The Beatles‘ “I Am the Walrus” might seem like a psychedelic novelty today, but John Lennon adored it. He said it would appeal to fans of the Electric Light Orchestra. Interestingly, ELO has some deep connections to the Fab Four — particularly George Harrison during his solo era.
John Lennon explained why The Beatles’ ‘I Am the Walrus’ was a personal favorite
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The book Lennon on Lennon: Conversations With John Lennon features the text of a radio interview from 1974. “And now we’re gonna play a track from Magical Mystery Tour, which is one of my favorite albums because it was so weird, and it’s ‘I Am the Walrus,’” he said. While Magical Mystery Tour is a classic, it’s generally not as acclaimed as other Beatles records such as Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Revolver, or The White Album. It’s interesting that John valued Magical Mystery Tour so highly.
The “Power to the People” singer also explained why he liked “I Am the Walrus” so much. “It’s also one of my favorite tracks because I did it, of course!” he added. “But also because it’s one of those that has enough little bitties going to keep you interested even a hundred years later. And this is for the ELO freaks.”
Elsewhere in the interview, the “Imagine” singer opined that “I Am the Walrus” inspired the music of ELO, specifically the band’s single “Showdown.” Notably, ELO’s Jeff Lynne would join a band with George — the Traveling Wilburys — and he produced three Beatles songs: “Free as a Bird,” “Real Love,” and “Now and Then.”
How 2 acid trips inspired ‘I Am the Walrus’
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The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980. In it, he recalled the origin of “I Am the Walrus.” He said the first line of the song was inspired by an acid trip, the second line of the song was inspired by an acid trip he took a week later, and the rest of the tune came together after he met Yoko Ono for the first time.
John revealed that the tune’s lines about the Hare Krishna movement critiqued that denomination. He became upset because he noticed that poet Allen Ginsberg had fallen head over heels for the movement. In John’s opinion, it was naive to put all one’s “faith in one idol.” For context, the Hare Krishna movement does worship idols.
John Lennon explained The Beatles’ epoch
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In Lennon on Lennon, John discussed the context that produced “I Am the Walrus.” “Something influenced us … whatever’s in the air to do it, you know, and pinpointing who did what first, you know, doesn’t really work,” he said. “We were part of whatever the ’60s was, and we were like the ones that were chosen to represent whatever was going on on the street.
“It was happening itself, you know,” he added. “It could’ve been somebody else, but it wasn’t. It was us and the Stones and people like that. And here we all are, you know? And we all went through it together.”
The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” is a great song and ELO fans are sure to enjoy it.
