About the Song
Released in 1967 as the B-side to “Hello, Goodbye” and later featured on the Magical Mystery Tour album, “I Am the Walrus” stands as one of The Beatles’ most daring, bizarre, and brilliant creations. Written primarily by John Lennon, the song is a swirling kaleidoscope of nonsense poetry, psychedelic wordplay, and sonic experimentation that continues to fascinate, confuse, and mesmerize audiences decades later.
The story behind the song is as legendary as the track itself. Frustrated with people trying to over-analyze Beatles lyrics, Lennon set out to write something that couldn’t be interpreted—a kind of lyrical decoy meant to break the habit of seeking deep meanings where none existed. But in doing so, he inadvertently created one of the most layered and analyzed songs in rock history.
“I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together…”
From the opening line, the rules of songwriting go out the window. Words don’t follow logic—they follow rhythm, emotion, and imagery. The result is a dreamlike, Dadaist journey filled with twisted nursery rhymes, political satire, Lewis Carroll references (“I am the walrus” is a nod to The Walrus and the Carpenter), and even snippets from a BBC production of King Lear, layered into the background.
Musically, the song is just as wild. Lennon’s distorted vocal, George Martin’s orchestral arrangements, electric piano, fuzz bass, tape effects, and chanting choruses blend into a hypnotic wall of sound that feels almost cinematic. It’s not just a song—it’s a hallucination wrapped in a melody.
For fans of the Beatles’ more experimental side, “I Am the Walrus” remains a defining moment—a reminder that rock music could be weird, clever, messy, beautiful, and still deeply iconic. In Lennon’s chaos, there was a kind of fearless genius. And with this track, he didn’t just push boundaries—he made sure we couldn’t even find them.