Psychedelische klassieker du jour: I Am The Walrus

Lennon wilde I Am The Walrus als opvolger van All You Need Is Love, maar Paul McCartney en George Martin gaven de voorkeur aan het commerciële niemendalletje Hello, Goodbye. Tot woede van Lennon die mopperde dat hij het zo langzamerhand spuugzat was als begeleider van McCartney te moeten functioneren.

De titel is ontleend aan Lewis Carrol’s gedicht The Walrus and the Carpenter, een parabel over ongebreidelde hebzucht. Lennon realiseerde zich pas later dat hij zich met het verkeerde karakter had geïdentificeerd: “It never dawned on me that Lewis Carroll was commenting on the capitalist system. I never went into that bit about what he really meant, like people are doing with the Beatles’ work. Later, I went back and looked at it and realised that the walrus was the bad guy in the story and the carpenter was the good guy. I thought, Oh, shit, I picked the wrong guy. I should have said, ‘I am the carpenter.’ But that wouldn’t have been the same, would it?“.

Volgens Lennon moeten we niet teveel belang hechten aan de tekst. I Am The Walrus is een nonsensicaal gedicht in de traditie van Lewis Carroll, een diepere betekenis is er niet: “‘Walrus’ is just saying a dream – the words don’t mean a lot. People draw so many conclusions and it’s ridiculous… What does it really mean, ‘I am the eggman’? It could have been the pudding basin for all I care. It’s not that serious”.

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together
See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly
I’m crying

[Verse 2]Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come
Corporation tee-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
Man, you’ve been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long

[Chorus]I am the egg man, they are the egg men
I am the walrus,goo goo g’joob

[Verse 3]Mister City policeman sitting, pretty little policemen in a row
See how they fly like Lucy in the sky, see how they run
I’m crying, I’m crying
I’m crying, I’m crying

[Verse 4]Yellow-matter custard dripping from a dead dog’s eye
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess
Boy, you’ve been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down

[Chorus]I am the egg man, they are the egg men
I am the walrus,goo goo g’joob
[Bridge]Sitting in an English garden waiting for the sun
If the sun don’t come, you get a tan
From standing in the English rain

[Chorus]I am the egg man(Now good sir, what are you?)
They are the egg men(A poor man, made tame to fortune’s blows)
I am the walrus,goo goo goo joob(Good pity)
G’goo goo g’joob

[Verse 5]Expert, textpert, choking smokers, don’t you think the joker laughs at you?
(Ho ho ho, hee hee hee, ha ha ha)
See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snide
I’m crying

[Verse 6]Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna
Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe

[Chorus]I am the egg man, they are the egg men
I am the walrus, goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob
Goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob, g’goo
Joob! Joob! Joob!
[Bridge]Joob! Joob! Joob!
Joob! Joob! Joob! Joob! Joob!
Joob! Joob!
Joob! Joob!

[Outro]Umpa, umpa, stick it up your jumper
Everybody’s got one, everybody’s got one
“Villain, take my Purse
If ever thou wilt thrive, bury my Body
And give the Letters which thou findst about me
To Edmund Earl of Gloucester: seek him out upon the English Party
Oh, untimely death, death–”
“I know thee well, a serviceable Villain; as duteous to the Vices of thy Mistress as badness would desire”
“What, is he dead?”
“Sit you down, Father; rest you”

Uitgelichte afbeelding: Door Captain Budd Christman, NOAA Corps – NOAA’s Ark – Animals CollectionImage ID: anim0022 ([1]), Publiek domein, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45744