The Walrus

The walrus is one of the big Beatle enigmas and is continually referred to in later Beatle work and throughout the members various solo careers. Bot John and Paul have admitted to being the walrus as well as John 'confessing' in the song 'Glass Onion' that "the walrus was Paul".

It is clear when looking at the front cover of the Magical Mystery Tour LP or EP however that the walrus is John due to the walrus wearing John's 'granny' spectacles. Also, if you watch the 'I Am the Walrus' section of the Magical Mystery Tour film you can see that John dressed as the walrus is playing the piano. Paul is the hippo, known because it's the hippo playing left handed bass during that section.

But what symbolism does the walrus have, and why is whatever meaning it has continually shifted between the two?

It's always been said that the walrus is a sign of death but this is almost never elaborated upon. This is a pity because then it loses the symbolic power the guys obviously wanted it to have. It's believed that John became attached to the whole walrus thing after reading 'The Walrus and the Carpenter' by Lewis Carroll - a favourite author of John's. In this story a walrus and a carpenter lure a group of oysters and then eat them. Perhaps this link with deceiving the crowds plays a part?

It's also been suggested that the walrus was a negative symbolism to Viking warriors, and if they saw a dead walrus when starting out on a journey they would turn back because of its negative symbolism. However, this is a little far-fetched and something that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to research.

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