“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.” ~ Horace Walpole, Roald Dahl, Willie Wonka, or a proverb of unknown authorship…depending upon whom you ask.

A few months back, a friend sent me a link to this youtube video of the Fab Faux on Letterman. The only other line in the email asked what the song meant. Well, actually it asked, “What the hell…is this song about?” It was intended to be rhetorical, but he obviously forgot who he was writing to. (Seriously, being my friend is its own punishment). So, I wrote back, because I find this sort of stuff to be fun.

There are no 12 step programs. I’ve looked.

The song’s meaning is actually a matter of some debate among psychos such as myself. Like most debates attempting to divine explanation from the art of another, it’s quite pointless. Naturally, this does not stop those like me from toying with the pointlessness and forming our own useless opinions.

The most frequently accepted story is that “Walrus” is just patchwork nonsense put together by John when he found out that a teacher at his old primary school was having students critically interpret Beatles’ lyrics as if they were poetry. John claimed it was a mash-up of three different songs he was tinkering with and which he wove together during an acid trip. He did admit that the Walrus referred to the Lewis Carroll character, but always pretended to be surprised when people pointed out the Walrus was the villain of the poem. I actually think the Walrus was an important image to John and he knew exactly what it represented, because he used it quite passive-aggressively against Paul in “Glass Onion” (my personal opinion – not an accepted fact).

A lot of people claim different hidden meanings linking certain things to real people and situtations; the song has ties to the infamous “Paul is Dead” urban legend / hoax.

For me, I have always seen the song as a condemnation of the greed and gluttony of a corporate-based society, and the ignorance and frustration we encounter from the judgmental attitudes such a culture creates among middle-class thinkers, not to mention the hypocrisy we all face within ourselves. I also believe it expresses how fragile we are and susceptible to the desires to both fit in and rebel against the monotony around us. I’m pretty sure Lennon couldn’t explain the nonsense that was birthed by his acid-soaked brain, or possibly, that he just didn’t want to spoon feed it to people. I also firmly believe the subconscious of an artist doesn’t always let them in on the secrets and jokes of their own creations.

As for the line-by-line interpretation of the lyrics and what the song means to me, it’s below. Should you also take pleasure in debating nonsense, feel free to leave your own interpretations.

I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together.
(We are individuals, we are society, and we’re stuck with each other.)

See how they run like pigs from a gun, see how they fly.
(Most are content to just be living cogs in the machine and scatter amid the instigating chaos, but some are actually capable of achieving wondrous things in the face of danger. I concede that this also might be a direct reference on some level to soldiers and war — but I think the implications of both the general and direct reference is the same.)

I’m crying.
(It makes me sad.)

Sitting on a cornflake, waiting for the van to come.
Corporation t-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday.
(I recognize I’m a part of all this bullshit, too.)

Man, you been a naughty boy, you let your face grow long.
(But we’re just supposed to grin and bear it; stiff upper lip and all.)

I am the eggman (woo), they are the eggmen (woo), I am the walrus,
(We are the same, we are all fragile, we are our own villains/gluttons/tricksters; it’s easy to have a message and make others cheer for us.)

Goo goo g’joob
(All you need to do is create an anthem out of the nonsense.)

Mister City Policeman sitting
Pretty little policemen in a row.
(Authority is mostly just a childish illusion.)

See how they fly like Lucy in the Sky, see how they run.
(It is often corrupt and rarely does more than get lost in the nonsense like the rest of us.)

I’m crying, I’m crying.
I’m crying, I’m crying.
(I’m really sad about it.)

Yellow matter custard, dripping from a dead dog’s eye.
Crabalocker fishwife, pornographic priestess,
(The reality of life is graphic and not-so-pretty, so we play different roles to get by.)

Boy, you been a naughty girl, you let your knickers down.
(But that doesn’t stop us from finding reasons to condemn one another.)

I am the eggman (woo), they are the eggmen (woo), I am the walrus,
(Nothing changes, the chorus keeps cheering.)

Goo goo g’joob
(The anthem sounds above the nonsense.)

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.
(Rain or shine, it’s all the same, we maintain our vanity and our illusions.)

I am the eggman (woo), they are the eggmen (woo), I am the walrus,
(Same fragile villains/gluttons/tricksters.)

Goo goo g’joob
(Same anthems, same nonsense.)

Expert texpert choking smokers,
Don’t you think the joker laughs at you?
See how they smile like pigs in a sty, see how they snide.
(I think this is just am overall fuck you to ex-teachers. John had issues with teachers and all sorts of authority. If I want to delve completely into this exercise, however, I would say this passage expresses that even the smug intellectual types with educated pedigrees that would be our teachers are generally just as bogged down in the nonsense as the rest of us.)

I’m crying.
(…And still sad about it)

Semolina Pilchard, climbing up the Eiffel Tower.
Elementary penguin singing Hare Krishna.
(People trying to do things outside the norm…)

Man, you should have seen them kicking Edgar Allan Poe.
(…are punished — most frequently by others claiming to be outside the norm themselves.)

I am the eggman (woo), they are the eggmen (woo), I am the walrus,
(We are the same, we are all fragile, we are our own villians/gluttons/tricksters.)

Goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob.
Goo goo g’joob g’goo goo g’joob g’goo.
(Eventually, all anthems become nonsense.)