Truth behind The Beatles' “I Am the Walrus”

The Beatles have produced some of the best lyrics of all time, but not all of their songs came with a philosophical meaning. 

The story behind one particular single, I Am the Walrus, is proof that not every Beatles lyric can be analysed. 

I Am the Walrus was produced after John Lennon received a letter from a pupil at Quarry Bank High School, which he had attended. The writer mentioned that the English master was making his class analyse Beatles' lyrics.

Lennon, amused that a teacher was putting so much effort into understanding the Beatles' lyrics, decided to write in his next song the most confusing lyrics that he could.

The lyrics 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 police-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 lyric about sitting on a corn flake.

Unable to finish the three different songs, the Beatles star combined them into one. 

The Beatles' official biographer Hunter Davies was present while the song was being written and according to this biography, Lennon remarked at the time, "Let the fuckers work that one out."

Lennon later claimed in 1980 that he wrote the first two lines of the song on separate acid trips.