Clues that Paul is dead
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Many clues and references supporting the "Paul is dead" urban legend alleging that Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a look and sound-alike can be drawn from the music of the Beatles themselves.
Contents
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[edit] Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
According to believers, the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band cover shows a group of mourners standing in front of a freshly dug grave. Around the "grave", there are several symbols. A doll with a cracked head represents McCartney's fatal injury; another doll has printed on its shirt "Welcome the Rolling Stones" (The Beatles #1 competition at the time), a toy car on one knee and a bloody left-handed driving glove (Paul played guitar with his left hand) on the other. A TV that is not turned on represents the news blackout about his death. Over the letter L in Beatles can be seen McCartney's rugby trophy. Under the word "BEATLES" yellow flowers in the shape of a bass guitar can be seen, representing the instrument Paul often played. Also, the guitar is facing the direction it would if a left-handed guitarist were playing it. Paul was the only left-handed guitarist in The Beatles. Within the flowers comprising the guitar shape, the word "PAUL" followed by a question mark can be seen. Also, there are only three strings on the guitar, where a bass guitar usually has four, representing the loss of one member of the four person band. A small statue of a Hindu goddess, supposedly Lakshmi the goddess of wealth can be seen in front of the "grave", pointing a finger at Paul and another at the wax figure of Paul. In the statues right hand is a bunch of flowers that add the right "leg" to the letter A so it was a P, and in the statues left hand is a smaller bunch of flowers adding a full stop to the BEATLES between T and L. The difference in size between the flowers may indicate right handed Billy Shears taking over from left handed Paul. Also the middle arc of B is slightly different in colour and height, so it should spell D. This makes the flower pattern read DEPT.LESO or DEPT.LESA.
Also, Edgar Allan Poe, a writer whose poems and short stories often concerned death, is shown on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. He is shown as if he's looking down on Paul. If a mirror is placed horizontally across the flowers that spell BEATLES, a message can be seen, it seems to say BENICE3.
[edit] The Beatles themselves
McCartney is the only person holding a wooden instrument, representing his coffin, and the instrument is the only one that is black, representing death. The instrument is a cor anglais, the only instrument shown on the cover which is not used in a marching band. Paul's "true" instrument would have been the tuba, which is sitting unused at feet of the wax figure of Ringo. Paul is the only Beatle wearing a "cool" colour (blue), while the other three Beatles are all wearing warm colours. McCartney is the only person with a hand over his heart, a religious symbol for blessing the dead. Also, a hand over McCartney's head can be seen, which in India, is a sign of death. While John, Ringo and George are standing at an angle, Paul is facing straight forward, making Paul appear to be another cardboard cutout. Furthermore, Paul was supposedly buried at the inexistent island Leso, and if you read the Beatle's name, which has a square besides it, makes it say Be At Leso.
[edit] "1 ONE I X HE ^ DIE"
If a mirror is laid horizontally across the words "LONELY HEARTS" on the drum on the cover of Sgt. Pepper, the mirror image spells "1 ONE I X HE ^ DIE". This has been interpreted by believers in two ways.
One interpretation is that the 1, the "ONE" and the I each represent one of the Beatles, while the "X" signals that one is missing. The second interpretation is that the date of Paul's alleged death is given. In this interpretation, the "1" and "ONE" make the number 11, meaning November. The "I" and "X" are taken to represent Roman numerals making the number 9. According to this interpretation, the message is either "11th September, he died" (using the British system of writing dates) or "November 9th, he died"(In 1966 November 9th was a Wednesday, referring to how he died on a Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock) (using the American system), neither of which would fit with the theory that McCartney died during the recording of Sgt. Pepper — the album was recorded between December 1966 and April 1967. The arrow formed between "HE" and "DIE" appears to point to Paul.
[edit] Back cover
On the back cover of Sgt. Pepper, McCartney is facing backwards which is, according to believers, because he was dead and replaced by an impostor in the photograph. Also, George Harrison is pointing to the lyric "Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins" from the song "She's Leaving Home", allegedly a reference to the day and time when Paul would crash and would be killed. The words next to McCartney's head are "Without You". Also, if read starting with "Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly" from Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, it reads "Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly," "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock as the day begins," "And life flows on within you and without you," "And you're on your own, you're in the street." This hidden message is supposedly means that Paul was thinking about picking Rita up and the fact he might have burned in the car alone and that Rita escaped.
The other Beatles' hands could be spelling a word - George's fingers could be spelling the letter 'L', John is spelling the letter 'V' and Ringo is spelling the letter 'E'. The only letter missing is 'O', that would spell 'L-O-V-E'. This has been suggested to be singling out Paul McCartney, being the only Beatle without an 'O' in his name, though Ringo's real name is Richard Starkey which is without an 'O' as well.
[edit] The badge
The inside cover of the Sgt. Pepper album has Paul wearing an emblem on his shirt sleeve whose initials have been suggested to be "O.P.D.", for "officially pronounced dead" or "original Paul dead". However, it in fact reads "O.P.P.", and is a badge for the Ontario Provincial Police. It is often rumored that the replacement for Paul was a man who won a Toronto Look-A-Like contest and that was why he was wearing an O.P.P badge.
[edit] Lyrics
[edit] Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band/"Billy's Here"
On the first track, Paul introduces "Billy Shears," the leader of the fictional Sgt Pepper's band and supposed Paul look-alike contest winner.
[edit] A Day in the Life
Lennon's dramatization of the demise of Tara Browne in the first part of "A Day in the Life" has been suggested by some to be an account of Paul's death. According to this theory, he was driving erratically under the influence of hallucinogenic compounds(LSD) ("he blew his mind out in a car") and crashed because "he didn't notice that the lights had changed." The line "They'd seen his face before" is suggested to refer to the fact that many of the witnesses of the crash knew what Paul looked like, at least before the alleged disfiguring accident. The line "I'd love to turn you on" has been interpreted as an allusion to the wish of the other band members to bring Paul back—to resuscitate him and return him to life. Also, the gibberish heard at the end of the song, if you listen closely, you will hear a faint voice. If you play it backwards and listen closely, over the talking(of the bystanders) you will hear someone saying "help me" very softly.
Ironically, according to The Beatles Anthology book, Paul McCartney crashed his moped while riding alongside Tara Browne sometime in early 1966. This left McCartney alive and well, but with a badly cut upper lip (the scar can be seen on close examination of Revolver-era photos of McCartney) which encouraged him to grow a mustache to cover it.
The gibberish at the end of the song on the original UK LP and eventual CD edition of the album, the so-called "Inner Groove", when played in reverse has been interpreted as, among other things, "Will Paul be back as Superman?". The commonly accepted interpretation however is "We'll fuck you like supermen", as described by Paul McCartney in his biography Many Years From Now and in a Rolling Stone interview.[1] Less common interpretations are "Yeah, we're all looking at you Superman" and "We'll all be back here soon". If you play it forwards, it also sounds like "Never could be any other way" or "I never could see any other way", which could mean that there could be no other way to continue without replacing Paul.
[edit] Other lyrical clues
Some believers consider Lennon's song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" to be a list of directions to McCartney's grave. Also, it is interesting to note that the capitalised letters in the song name "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is LSD, and Paul was under hallucinogenics when he "crashed the car". All four Beatles have insisted that the capitalized letters in the title were not intended to refer to LSD, and that they did not even notice this before it was pointed out to them.
Paul's Fixing a Hole contains lyrics that may refer to his alleged fatal head injury: "I'm fixing a hole where the rain gets in, and stops my mind from wandering", which led many believers to the conclusion that Paul's accident happened during a rainstorm. Others interpreted this line to be a reference to his fans weeping for him.
Paul's Lovely Rita contains "...I took her home, I nearly made it..." which has been interpreted as hinting to Paul's failure to reach his destination due to the crash. It has also been suggested that Rita was a hitchhiker whom Paul picked up on the night of his alleged death. Others suggest that she distracted Paul while he was driving, causing him to eventually crash.
The lines "nothing to do to save his life, call his wife" from Lennon's "Good Morning, Good Morning" have also caught the attention of Paul is Dead believers, despite the fact that Paul wasn't married at the time.
Harrison's Within You Without You has the lyrics "life goes on within you and without you" and what could be interpreted as the sounds of weeping near the end.
At the start of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise), when Paul is counting in, between 3 and 4 you can hear Lennon's voice say 'dying'. Note McCartney was the third Beatle standing on the cover.
Also in both Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and its reprise, the phrase "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely" is repeated several times. If you play this backwards, the words allegedly become "It was a fake moustache." Note Paul also had a moustache standing on the cover.
In "Getting Better", when the chorus is played backwards, it sounds like "After all, Paul is dead, he lost his hair, his head".
[edit] William Shears Campbell
William Campbell (sometime the name is elaborated into William Shears Campbell) is a Paul McCartney look-alike. William Campbell won a "Paul look-alike" contest in 1966 and was induced to impersonate Paul after Paul "died".
Also on Sgt. Pepper, "Billy Shears" is the name of the lead singer for the fictional Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band that the Beatles were originally planning to "play" on the album. Though this concept was largely discarded, the end of the title track includes a lyric referring to the "one and only Billy Shears," played by Ringo Starr, who sings the lead vocal on the next song, "With a Little Help from My Friends."
[edit] Summary of the clues from Sgt. Pepper
All these morsels were concocted together into one more-or-less cohesive tale: that the real Paul was killed in a car crash on Wednesday, November 9, 1966. He was replaced by a Canadian policeman named William Campbell, who had undergone plastic surgery in order to effect a perfect likeness, and who had previously won a Paul McCartney look-alike contest. The letters "OPD," appearing on a costume in a photograph on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album, were interpreted variously as standing for "Officially Pronounced Dead" and an indication that Billy Campbell had worked in the Ontario Police Department. As indicated above, the letters properly read "OPP."
[edit] Explanation of the clues
On UK pressings of the Sgt. Pepper album, when compared to the US pressing (on which most 'visual evidence' is discovered), the lyrics are printed in a manner off-set from the US version. Hence, in the UK (and possibly the rest of Europe as well), George's hand does not point at the "Wednesday morning at five o'clock..." lyric and neither is Paul's head next to the "Without You" lyrics. Some of those who believe "Paul is Dead" was a hoax pulled by the Beatles themselves have interpreted this to mean that it was manufactured for American audiences only.
[edit] Magical Mystery Tour
[edit] Cover
[edit] The Walrus
On the MMT album cover, Paul wears the costume of a walrus. 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.
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] Penny Lane video
In the promotional video for "Penny Lane", the Beatles are handed their instruments at the table in the park. When Paul (a.k.a. "Billy Shears") is handed his bass, he turns the bass for his right hand, but soon corrects himself. Paul McCartney was left-handed, as "Billy Shears" is right-handed.
[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 William Cambell, 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] Magical Mystery Tour
At 0:47–0:54, underneath the lyrics "roll up, roll up for the mystery tour", a vehicle "drives" from the left speaker to the right, where it crashes; this is interpreted as a reference to the fatal accident which killed Paul. There is also another instance of a vehicle driving by at 1:35–1:39, though there is no crash the second time.
[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 chorus (which contains the 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." (Some have interpreted the "Paul is what is" as "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?".
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. Paul McCartney claimed that the only reason for him having a black carnation was the fact that there were no red carnations left, despite the fact that he is clearly handed a bouquet of red carnations in the scene.
[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 "Ha Ha Paul Is Dead, Ha Ha 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. You can faintly hear a voice say 'Bury my body' at about 4:01. Also, right at the end, if reversed a voice says, "Paul is dead, his head off lies with his spirit." Also at about 3:58 in the song you can faintly hear a voice that says Edgar Allan Poe, a writer whose poems and stories often concern death. On the cover of Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band, Edgar Allan Poe is shown above Paul, as if he's looking down on him.
[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". The chorus of the song, played backwards, reveals "We'll sing it loud now, 'cause we'll be reverse" saying that most of their songs will have backmasked messages.
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] The Beatles (a.k.a., The White Album)
[edit] Glass Onion
On The Beatles, Lennon's track "Glass Onion" has lyrics that read "...here's another clue for you all...the Walrus was Paul" (a back reference to "I Am The Walrus" from the previous Magical Mystery Tour album). An obsolete name for the walrus is "morse". If the final 'e' is removed from morse we have "mors" which is the Latin for death. And when the line is played in reverse, you can hear "Paul took the wrong road," presumably referring to Paul's alleged fatal crash. Also, he states, "I told you 'bout the 'Fool On The Hill', I tell you, man, he's living there still", interpreted as claiming Paul remains on the hill where he was buried. It is also said that a 'Glass Onion' is a term used to describe a coffin with a glass top, or looking panel, though it is actually a slang term for a monocle. The lyrics "Looking through a glass onion" suggest that Paul would have been buried in such a coffin.
The "Paul is Dead" rumor started October 12, 1969. Since "Glass Onion" was recorded on September 11, 1968, reports that The Beatles made this song in response to the rumors are unlikely.
John mentioned in his solo song "God" that he was the Walrus. In his 1980 Playboy interview, he stated that he did not learn that the Walrus may have symbolized death until long after he wrote "I Am The Walrus". Finally, the "Glass Onion" line "The Walrus was Paul" was intended to confuse fans who were trying to interpret "I Am The Walrus". We also hear where Paul is buried in the line "I told you about the fool on the hill, I tell you man he's livin' there still", reference to the fact that Paul played the fool on the hill in the music video for it.
[edit] Ob-La-Di,Ob-La-Da
In the second "In A Couple Years They Have Build A Home Sweet Home" when the saxaphone is playing,John Lennon seems to say "Paul's Dead".
[edit] I'm So Tired
Backmasking of "I'm So Tired" allegedly revealed "Paul is dead, man. Miss him, miss him, miss him!"[2] (or sometimes, "Paul is a dead man. Miss him, miss him, miss him!") near the end and "I wish I were not a Beatle!" from the line "...should I call you but I know what you would do", taken to mean that with the death of his friend, the singer (John) wishes to quit the band, though it could also refer to the increasing tensions within the band.
John said in a 1975 interview he was saying "Monsieur, Monsieur, how about another?" drowsily as if he were falling into a deep sleep and he were already dreaming, before going into Blackbird, which takes place during the nighttime.
[edit] Revolution 9
In probably the most talked-about clue, the words "number nine, number nine" on the track "Revolution 9" became "turn me on, dead man, turn me on, dead man" when played backwards, although a more accurate transcription of the sound would be "Neon ubman, neon ubman." The track also includes other alleged clues, such as the sound of a car crashing, and comments by John Lennon which seem to indicate what McCartney was "doing" before he "died"—for example, one forward-playing comment goes "who can tell what he was saying...his eyes was on fire", while another comment goes "Yoko, you better go to see he's dead". One comment played backwards yields "get me out, get me out!". Other things heard backwards are the sounds of a raging fire, an ambulance arriving at an accident, and the sounds of a funeral choir. Most telling are the spoken words, "He hit a light pole. Better go to see a surgeon," followed by the revelation that he "went to see a dentist instead," implying that no surgeon was available after the accident, or that he could only be identified by his dental records. Amongst playing the song in reverse, in the end as the fire is heard, reversing the line said before reveals the phrase, "There were two, there are none now" (one of the clearer messages). Moving forwards, another crackling sound (representing fire) is heard, followed by the phrase "ooh, death" (when played backwards seems to say "Paul is doomed"). In the most overt clue of all, a man's voice, presumably John's, seems to declare "Paul died", to which a crowd erupts in chaos (and some applause). The shouting at the end of this song when played backwards sounds similar to "Where's my Paul?" Another message suggests when playing the comment "False as the headmaster reported" the line "I hope Paul isn't accepted to hell as a sloth" or "slob". And playing "take this, brother, may it serve you well", reveals "reverse the proverbs" hinting at reversing the song to hear messages.
There is another reference to the alleged time of death considering the numbers after the songs "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9". Considering the information already given (McCartney "died" on 11/9) could indicate why Hey Jude 's B-side version of "Revolution" was released again on the Past Masters album.
Explaining away this clue, some have said the comment "Paul died" is actually a misinterpretation of "All right". Also, Lennon stated that at the beginning of each reel of tape used in the Beatles' sessions, an engineer would announce on the tape, "This is EMI Recording Studio Number Nine," and that he merely borrowed a fragment of that announcement[citation needed].
[edit] Cry Baby Cry
At the end of the song Paul laments (from the grave?) "Can you take me back where I came from? Can you take me back?" This is a separate song but on the same track, and was originally going to be after Cry Baby Cry on the next track. George Martin wanted an even number of tracks, so he cut it short and slotted it in at the end of Cry Baby Cry. It is not related in any way.
[edit] Don't Pass Me By
Ringo's track "Don't Pass Me By", has lyrics that read, "I listen for your footsteps but they don't arrive", and later, "I'm sorry that I doubted you...I was so unfair. You were in a car crash, and you lost your hair...". Which supposedly Paul's head was beat up in the car crash.
Also, when the chorus is played backwards, you can hear "Who'd we pay for now, we paid for now, it's that one." This may refer to the Beatles looking for a replacement for Paul. It has also been construed to suggest that they initially had or considered having someone other than William Shears Campbell replace Paul.
Explaining away these clues, some note that Ringo wrote this song in 1964, two years before Paul's alleged death.
[edit] While My Guitar Gently Weeps
The end of George Harrison's track "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", Harrison seems to be calling "Oh, Paul, Paul, Paul..."
[edit] Why Don't We Do It in the Road?
When played backwards, the title sounds like "Paul is really dead and I really want it out!" This may refer to the fact that Paul's replacement wants to get the word out that Paul had died, instead of keeping it a secret like they had been for 2 years.
[edit] Abbey Road
- On the cover, the four Beatles resemble a funeral procession. John is dressed in white like a preacher, Ringo is dressed in black like a pallbearer, Paul is out of step and barefoot, symbolizing the corpse, and George is wearing work clothes like the gravedigger.
- Paul holds his cigarette in his right hand instead of his left (he was left-handed). Paul's replacement was right-handed.
- The license plate on the Volkswagen Beetle in the background reads "LMW 28IF". "LMW" is thought to stand for Linda McCartney Weeps, and 28 would be Paul's age IF he had not died. There are two problems, though: Paul was actually only 27 when Abbey Road was released; and Paul had yet to meet Linda in 1966.
- On the right side of the road is a police van, a reference to the police who kept quiet about Paul's death.
- In the back cover photo, to the right of the sign reading "BEATLES" is a shadow that resembles a human skull.
- If one connects the dots on the wall on the Backcover before the word "beatles" it seems to make a number 3 spelling out 3 beatles.
- The woman walking by is supposedly Jane Asher, Paul's girlfriend at the time of the accident, who was supposedly paid to keep quiet about the whole matter. Also, if you look at the elbow of the woman in the photo from a distance, supposedly you should be able to see Paul McCartney's profile.
- Paul is the only Beatle without facial hair.
- In "Come Together", lyrics read "He said one and one and one is three" meaning there are three Beatles.
- In "Come Together" it says "He wear no shoe shine" meaning he wears no shoes just like on the cover of Abbey Road how Paul has no shoes on, which signifys his death.
- The chorus for "Come Together" says "Come together/right now/over me", symbolising mourners coming together over Paul's grave.
[edit] Let it Be
Let It Be, the end product of the "Get Back" sessions, was the final album released by The Beatles. This album contained very few "Paul is Dead" clues.
[edit] Cover
On the cover of Let it Be, Paul appears to be singled out from the other Beatles in two ways. First, he is facing forward while the other Beatles are looking to the left. Second, Paul is the only Beatle whose face is not on a white background. What's more is that the background appears to be blood red and next to his neck appears to be a vein.
Also if you hold a mirror over the words Let It Be you can read CEI II BE,which could be interpreted as See Three Beatles or Three Beatles.
[edit] Let It Be
The lyrics from McCartney's piece "Let It Be" include "I wake up to the sound of music, Mother Mary comes to me". This has been interpreted by believers to signify Paul meeting his mother Mary, who died when he was 14, in heaven. The whole song could be read as being about Paul's "death".
The lines "when the broken hearted people living in the world agree" and "for though they may be parted" could be about Paul and his fans.
A more obscure clue is that when the words "Let it be" are played backwards, they become "He is dead".
On the single version mix of the song, something can be heard at 1.07. When slowed slightly it sounds like "stop it," though proponents of the theory believe it is someone whispering "Paul is dead". This can not be heard on the mix that was released on the album. This particular section can be heard here.
[edit] Get Back
When the chorus of "Get Back" is played backwards, it seems to become, "I need some wheels. Help me! Help me! Help me!", referring to Paul's car being totaled in the crash. [1]
[edit] Pre-Beatles oldies
The discography of The Beatles before the compilation A Collection of Beatles Oldies contain a relatively small number of alleged clues. It should be noted that none of these clues could possibly be valid as they all predate the alleged death.
[edit] Help!
The song "Help!" from the album of the same name is alleged to contain the message "we need a member", presumably due to the absence of Paul, when the line "I never needed" is played backwards. In addition, it has also been alleged that the line "I know that I just need you like", when reversed, contains "now he uses marijuana", presumed by some believers to refer to Paul. Driving under the influence of drugs was suggested to be one of the reasons for Paul's alleged car crash.
On the cover of Help!, Paul is the only one without a hat (as in decapitation). Also, the jackets that the Beatles are wearing also gives a clue. If you look closely, you'll see that George, John and Ringo all have button-up jackets whereas Paul's has a zipper. This could symbolize the zip-up bodybag used to cover Paul after the fatal crash.
[edit] Rubber Soul
The Rubber Soul album cover has been suggested to look like the other Beatles (and the McCartney look-alike) are looking down into the grave of the real McCartney. Also, the text "Rubber Soul" seems to resemble an upside-down heart or a spade. Believers have interpreted this to represent an ace of spades, considered by some to be a symbol of death. On the back cover of the album, Paul is the only Beatle shown smoking a cigarette. Back in the 60's, cigarettes were commonly known as "coffin nails".
[edit] Yesterday and Today
The lines "I believe in yesterday, suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be, there's a shadow hanging over me. Yesterday came suddenly..." from the song "Yesterday" have been taken by believers as an admission from McCartney's replacement.
The controversial original "Butcher" album cover for Yesterday and Today features The Beatles holding broken dolls; one of the dolls' heads is being held next to McCartney's head, supposedly alluding to his decapitation in the car accident. On the subsequent replacement cover, McCartney is sitting inside a trunk, which might represent his coffin.
[edit] Revolver
The John Lennon song "She Said, She Said" contains the lyric "I know what it's like to be dead".
"Got to Get You Into My Life" contains the lyrics "I was alone. I took a ride. I didn't know what I would find there," alluding to the fateful car ride that preceded the crash.
On the cover of Revolver, the drawing of Paul is different from the drawings of his bandmates. Paul is shown in profile unlike the rest of the Beatles. The album art for Revolver is the first time the infamous "open palm" death symbol appears (in the top, left corner, next to a standing George Harrison). At the top of the cover, you can see a photo of Paul screaming and with a contorted face. This could symbolize the pain he went through after the crash. (Also, two faces are looking suspiciously at this picture of Paul.)
[edit] A Collection of Beatles Oldies
The cover of the compilation album A Collection of Beatles Oldies shows a car with headlights driving, suggested to represent the car McCartney allegedly died in. Again, alluding to Paul's decapitation, the car is headed towards the head of the man depicted on the album cover.
Another hidden clue is derived by incrementing the first two letters of "Oldies" (o-p, l-m), which leaves "pmdies" supposedly standing for "Paul McCartney dies".
[edit] Yellow Submarine soundtrack
A small number of alleged clues have also been found in the Yellow Submarine album. The following list does not include alleged clues found in non-original songs on the album.
On the cover of Yellow Submarine, all the cartoon characters are pointing towards Paul, who is at the top of the hill in front of the group. Paul was allegedly buried on a hill. John Lennon is holding his hand up over McCartney in what has been interpreted as a sign of benediction or the devil's horns and also the same clue from Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Many of the other characters are showing the same gesture. Also note that Paul is stood in the middle of the road, the other 3 more to the side. Also the words under yellow submarine says "nothing is real" identifying no songs have meaning to Paul it could also mean the clues are fake (this is a line from Strawberry Fields Forever).
In the music video for Yellow Submarine, there are two Pauls, one on the floor, one sticking out of a window in the Sub, both doing the "Devil's Horns" thing with their Right hand, also pointing to the fact that Paul was left-handed, and his replacement wasn't this could also be Billy Shears trying to resemble Paul.
George Harrison's "Only a Northern Song" contains the lines "If you think the harmony, is a little dark and out of key, you're correct, there's nobody there". Believers have interpreted this as George alluding to the fact that he and Paul would often harmonise together on many of the group's songs, but now that he's gone ("There's nobody there") the harmony isn't working out.
Also the record player has a broken record in it.
[edit] "Hey Jude" album
Above the group on the cover photo, there's a picture that has been spliced into the artwork. This photo, taken during the groups last ever photo session together, shows the group all looking up toward the heavens. It is possible that this photo was taken at Paul's grave.
[edit] Very Together
One of four Canadian only releases by The Beatles, the 1969 album Very Together has become synonymous with the "Paul is dead" scare due to the ambiguous cover image of three lit candles along with one which has been recently snuffed. Believers claim that the candles in this image depict each member of the band, in the order they were seen in the Abbey Road cover, with the extinguished one representing the recent death of Paul. Another thing pointing to this scare is that Paul's replacement was supposedly from Ontario, hence the patch "O.P.P." on the inside of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band LP
[edit] Anthology
On the cover of the third volume of The Beatles Anthology, The Let It Be cover is shown, but Paul's face is replaced by a picture of him from the Rubber Soul cover, maybe meaning that Paul has been covered, or replaced by the impostor. Because Rubber Soul was released before the alleged accident, it could represent the real Paul covering up the false Paul. Furthermore, although the image is a painting, there is a vertical crack running through Paul's head.
Next to the image of McCartney is the "P!" from "Help!". Also, very visible at the bottom left of the cover, is the word "remains", which alludes to buried or cremated remains of Paul's body.
On the Free As A Bird video near the end where Lennon says backwards "it turned out nicley", it says slowly "do you hear that noise again guess who's dead. At the end of an alternate version of A Day in the Life (Volume 2, Disk 2, Track 5), Paul is heard saying "You see the worst thing about doing something like this is at first people are a bit suspicious, like.. you know.. what are you up to?"
On the Anthology extras Paul talks about joining the band AFTER George and Ringo did. However on the Anthology 1 disc 1 track 2,John says that Paul joined,then George,then Ringo.
Also if you notice on the Anthology 2 cover you can see the wax figure Beatles.The Paul wax figure's head is split.
If put the Anthology 1 and 2 covers together,the cover of With The Beatles is showing John,George,and Ringo but not Paul.
On the Anthology 1 cover if you see the group picture when looking at Paul,you can see the tear of the cover go straight through Paul's neck
[edit] References
Reeve, Andru J. [1993] (2004). Turn Me On, Dead Man: The Beatles and the "Paul is Dead" Hoax. AuthorHouse Publishing. ISBN 1-4184-8294-3.
Patterson, R. Gary (1998). The Walrus Was Paul: The Great Beatle Death Clues. Fireside Publishing. ISBN 0-684-85062-1.
[edit] External links
Some websites which state the 'Paul is Dead' rumours:
- Officially Pronounced Dead? Website that offers over 370 clues.
- [http://www.beatlesagain.com/bpidnew.html Features Song snippets with the Paul is Dead 'hidden clues'
- Article
- Paul is Dead Hoax Allegedly first website dedicated to the Paul is Dead Hoax.
- Jeff Milner's Backmasking Site Forward and reverse audio examples of "I'm So Tired" and "Revolution 9"
- Who Buried Paul McCartney? Dutch Documentary by Wouter van Opdorp
- Hints of What Was There
- Who Buried Paul? Lecture includes images and audio clips
- More on the Rumour
- Photographic analysis of Paul before and after his alleged death
- Paul is dead FAQ (rec.music.beatles)
- Paul Is Dead - 1969 Report - Beatles A 1969 late-night radio broadcast on WABC in New York City, in which the DJ describes "something strange going on about Paul of The Beatles."
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