchestral accompaniment that included violins, cellos, horns, and clarinet. [[The Mike Sammes Singers]], a 16-voice choir of professional studio vocalists, also joined the recording, variously singing nonsense lines and shrill whooping noises.

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. Shortly after release, the song was banned by the [[BBC]] for the line "Boy, you've been a naughty girl, you let your [[French knickers|knickers]] down".

==Composition==
According to author [[Ian MacDonald]], the "model" for "I Am the Walrus" was most likely [[Procol Harum]]'s "[[A Whiter Shade of Pale]]", which was a hit single in mid-1967 and Lennon's favourite song of the period.{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|pp=268, 443}} 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 corn flake. 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]]'').{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=268}} Lennon later expressed dismay upon belatedly realising that the walrus was a villain in the poem.{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=185}}

The final piece of the song came together during a visit from [[Pete Shotton]], Lennon's friend and former fellow member of [[the Quarrymen]], when Lennon asked him about a playground nursery rhyme they sang as children. Shotton recalled the rhyme as follows:
{{poemquote|Yellow matter custard, green slop pie,
All mixed together with a dead dog's eye,
Slap it on a [[sandwich|butty]], ten-foot thick,
Then wash it all down with a cup of cold [[vomit|sick]].{{sfn|Davies|2002}}}}

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: The Authorised Biography|The Beatles]]''. According to this biography, Lennon remarked to Shotton, "Let the fuckers work that one out." While the band were [[The Beatles in India|studying Transcendental Meditation in India]] in early 1968, [[George Harrison]] told journalist [[Lewis H. Lapham|Lewis Lapham]] that one of the lines in "I Am the Walrus" incorporated the personal [[mantra]] he had received from their meditation teacher, [[Maharishi Mahesh Yogi]].{{sfn|Lapham|2005|p=56}} According to [[Pattie Boyd]], Harrison's wife at the time, the words "semolina pilchard" refer to [[Norman Pilcher|Sergeant Pilcher]] of the London Drug Squad, who waged a campaign against British rock stars and [[UK underground|underground]] figures during the late 1960s.{{sfn|Boyd|2007|p=129}}

Lennon claimed he wrote the first two lines on separate [[lysergic acid diethylamide#Psychological|acid trips]]; he explained much of the song to ''[[Playboy]]'' in 1980:{{sfn|Sheff|2000|p=184}}
{{blockquote|The first line was written on one acid trip one weekend. The second line was written on the next acid trip the next weekend, and it was filled in after I met [[Yoko Ono|Yoko]]{{nbsp}}... I'd seen [[Allen Ginsberg]] and some other people who liked [[Bob Dylan|Dylan]] and Jesus going on about [[International Society for Krishna Consciousness|Hare Krishna]]. It was Ginsberg, in particular, I was referring to. The words 'Element'ry penguin' meant that it's naïve to just go around chanting Hare Krishna or putting all your faith in one idol. In those days I was writing obscurely, à la Dylan. [...]

It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the [[capitalist]] system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles' work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realized that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, 'I am the carpenter.' But that wouldn't have been the same, would it? [Sings, laughing] 'I am the carpenter ...'}}

==Musical structure==
The song is in the key of A. Verse 1 begins with a I–{{music|b}}III–IV–I rock pattern: "I am he" (A chord)..."you are me" (C chord) "and we are all toge..." (D chord) "...ther" (A chord). Verse 2, however, involves a {{music|b}}VI–{{music|b}}VII–I Aeolian ascent: "waiting" (F chord) "for the van" (G chord) "to come" (A chord). The chorus uses a {{music|b}}III–IV–V pattern: "I am the eggman (C chord) "they are the eggmen (D chord). "I am the walrus (E chord), "goo-goo-g'joob" hanging as an imperfect cadence until resolved with the I (A chord) on "Mr. City Policeman".{{snf|Pedler|2003|pp= 233–234}} At the line "''Sitting'' in an English garden" the D{{music|#}} melody note (as in the instrumental introduction) establishes a Lydian mode (sharp 4th note in the scale), and this mode is emphasised more strongly with the addition of a D{{music|#}} note to the B chord on "If the sun don't ''come''".{{sfn|Pedler|2003|pp=270–271}}

The song ends using a [[Shepard tone]], with a chord progression built on ascending and descending lines in the bass and strings, repeated as the song fades. Musicologist [[Alan W. Pollack]] analyses: "The chord progression of the outro itself is a harmonic [[Moebius strip]] with scales in bassline and top voice that move in contrary motion."{{sfn|Pollack|1996}} The bassline descends stepwise A, G, F, E, D, C, and B, while the strings part rises A, B, C, D, E, F{{music|#}}, 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 (musicologist)|Walter Everett]] as a "false ending", in the form of an "unrelated [[Coda (music)|coda]]" consisting of the orchestral chord progression, chorus, and sampling of the radio play.<ref>[[Walter Everett (musicologist)|Walter Everett]]. ''The Foundations of Rock: From "Blue Suede Shoes" to "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes"''. p. 154</ref>

==Recording==
"I Am the Walrus" was the first studio recording made by the Beatles after the death of [[Brian Epstein]], in August 1967. The basic backing track featuring the Beatles was released in 1996 on ''[[Anthology 2]]''. 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, variously singing "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.{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=68}}

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, as well as harmonicas to "[[The Fool on the Hill]]".<ref name="discussionsmagazine.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.discussionsmagazine.com/2015/01/an-exclusive-interview-with-moody-blues.html |title=Discussions Magazine Music Blog: An EXCLUSIVE interview with THE MOODY BLUES' Ray Thomas! |website=Discussionsmagazine.com |date=15 January 2015 |access-date=1 October 2016 |archive-date=23 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323101548/http://www.discussionsmagazine.com/2015/01/an-exclusive-interview-with-moody-blues.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Incorporation of text from ''King Lear''===
The dramatic reading in the mix is [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[King Lear]]'' (Act IV, Scene 6), lines 219–222 and 249–262.<ref name="Fontenot">[http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/iamthewalrus_2.htm Robert Fontenot, "I Am the Walrus", on Oldies Music page from about.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140412230501/http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/iamthewalrus_2.htm |date=12 April 2014 }}. Retrieved 2 May 2014</ref> It was added to the song on 29 September 1967,<ref name="Rybaczewski">[http://www.beatlesebooks.com/walrus Dave Rybaczewski, "I Am The Walrus", on ''Beatles Music History''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617140326/http://www.beatlesebooks.com/walrus |date=17 June 2013 }}. Retrieved 2 May 2014.</ref> recorded directly from an AM radio Lennon was fiddling with. Lennon tuned around the dial and settled on the 7:30&nbsp;pm to 11&nbsp;pm<ref>{{cite web|title=Network 3 Programme Listings for Friday, 29 September, 1967|url=http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/networkthree/1967-09-29|website=BBC Genome Project|publisher=BBC|access-date=26 December 2016|archive-date=23 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161023204329/http://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/schedules/networkthree/1967-09-29|url-status=live}}</ref> broadcast of the play on the [[BBC Third Programme]].{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=128}}

The first excerpt (ll. 219–222) moves in and out of the text, containing fragments of lines only. It begins where the disguised Edgar talks to his estranged and maliciously blinded father the Earl of Gloucester (timings given):<ref name="Fontenot"/>
{{poemquote|
''Gloucester:'' (2:35) Now, good sir, wh— (Lennon appears to change the channel away from the station here)
''Edgar:'' (2:38) — poor man, made tame by fortune — (2:44) good pity —
}}

In the play, Edgar then kills Oswald, Goneril's steward. During the fade of the song, the second main extract (ll. 249–262), this time of continuous text, is heard (timings given):<ref name="Fontenot"/><ref>Walter Everett. ''The Beatles as Musicians. Revolver Through the Anthology''. Oxford University Press. NY. 1999. {{ISBN|0-19-509553-7}}. {{ISBN|0-19-512941-5}}. pp. 134–35.</ref>
{{poemquote|
''Oswald:'' (3:52) Slave, thou hast slain me. Villain, take my purse.
If ever thou wilt thrive, (4:02) bury my body,
And give the (4:05) letters which thou find'st about me
To (4:08) Edmund, Earl of Gloucester; (4:10) seek him out
Upon the British party. O, (4:14) untimely Death!
''Edgar:'' (4:23) I know thee well: a (4:25) serviceable villain;
As duteous to the (4:27) vices of thy mistress
As badness would desire.
''Gloucester:'' What, is he dead?
''Edgar:'' (4:31) Sit you down, father, rest you.}}

On the radio broadcast, the roles were read by [[Mark Dignam]] (Gloucester), [[Philip Guard]] (Edgar), and John Bryning (Oswald).<ref name="Rybaczewski"/>

==Mono vs. stereo versions==
In the original (1967) [[stereo]] release, at around two minutes through the song, the mix changes from true stereo to "[[fake stereo]]". This came about because the radio broadcast had been added "live" into the mono mix-down and so was unavailable for inclusion in the stereo mix; hence, fake stereo from the mono mix was created for this portion of the song.<ref>{{cite book|first1=Geoff|last1=Emerick|first2=Howard|last2=Massey|title=Here, There and Everywhere: My Life Recording the Music of the Beatles|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WOk8TP8o018C&pg=PT272|year=2006|publisher=Penguin Publishing Group|isbn=978-1-101-21824-2|page=272|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122162743/https://books.google.com/books?id=WOk8TP8o018C&pg=PT272|url-status=live}}</ref>

The mono version opens with a four-beat chord, while the stereo mix features six [[Beat_(music)|beats]] on the initial chord. The four-beat-only intro is also included on a different stereo mix (overseen by [[George Martin]]) for the previous [[MPI Home Video]] version of ''Magical Mystery Tour'', especially the US ''[[Magical Mystery Tour]]'' album. The US mono single mix includes an extra bar of music before the words "yellow matter custard". This is actually the original uncut version of the mono mix called RM23. An early, overdub-free mix of the song released on ''[[Anthology 2]]'' reveals John singing the lyrics "Yellow mat-" too early over this 'extra' bar of music which was later edited out. A hybrid version prepared for the 1980 US ''[[Rarities (1980 The Beatles album)|Rarities]]'' LP combines the six-beat opening with the extra bar of music that precedes the words "yellow matter custard" (from the aforementioned US mono single mix).<ref>{{cite book|first=William J.|last=Dowlding|title=Beatlesongs|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hksjpvfowgMC&pg=PA199|year=2009|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-4719-1|page=199|access-date=28 October 2016|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122162802/https://books.google.com/books?id=hksjpvfowgMC&pg=PA199|url-status=live}}</ref> An entirely new full stereo remix was done in 2012 for Apple's DVD and [[Blu-ray]] release of the restored version of ''Magical Mystery Tour''.

A [[5.1 surround sound]] full stereo remix of the song appeared on the DVD release of ''[[The Beatles Anthology (documentary)|Anthology]]'' in 2003, on disc 4. A full stereo digital remix was also done for the [[Cirque du Soleil]] show ''[[Love (Cirque du Soleil)|Love]]'' and [[Love (The Beatles album)|album of the same name]], released in 2006. Producers George and Giles Martin were allowed access to early generations of the original master tapes. Musical parts that had previously been mixed were now available as separate elements. Additionally, a copy of the BBC broadcast of ''King Lear'' was acquired. Now, with all the sound sources used in the original mono mix present, a proper stereo remix could be accomplished. These tracks were transferred digitally and lined up to create a new multi-track master, from which a new mix would be made.

In addition to the stereo remixes prepared for the ''Love'' show and the 2012 Apple reissue referenced above, the DVDs that were released for those same projects contain a 5.1 surround sound mix of the song, making three distinct 5.1 remixes of the same song.

A new stereo mix was completed in 2023 for the ''[[1967–1970]]'' album.

== Cover versions ==
*[[Oingo Boingo]] performed a cover of the song on their final album, ''[[Boingo (album)|Boingo]]'' (1994). In 2021, frontman [[Danny Elfman]] stated that the song, along with the Beatles' "[[A Day in the Life]]", "stayed with me my whole life, redefining for me what a song could do", and that Martin's "string arrangements really became part of my musical vocabulary."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kerrang.com/danny-elfman-the-10-songs-that-changed-my-life |last=Rampton |first=Mike |title=Danny Elfman: The 10 songs that changed my life |website=[[Kerrang!]] |date=21 June 2021 |access-date=17 November 2023}}</ref>

*[[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] performed the song many times throughout their history, and a live recording of them performing the song at the [[Gleneagles Hotel]] was included as a [[B-side]] to their 1994 single "[[Cigarettes & Alcohol]]" and was subsequently added to the 25th anniversary edition of ''[[Definitely Maybe]]'' (1994).<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk/?page_id=1038|title=Track by Track: Noel Gallagher on the Masterplan &#124; Oasis Recording Information|access-date=23 January 2021|archive-date=28 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180828170232/http://www.oasis-recordinginfo.co.uk/?page_id=1038|url-status=live}}</ref>

*[[Jim Carrey]] performed the song on George Martin's 1998 Beatles tribute album ''[[In My Life (George Martin album)|In My Life]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ellis |first1=Nathan |title=Watch Jim Carrey's unique cover of The Beatles song 'I Am the Walrus', back in 1998 |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/jim-carrey-the-beatles-cover-i-am-the-walrus/ |work=Far Out |date=6 April 2020}}</ref>

*[[Spooky Tooth]] performed a version of I Am the Walrus on their album ''The Last Puff''.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91Ze81NIZeg | title=Spooky Tooth - I Am the Walrus (Single Version) | website=[[YouTube]] | date=28 April 2024 }}</ref>
*[[Foetus (band)|Foetus]] performed an industrial rock cover of the song in 1996 during a live performance in Hannover.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=YWQrQJMQR9c&pp=ygUWZm9ldHVzIGkgYW0gdGhlIHdhbHJ1cw%3D%3D |title=Foetus – I Am The Walrus (Hannover 1996) |date=2013-06-26 |last=unARTigNYC |access-date=2024-09-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref>
*[[The Flaming Lips]] performed the song live in studio in 2011<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=Wdt58KUrhoNCrpRq&v=NUo33khtgHs&feature=youtu.be |title=Flaming lips – I am the walrus HD |date=2013-06-02 |last=Bob Rock |access-date=2024-09-01 |via=YouTube}}</ref>

==Personnel==
According to [[Ian MacDonald]],{{sfn|MacDonald|2005|p=264}} except where noted:

'''The Beatles'''

*[[John Lennon]]&nbsp;– [[double-tracked]] vocal, [[electric piano]], [[Mellotron]]{{sfn|Everett|1999|p=135}}
*[[Paul McCartney]]&nbsp;– backing vocal, bass guitar, tambourine{{sfn|Winn|2009|p=120}}
*[[George Harrison]]&nbsp;– backing vocal, lead guitar
*[[Ringo Starr]]&nbsp;– drums

'''Additional musicians and production'''
*[[George Martin]]{{snd}}production, orchestration{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=127}} and conducting{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=127}}
*[[Geoff Emerick]]{{snd}}[[Audio engineer|engineering]]
*[[Sidney Sax]], [[Jack Rothstein]], Ralph Elman, Andrew McGee, Jack Greene, Louis Stevens, John Jezzard and Jack Richards{{snd}}violins
*Lionel Ross, Eldon Fox, Brian Martin and [[Terence Weil|Terry Weil]]{{snd}}cellos
*Gordon Lewin{{snd}}[[contrabass clarinet]]{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=127}}
*[[Neill Sanders]], Tony Tunstall and Morris Miller{{snd}}horns
*[[Mike Sammes Singers]] (Peggie Allen, Wendy Horan, Pat Whitmore, Jill Utting, June Day, Sylvia King, Irene King, G. Mallen, Fred Lucas, Mike Redway, [[John O'Neill (musician, born 1926)|John O'Neill]], F. Dachtler, Allan Grant, D. Griffiths, J. Smith and J. Fraser){{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=127}}{{snd}}backing vocals
*[[Mark Dignam]], [[Philip Guard]] and John Bryning{{snd}}''[[King Lear]]'' dialogue{{sfn|Lewisohn|1988|p=128}}

==Reception==
[[File:The Beatles - I Am The Walrus & Hello Goodbye ad.jpg|right|thumb|Advertisement for the "I Am the Walrus" single]]
Critical reception at the time of the track's release was largely positive. Writer Derek Johnson stated: "John growls the nonsense (and sometimes suggestive) lyric, backed by a complex scoring incorporating violins and cellos. You need to hear it a few times before you can absorb it."{{sfn|Johnson|1967}} Nick Logan wrote: "Into the world of ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]'' now and you can almost visualise John crouching on a deserted shore singing 'I am the walrus' to some beautiful strings from far away on the horizon and a whole bagful of Beatle sounds, like a ringing doorbell and someone sawing a plank of wood. A fantastic track which you will need to live with for a while to fully appreciate."{{sfn|Logan|1967}} In a review for ''[[Melody Maker]]'', Nick Jones considered the song "not such a complex sound as a lot of previous Beatles stuff but it builds nicely to a chattering, spinning cacophony of electricity and hissing gongs behind a barely audible "conversation"".<ref name="jonesreview">{{cite journal |last1=Jones |first1=Nick |title=Still the Beatles old soul and feeling |journal=Melody Maker |date=18 November 1967 |page=16 |url=https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Melody-Maker/60s/67/Melody-Maker-1967-1118.pdf |access-date=14 June 2022}}</ref>

[[Richard Goldstein (writer born 1944)|Richard Goldstein]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote that the song was "their most realized work since '[[A Day In The Life]]'" and described it as "a fierce collage" with a "musical structure [that] mirrors this fragmentation". He said it "suggests a world much like that of 'A Day In The Life,' where the news is bad and John Lennon (now a Walrus, with a drooping moustache) would like to turn us on. Because he is an artist, he does."<ref>{{cite news|last1=Goldstein|first1=Richard|title=Are the Beatles Waning?|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|page=62|date=31 December 1967}}</ref>

In a highly unfavourable review of ''Magical Mystery Tour'', [[Rex Reed]] of ''[[HiFi/Stereo Review]]'' said that "I Am the Walrus" "defies any kind of description known to civilized man. Not only is it ugly to hear, lacking any cohesion of style or technique, but it is utterly silly and pointless." He stated that the song "begins with an intro sounding suspiciously like one of [[John Barry (composer)|John Barry]]'s [[James Bond]] [[Production of the James Bond films|film scores]]", then quoted some of the lyrics before saying that "the whole thing fades out to what sounds like people being fried on electric fences and pigs rooting in a bucket of swill."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Rex|last=Reed|title=Entertainment (The Beatles ''Magical Mystery Tour'')|url=https://www.americanradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Stereo-Review-IDX/IDX/60s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1968-03-OCR-Page-0113.pdf|magazine=[[HiFi/Stereo Review]]|date=March 1968|page=117|access-date=6 April 2020|archive-date=22 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122162743/https://worldradiohistory.com/hd2/IDX-Audio/Archive-Stereo-Review-IDX/IDX/60s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1968-03-OCR-Page-0113.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

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".<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6150647/The-Beatles-20-things-you-did-not-know-about-the-Fab-Four.html www.telegraph.co.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180221193353/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/the-beatles/6150647/The-Beatles-20-things-you-did-not-know-about-the-Fab-Four.html |date=21 February 2018 }}.</ref><ref>[http://www.beatlesebooks.com/walrus beatlesebooks.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617140326/http://www.beatlesebooks.com/walrus |date=17 June 2013 }}.</ref>

===Chart history===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Chart (1967–68)
!Peak<br />position
|-
|Belgium ([[Ultratop 50]] Wallonia)<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Beatles – I Am the Walrus |url=https://www.ultratop.be/fr/song/532c/The-Beatles-I-Am-The-Walrus |website=ultratop.be}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|1
|-
|New Zealand (''[[New Zealand Listener|Listener]]'')<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search+listener&qartistid=8#n_view_location|title=flavour of new zealand – search listener|website=flavourofnz.co.nz|access-date=20 May 2020|archive-date=27 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180927050514/http://www.flavourofnz.co.nz/index.php?qpageID=search+listener&qartistid=8#n_view_location|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|17
|-
|US ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot 100]]<ref>''Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990'' – {{ISBN|0-89820-089-X}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|56
|-
|US [[Cash Box (magazine)|''Cash Box'']] Top 100<ref>{{cite web|url=https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19671223.html|title=Cash Box Top 100 12/23/67|website=tropicalglen.com|access-date=20 May 2020|archive-date=9 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309033917/https://tropicalglen.com/Archives/60s_files/19671223.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"|46
|}

The single achieved sales of over 50,000 copies in Australia, being eligible for the award of a Gold Disc.{{citation needed|reason=Lulu.com is a self-publishing outlet|date=April 2020}}

==Certifications==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|artist=The Beatles|title=i Am The Walrus|award=Silver|relyear=2006|certyear=2024|access-date=March 8, 2024|id=19781-1786-1}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true|noshipments=true}}

==Interpretation==
After receiving a letter from a student at his former school, [[Calderstones 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. There have nevertheless been many attempts to understand the meaning of the lyrics.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walthall |first=Catherine |date=2022-07-09 |title=The Meaning of the Weirdest Beatles Song, "I Am The Walrus" |url=https://americansongwriter.com/i-am-the-walrus-the-beatles-meaning/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=American Songwriter |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Junkie |first=The UI |date=2017-02-03 |title=This Is Why Beatle's "I Am The Walrus" Was Intentionally Written With Meaningless Lyrics |url=https://theuijunkie.com/i-am-the-walrus-lyrics/ |access-date=2023-02-07 |website=I'm A Useless Info Junkie |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lennon returned to the subject in the lyrics of three of his subsequent songs: in the 1968 Beatles song "[[Glass Onion (song)|Glass Onion]]" he sings, "I told you 'bout the walrus and me, man / You know that we're as close as can be, man / Well here's another clue for you all / The walrus was Paul".{{sfn|Aldridge|1990|p=145}}

[[Eric Burdon]], lead singer of [[the Animals]], claimed to be the "Eggman" mentioned in the song's lyric.{{sfn|Miles|1997|p=357}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin|30em}}
*{{cite web
| work=About The Beatles
| year=2008
| title=I Am the Walrus
| url=http://www.aboutthebeatles.com/song-i_am_the_walrus.php
| access-date=12 March 2008
| ref={{SfnRef|About The Beatles|2008}}
| archive-date=29 February 2008
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080229152443/http://aboutthebeatles.com/song-i_am_the_walrus.php
| url-status=live
}}
*{{cite book
| publisher=[[Houghton Mifflin]] / Seymour Lawrence
| year=1990
| title=The Beatles Illustrated Lyrics
| location=Boston |editor1-last=Aldridge |editor1-first=Alan |editor1-link=Alan Aldridge
| isbn=0-395-59426-X
}}
* {{cite book|last1=Boyd|first1=Pattie|author-link=Pattie Boyd|last2=with Junor|first2=Penny|year=2007|title=Wonderful Today: The Autobiography|location=London|publisher=Headline Review|isbn=978-0-7553-1646-5|ref={{SfnRef|Boyd|2007}}}}
*{{cite web
| last=Davies
| first=Hunter
| year=2002
| author-link=Hunter Davies
| title=My Friend John
| url=http://articles.absoluteelsewhere.net/Articles/my_friend_john_davies.html
| access-date=7 December 2007
| archive-date=16 July 2011
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716111734/http://articles.absoluteelsewhere.net/Articles/my_friend_john_davies.html
| url-status=live
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia
| encyclopedia=Encyclopedia.com
| title=Styx's Live Walrus Recording to Debut on iTunes; Styx's Version of "I Am the Walrus" Hits Top 10 on Classic Rock Charts
| date=17 November 2004
| url=http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-124859580.html
| access-date=23 July 2007
| ref={{SfnRef|Encyclopedia.com|2004}}
| archive-date=22 December 2008
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081222034723/http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G1-124859580.html
| url-status=live
}}
* {{cite book|last=Everett|first=Walter|author-link=Walter Everett (musicologist)|title=The Beatles as Musicians: Revolver Through the Anthology|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York City|year=1999|isbn=0-19-512941-5}}
*{{cite web
| last=Fontenot
| first=Robert
| year=2007
| title=I Am the Walrus
| work=[[About.com]]
| url=http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/iamthewalrus.htm
| access-date=7 December 2007
| archive-date=20 January 2008
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080120213705/http://oldies.about.com/od/thebeatlessongs/a/iamthewalrus.htm
| url-status=live
}}
*{{cite news
| last=Johnson
| first=Derek
| title=Hello Goodbye/I am the Walrus
| date=18 November 1967
| work=[[NME]]
}}
* {{cite book|first=Lewis|last=Lapham|author-link=Lewis H. Lapham|title=With the Beatles|publisher=Melville House|year=2005|location=Brooklyn, New York|isbn=978-1-612193977}}
*{{cite book
| last=Lewisohn
| first=Mark
| year=1988
| author-link=Mark Lewisohn
| title=The Beatles Recording Sessions
| publisher=Harmony Books
| location=New York City
| isbn=0-517-57066-1
}}
*{{cite news
| last=Logan
| first=Nick
| title=Magical Mystery Tour
| date=25 November 1967
| work=[[NME]]
}}
*{{cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Ian|year=2005|title=Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties ''(2nd rev. edn)''|publisher=[[Chicago Review Press]]|isbn=978-1-55652-733-3|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/revolutioninhead0003macd}}
*{{cite book
| last=Miles
| first=Barry
| year=1997
| author-link=Barry Miles
| title=Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now
| publisher=Henry Holt & Company
| location=New York
| isbn=0-8050-5249-6
| url=https://archive.org/details/paulmccartneyman00mile
}}
*{{cite book
| last = Pedler
| first = Dominic
| title = The Songwriting Secrets of the Beatles
| location = New York City
| year = 2003
| publisher = Omnibus Press
}}
*{{cite web
| last=Pollack
| first=Alan W.
| year=1996
| author-link=Alan W. Pollack
| title=Notes on 'I Am the Walrus'
| url=http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/iatw.shtml
| access-date=8 June 2007
| archive-date=13 February 2019
| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213224622/http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/iatw.shtml
| url-status=live
}}
*{{cite book
| last=Sheff
| first=David
| year=2000
| author-link=David Sheff
| title=All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono
| publisher=St. Martin's Press
| location=New York
| isbn=0-312-25464-4
| url=https://archive.org/details/allwearesayingla00lenn
}}
* {{cite book| last=Winn| first=John C.| year=2009| title=That Magic Feeling: The Beatles' Recorded Legacy, Volume Two, 1966–1970| publisher=Three Rivers Press|location=New York City| isbn=978-0-307-45239-9}}
*{{cite web
| last=Deezen
| first=Eddie
| year=2012
| author-link=Eddie Deezen
| title=Who was the walrus? Analyzing the strangest Beatle's song
| url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/30523/who-was-walrus-analyzing-strangest-beatles-song
| access-date=9 July 2017
}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
{{Wikiquote|Magical Mystery Tour}}
*{{Notes on|http://www.icce.rug.nl/~soundscapes/DATABASES/AWP/iatw.shtml}}

{{Magical Mystery Tour}}
{{The Beatles singles}}
{{authority control}}

[[Category:The Beatles songs]]
[[Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin]]
[[Category:Capitol Records singles]]
[[Category:Music based on Alice in Wonderland]]
[[Category:Oasis (band) songs]]
[[Category:Parlophone singles]]
[[Category:Songs published by Northern Songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Lennon–McCartney]]
[[Category:Styx (band) songs]]
[[Category:1967 singles]]
[[Category:1967 songs]]
[[Category:Songs based on speech samples]]
[[Category:Music based on King Lear]]
[[Category:Censorship of music]]
[[Category:Obscenity controversies in music]]
[[Category:Songs banned by the BBC]]
[[Category:Walruses]]