"Paul is Dead" clues from Magical Mystery Tour
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Many clues to the myth that Beatles member Paul McCartney died in 1966 are said to be found on the Magical Mystery Tour album.
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[edit] Cover
[edit] The Walrus
McCartney is depicted as a walrus in the Magical Mystery Tour album cover (although some have suggested he is in fact the hippo). Some claim the depiction of a walrus is an ancient sign of death, ranging from ancient Viking to ancient Greek to ancient Inuit, but no evidence for such claims has ever been produced.
[edit] The phone number
When the cover is held in front of a mirror, the word "BEATLES" becomes a telephone number (often said to be 231-7438 when held in front of a mirror or 531-7438 when held upside down, but many others are suggested). Upon dialing the number, the story goes, the listener would hear the message "you're getting closer", receive information about Paul's death, win a trip to his grave, or even talk to him in the afterlife. Similar to 867-5309, the numbers were frequently called by curiosity seekers, causing much annoyance for their actual owners.
[edit] Inside sleeve/The fifth magician
The inside sleeve of the album states, "Away in the sky, beyond the clouds, live four or five magicians..." If the magicians are taken to represent The Beatles themselves, then the fifth magician could be interpreted to be Billy Campbell, Paul's replacement, if not early members Stuart Sutcliffe and Pete Best, both of whom are often referred to as being a "Fifth Beatle", or more likely George Martin, their producer, who is usually called "The Fifth Beatle." In the movie, the five magicians are played by The Beatles and Mal Evans. Actually the fifth magician referred to was "Magic" Alex Mardas.
[edit] The booklet
The booklet that accompanied Magical Mystery Tour contains a number of scenes from the film which are suggested to contain clues.
The first shows McCartney dressed as an Army sergeant with a card on his desk that says "I WAS", suggested to indicate that the man WAS Paul. The card is actually a British equivalent of the Uncle Sam "I Want You!" poster and says "I you WAS". Paul is also seated beneath a pair of crossed flags, as they would appear on the grave of a military serviceman.
Shortly after this, there is a black-and-white fisheye lens image of a dinner party. If the viewer holds it sideways and squints, it appears to be the image of a crushed skull.
In a scene in the middle spread, Paul is not wearing shoes, as further alluded to on the cover of the Abbey Road album. His shoes are next to Ringo's bass drum, which says "Love The 3 Beatles". The multi-exposure image of George Harrison shows a head-on car collision about to occur in the upper corner. In another page featuring a still from the dancing scene, McCartney wears a black carnation while the other three Beatles wear red ones. Paul's explanation for this is that they had run out of red ones, although he is clearly handed a bouquet of red carnations in the scene.
[edit] Lyrics
[edit] Blue Jay Way
The George Harrison track, "Blue Jay Way", may be heard as a eulogy to Paul (with the lyrics "please don't be long, please don't you be very long, please don't be long, or I may be asleep..."). Also, some have claimed that the song's repeated line "Please don't be long," when played backwards, reveals the phrase "Paul is bloody." The song is actually about George waiting for Derek Taylor to help him move into his LA home on Blue Jay Way on a foggy day.
[edit] Your Mother Should Know
According to The Beatle Plot, reversing this McCartney song produces the words "Why doesn't she know me...I shed the light...dead." It may also suggest "Why does she know me?".
[edit] I Am The Walrus
The John Lennon track "I Am The Walrus" allegedly implies that McCartney died on a "stupid bloody Tuesday"; if we are to believe that McCartney died "Wednesday morning at five o'clock", as in "She's Leaving Home" from Sgt. Pepper, this could translate to be Wednesday morning UK time, while it would still be Tuesday evening in the U.S. West Coast. The chant at the end of the track, played backwards, seems to reveal "Paul Is Dead, Paul Is Dead..." And when played forwards to the end, contains a portion of a BBC radio broadcast of King Lear which mentions, "O, untimely death!" John had simply turned on the radio while recording and the "King Lear" bit was a coincidence. Also, right at the end, if reversed a voice says, "Paul is dead, his head off lies with his spirit."
[edit] Strawberry Fields Forever
Some believers have interpreted what is generally agreed to be Lennon saying "cranberry sauce" at the end of "Strawberry Fields Forever" to in fact be "I Buried Paul".
[edit] The movie
In addition to the clues from the album, there are also clues from the film by the same name.
[edit] Your Mother Should Know
In The Beatles music video for "Your Mother Should Know", all band members can be seen in white suits walking down a staircase. Each band member has a red rose in their jacket pocket, except for Paul who can be seen with a black rose in place of a red one. The black rose is supposed to symbolize death, in reference to the "Paul is Dead" rumor.
[edit] Explanations
[edit] The cover
Given which animal replaces which Beatle in the music video for "I Am The Walrus", it seems that the Walrus is actually Lennon, as the Walrus replaces Lennon at the piano. Also, the hippo, the rabbit, and the bird are apparently McCartney, Harrison and Starr, respectively. Also, Lennon's solo song "God" contains the line "I was the Walrus, but now I'm John". In a 1980 interview with Playboy, Lennon stated that at the time he wrote "I Am The Walrus", he was unaware that the walrus may have been a symbol of death.
[edit] Strawberry Fields Forever
Producer George Martin confirmed John was indeed saying "Cranberry Sauce, my mother made it for me" in his book Summer of Love. Lennon has also gone on record to confirm he said "cranberry sauce" via radio interviews. The Beatles Anthology Volume 2 CD, as well as some bootlegs, includes alternate takes of the song which also confirm this.
