"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
On the MMT album cover, Paul wears the costume of a hippopotamus. However, even though John is the walrus in the film and sings the song "I am the Walrus," the liner notes to the LP read "No You're Not" under the song title -- suggesting that the walrus was someone other than John. A close examination of the MMT album cover reveals that the third figure is wearing a pair of granny glasses, the signature glasses of John Lennon. Therefore, John was not dressed in the walrus costume. The White Album song "Glass Onion" contains the lyric "the walrus was Paul", identifying the walrus on the Magical Mystery Tour album cover as McCartney. 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 537-1438 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 Shears, 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. This is supposed to be the only image that does not directly appear in the film.
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 "He said "Get Me Out!" Paul is what is. Paul is Hare Krishna, it seems. Paulie 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"; according to the Pepper album clue, he was "Officially Pronounced Dead" after the autopsy "Wednesday morning at five o'clock." 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 3:57 & 4:03 into "Strawberry Fields Forever" to in fact be "I Buried Paul". John always insisted that he had said, "cranberry sauce," a fact that was proven when George Martin created a mix for Anthology 2 that plays the two instances of the words at full volume. If you listen to the end of the song closely, you can hear, "bury me, bury me, bury my body".
[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 carnation in their jacket pocket, except for Paul who can be seen with a black carnation in place of a red one. The black carnation is supposed to symbolize death.
[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 hippopotamus, 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" in several interviews. The Beatles Anthology 2 album, as well as some bootlegs, includes an alternate mix of the same track which also confirms this.
[edit] See also
- Paul is dead
- "Paul is Dead" clues from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- "Paul is Dead" clues from The White Album
- "Paul is Dead" clues from Abbey Road
- "Paul is Dead" clues from Let It Be
