How John Lennon Uses Nonsense

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[@thenwhat7595]

you mentioned how silly he was but didn't show the picture of him walking all goofy 0/10

[@xp8969]

Yoko would walk "goofy" when John drank

[@Cassieniemann2541]

He makes a goofy face at 2:56 if that counts

[@veikkajoensuu]

​@@xp8969he was way more than drunk...

[@LynnHermione]

"silly" he was an asshole

[@brixenlang3207]

the absolute madman

[@that44rdv4rk]

I'm not in walrus, Skyler. I AM the walrus.

[@theblackblast5512]

Goo goo choo

[@KryzeSkywalker]

A man opens his Magical Mystery Tour and gets Goo Goo Gajoob’d and you think that of me? No I am the Man who Goo Goo Gajoob’s

[@ashith1297]

​@@KryzeSkywalker salute to you brilliant sir

[@brunoactis1104]

Before the Kendrick Drake beef we got the John Lennon English Teachers beef

[@implicitdifferentiation]

And the John Lennon Paul McCartney beef lol

[@cboisandlin9601]

@@implicitdifferentiationyea honestly the two of them were the first real music beef, diss tracks and all.

[@mateusbidoiacavallari6423]

Nice pic

[@terry10tnj]

And the John Lennon frank zappa beef lol

[@abgamerx1183]

John just straight up said 'Let's troll'

[@paulinlongbeach]

This is what I have always said about "Glass Onion". Lennon was trolling.

[@rome8180]

I mean, "Glass Onion" isn't even particularly obscure about its trolling. It's jam-packed with references to other Beatles songs. And the metaphor of a glass onion is suggests that people are trying to pull back the layers on something that's actually transparent.

[@kjlkjjjk]

great song regardless

[@lakrids-pibe]

Those who only take a joke for a joke and the serious only seriously, he and she have actually misunderstood both. Quote from danish poet and humorist Piet Hein _Den, som kun tar spøg for spøg_ _og alvor kun alvorligt_ _han og hun har faktisk fattet_ _begge dele dårligt_ Trolling is never JUST trolling. John Lennon was attracted to surrealism. It was not a coincidence that he fell in love with an avant garde performance artist. Yoko Ono's art is full of humor if you look closely.

[@mariamabdul3641]

The walrus was Paul

[@lt.reubenrozeyt5716]

"I am the Walrus" feels like a Syd Barrett song

[@georgelucas2571]

But actually good

[@hw343434]

Syd Barrett looked up to and was influenced by Lennon

[@aishwaryatiwari6894]

So glad someone said this!

[@Piggy-Oink-Oink]

@@georgelucas2571 Syd wrote at leastLeast 3 good songs.. Arnold'Layne. see Emily Play and the incredible Astronomy Domonie

[@KalebUnderwood]

Lennon had dogshit writing. Sydney barret could actually write

[@augustosolari7721]

I love it when the cellos enter and John sings "sitting on my English Garden, waiting for the sun".

[@Shewjei]

In hindsight John was just a talented man who just loved to take the piss out of the world through his talent of music.

[@hw343434]

So much more than that but yea that’s a bit of Lennon

[@lakrids-pibe]

John Lennon loved surrealism. It was not a coincidence that he fell in love with an avant garde performance artist. Yoko Ono's art is full of humor if you look closely.

[@aleczen6973]

John Lennon, as many other great writers, knew how to take the sounds of the words and turn those into good melodies, the words themselves just as a abstract idea. I think this is what made his nonsense so great, Kurt Cobain also did this a lot.

[@a-yam943]

I kept thinking of Kurt Cobain this whole video. He utilized ‘nonsense’ or the subversion of expected phrases a lot in his songwriting.

[@rome8180]

"I am the egg man" is a Lewis Carroll reference too. While Lewis Carrol didn't invent Humpty Dumpty, the character appears in Through the Looking Glass. Given that the "egg man" line comes right before the walrus line, it's pretty clear that Lennon is thinking of the Lewis Carroll version. Lennon also references his own music in the line "See how they fly like Lucy in the sky."

[@marivg8948]

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds also took inspiration from Lewis Carroll.

[@matthewjones8398]

"I am the Eggman" may also be a future vision, as it foreshadows 1991's Sonic the Hedgehog, where one of the characters from that game was named Dr. Eggman, a pure coincidence.

[@CantTellYou]

@@matthewjones8398 There’s no question about it. In fact, the song “Dr. Robert” was originally supposed to be titled “Dr. Robotnik” but they couldn’t get the future copyright clearance so he had to settle on a much more boring drug dealing doctor.

[@matthewjones8398]

@@CantTellYou Perhaps that Sega wasn't willing to lend over one trademark, possibly Yuji Naka (one of Sonic's three co-creators) refused to relent and turned down the request.

[@leoaguilar8684]

One of the Beatles best songs not just the lyrics which are silly fun but musically it’s one of their most complexly written with its chord progression.

[@tma56]

Ian MacDonalds essential book on The Beatles - Revolution in the Head - One of the finest explanation and atomization of I am the Walrus. Ian expands on the fairly obscure anger embedded within the lyrics and hammered home with the incredibly powerful music accompanying his caustic singing. As the saying goes “ Once you hear it you can’t unhear it”. Genius.

[@ritwiksrivastava6787]

Tragic how we didn’t get to see Lennon on twitter.

[@insertgenericusernamehere2402]

He'd be a just stop oil protester.

[@greycatturtle7132]

​@@insertgenericusernamehere2402 nah hes more than just that

[@greycatturtle7132]

Yea

[@Bumbaclartios]

He would’ve been so annoying on twitter, or just had someone on his team tweeting ads and promos for him

[@greycatturtle7132]

@@Bumbaclartios maybe both

[@mokodo813]

John invented trolling before trolling was invented.

[@lakrids-pibe]

Marcel Duchamp wrote a signature on an upside-down urinal and placed in an art gallery with the title "Fountain" Modern art has been trolling for a long time.

[@AlexRaesYouTubeChannel]

“The ballad of John and yoko” really is an insanely awesome video. I got nebula just to watch it

[@Britbabe53]

I had John's book of poems "In His Own Write' and found it to be not only whimsical but obviously self serving. He writes what he likes because he can. His humour is dark and also very light. I'm sure the Jabberwocky was something he could very much identify with. I found great joy in the book as a teen.

[@zhiwanboi1804]

beyond what you would call the rhythm and musical quality that lyrics have, there is an emotional quality behind every single word and they're combinations that surreal songwriters use. they challenge and play with language itself and give emotions without having "real meaning". which i personally really like :) great video btw

[@jbucktheman]

He is the walrus

[@TheGalterinone]

The walrus was Paul

[@pedroaugusto656]

The walrus wasssss meeee

[@JoaoGabriel-lk9cv]

@@TheGalterinone”I was the Walrus/But now I’m John.”

[@harold3165]

But now he's just John

[@Piggy-Oink-Oink]

This is one of the top 5 Beatle songs..which makes it in the top 5 of all time songs considering ..there's A Day in The Life, Straw Fields, Eleanor Rigby, I am The Walrus and Hey Jude.

[@isaiahromero9861]

What about tomorrow never knows? That's my personal favorite Beatles song and can easily be argued to be one of the most important songs of all time, the amount of experimentation in that track is insane for 1966, and it's just a great song even if you ignore the amount of influence it had

[@VanirTraditionalist]

Penny Lane is the greatest pop song ever made. Standard Beatles perfection.

[@keatonclark3017]

“See how they run like pigs from a gun, feels fun” polyphonic droppin bars

[@kmma99]

And almost 60 years later we're here doing the very same thing that led him to write this song in the first place. Cause or consequence?

[@Zillah82]

My dad used to yell "dripping from a dead dog's eye" when this played just to watch me make a gross out face. I think that makes sense that I love it so much since I loved Alice in Wonderland so much.

[@georgelucas2571]

It’s always hilarious that John made I Am The Walrus and Glass Onion to make fun of the conspiracy theorists reading too deep into their songs, and yet they somehow still believed that these songs were hinting at Paul’s death. You’ll still find these nut jobs today who believe that “the walrus was Paul” means that Paul died. Some people are just too stupid for their own good. 🤡

[@MyNameIsNeutron]

If John realized the walrus was the villain, would that make "the walrus was Paul" a subtle jab at Paul?

[@Turtledove2009]

@@MyNameIsNeutron He said somewhere that it was meant to be a compliment to Paul.

[@kylemackenzie5617]

"Sitting on a cornflake waiting for the van to come corporation t-shirt stupid bloody Tuesday man you been a naughty boy you let your face grow long" I have always associated these lyrics when I was having a crap day at work. Used to sing it to myself when I was quite literally sitting on some rock, waiting for the boy with the van coming to pick me up after a long shift, wearing a you guessed it a company t shirt the boss would make us wear and yes it's only stupid bloody Tuesday still got Wed Thur and Fri to go before the weekend and you can bet I had a long face by that point! I never thought this song to be nonsensical in my life I always seen it as pure genius and often wondered to myself how the hell did he know what I was going through 40 years before I even went through it 🤯 the man was nothing but genius he just knew 💙

[@r_rumenov]

Every time you alternate between "Lennon" and "Lenin", I chuckle sooo hard 😃

[@joshstephens868]

This is the video I've been waiting for from polyphonic, always great content

[@Jesse615]

Really good stuff! Thank you. I also wanted to chime in -- I enjoy lyrics that are somewhat diaphanous, but evoke emotions or memories. That they give a sense of their meanings, but are not too specific allows the listener to apply their own thoughts and memories to the song. Making the listener an active part of the song. Also, there's a documentary -- about the making of Imagine, I think, where this kind of unhinged man who has read all sorts of nonsense into Lennon's songs is confronting Lennon, and Lennon says, "Hey, man, they're just words. They don't mean anything." I love that!

[@gogoyubari366]

One of my favorite Beatles songs!

[@Bubbles_the_Siren]

Regarding the anecdote about song inspiration , I think Glass Onion was the song about which John said “let the f*****s work that one out” when he was deliberately trolling to mess with people (especially about the Paul is dead conspiracy) and written as a response to people trying to analyze I am the Walrus. Regardless, thank you for your reliably entertaining and informative videos!!

[@marcsullivan7987]

Some of the remarks made here about sincerity/mockery///serious/nonsense really capture how I feel about Ween.

[@KidSans77]

My man!

[@bellakatearts]

it’s like you read my mind! i’ve been thinking about this topic for days, as i recently began reading “in his own write”. his writing style is nonsensical and strange. i love how he can use so many words to say what is essentially nothing at all. i’ve been trying to make nonsensical art pieces inspired by john’s work and as it turns out, creating nonsense is a lot harder than it looks.

[@howardowens721]

For a long time, thought Mr. Tambourine Man was just a bunch of fun fantasy lines. Singing it last night, I suddenly got it. I now know what the song is about and there isn’t an unmeaningful line.

[@b1merio]

Goo goo g'joob!

[@kaenachoo4783]

This is honestly what sets the Beatles apart from a lot of other bands and artists. John Lennon can make a song with absolutely insane lyrics and no actual meaning and still make it a great song that is listenable to all. I mean just look at early Pink Floyd. They were arguably more psychedelic and “out there” than the Beatles, yet most of their early albums are terrible. You can’t tell me with a straight face that you think the songs on Piper At The Gates of Dawn and Umaguma are better than anything on Sgt Pepper’s and Magical Mystery Tour. The Beatles were able to push the boundaries of music while still making amazing songs that are actually easy to listen to.

[@pauld2810]

So there I was, listening to how beautifully you're analyzing this song, and wondering why you're analyzing it at all, given how the video started. Then, bam, 6:36, you explain why. Well done!

[@TheBrightlightlion]

I love your work! You really elevate being a KZbinr to an art

[@dukeoftoast2420]

Lyric analysts: Wtf John, this song is just a bunch of nonsense! John Lennon: That’s the point.

[@Jolgeable]

"I am he as you are as you are me and we are all together" It reminds of African philosophy Ubuntu, which says "I am because we are". Maybe this association has nothing to do with it, but I remembered it. Even more so because today's Western industrial culture preaches such an individualistic way of being.

[@dominicmoisant8393]

All in all is all we are

[@shandonsahm3343]

My all time fave Beatle's tune...goo goo ga jube

[@lp-xl9ld]

Okay, it's very simple: Everybody. Was. On. Drugs. Back then.

[@rundoetx]

Wow, so many negative comments. To address a few, your unique narrative delivery is great. Please dont change it. "I am the Walrus" is one of the best Lennon/Beatles songs. The lyrics are incredible. Thanks for posting.

[@artbyisaiahmonteiro]

John was trolling before trolling was a thing lmao

[@dictatorgarfield3766]

You should do a video on the Velvet Underground’s song Pale Blue Eyes. It’s such a beautiful love song, but has so much to it, adultery, forbidden love, and learning to accept you can never be with the one you love. It’d be cool to see you unpack the song and the real story that inspired it.

[@artbyisaiahmonteiro]

That song is kind of in a disguise, it comes off as a such a sweet and simple love song, but it has layers to it. I’d be very interested in seeing a deep dive of Pale Blue Eyes! Hopefully it happens because I’ve yet to see someone do that

[@adeadhead423]

Long time ago, I looked for on Google a photo of John Lennon on acid. And yes, there was one. He was wearing a Blue Jean jacket, matching jeans, a shirt with something interesting on it. I think tie-dye and His plane circle glasses. Found it once and could never find it again. Pretty sure I typed same words looking back for it. There’s a bunch of Photos of The Beatles I’ve seen on the Internet and can never find again.

[@JoaoSantos-bp5rm]

how I missed this style of essay ❤

[@gregwallace552]

Stupid bloody Tuesday is another reference to a passage in one of the Alice books. There was something about a corkscrew and a hippopotamus. The lyric in I Am The Walrus is a kind of surrealist poem, involving a lot of free association. Regardless of Lennon's original intent it turned out to be a fine piece. It has meaning but it isn't linear.

[@hulpkugel614]

Great that you're back!

[@LonelyAssassin96]

I have three categories for what makes a song enjoyable, and those are 1. Fun, which is how fun a song is to listen to, 2. Good, which is the talent of the musicians playing the song, and 3. Meaningful, which is how much the piece makes you think. A song only needs fit into one category to be enjoyable. I Am The Walrus fits squarely and solely in Category 1.

[@zorantaylor3190]

This video explains a lot of things very well, and taken together, it also adds up to what I think is a very good explanation of why Frank Zappa liked it. Even covered it one time. Ike Willis is singing, and his voice fits it to a T.

[@ROWINZILLA]

Been watching a long time, showed your stuff to my friends, great channel, one of my favorites.

[@st.anselmsfire3547]

John Lennon was such a talent that a song he wrote expressly to fuck with people is still amazing.

[@thewyldness]

i was thrilled to see you cover this. Next: the Harrison-Dylan connection!

[@verdict1163]

Lennon was just entering another musical prime when he was murdered. The whole Double Fantasy album is sublime, and songs like Borrowed Time show that he was experimenting with a reggae sound. Still a huge loss.

[@SpookyLuvCookie]

Well the last ten minutes went by in a flash. Another top notch video. You're a magician dude!

[@tecpaocelotl]

I enjoyed this song during my college years.

[@escobasingracia962]

7:30 those concentric circles looks like the ones in the 20k COP bill. It was also used masterfully in Bailando Triste by Nicolas y los fumadores, give it a listen

[@tom-kz9pb]

You cannot always expect artists to know what their own art means. Artists sometimes are like stenographers, taking dictation for an unknown muse that they do not understand. Impressionistic expression is an exploration of a subconscious world that does not lend itself to straightforward translation. The artist might say, "half of what I say is meaningless", but there are nonetheless reasons for the images that thrust into their minds.

[@aveenburney7463]

I see a polyphonic video, I click.

[@gregdahlen4375]

the lyrics sound cool helped by the interesting melody, singing etc lol

[@SeanSafford]

I love your work so much. Thanks for coming back.

[@endlesshore]

so good to see the channel is back :)

[@Threetails]

When I was a kid I thought Semolina Pilchard was a British movie star from the 60s.

[@Emeraldtrinket]

Thank you once again for making something worth watching.

[@djbennett900]

I've been on Nebula a few years now and subscribe to Lindsay and to Big George. Recommended.

[@drothberg3]

I am the Walrus is also really unusual and engaging musically. The nonsense lyrics are not only sonically engaging, they are also psychedelic images.

[@hw343434]

The Beatles’ most complex chord progression. John was a genius composer, every major chord is here and key changes galore

[@gabem3593]

could also mention john lennon’s nonsense book, “in his own write”, he wrote a few years before this, before the beatles had quite gotten to psychadelia. i think it’s interesting to see through that how his journey in nonsense evolved from something like Please Please Me to I Am The Walrus.

[@brandondblaine]

You are so good at this. I hope it is rewarding much more than it is taxing.

[@martineldritch]

The infamous, iconic 17th and final episode of "The Prisoner" was aired less than two months after "I am the Walrus" was released..Patrick McGoohan had to go into hiding for a couple of weeks, the English public could only take so much Kafkaesque absurdism at the time

[@nicholasmartin793]

I've always enjoyed this song. Thank you for making this video.

[@smitemoore3694]

I do find it intesting how this type of song does exist in more modern generations, spesficly Ive always though of "Records on my Fingers" from Phineas and Ferb. Even though Doof is just trying to tell people that he is literary being controlled by a platepus and nothing more, the audince were able to turn it into something more profound and something that they can relate to

[@delix787]

PLEASE MAKE A VIDEO ON SHOCKING BLUE!!! 💙🗣️💙

[@adriangonzalez4877]

Does anyone want to talk about the significance of John's line, "the walrus was Paul" from glass onion? Was Lennon vilifying Paul as this was the era where he really became the business man in the group? There is also something to be said about the stories surrounding Paul yelling at the producers during obla di obla da perhaps leading to their eventual departure. Even Harrisong's, we all know obla di bla da line in "savoy truffle" is pointed at Paul negatively.

[@jsizemo]

You should do an addendum on the Rutles’ “Piggy in the Middle”

[@corkbour7708]

Brilliant analogy, well thought through

[@millennialanimal]

The original rhyme was “yellow belly custard green snot pie, all washed down with a dead dogs eye” well, at least in Liverpool, my uncle used to say it to my mum when they were eating to make her feel sick 😂

[@seanfraser9162]

New Polyphonic! Fuck yeah!

[@Ghatbkk]

I've always thought that the story about Lennon writing "I am the Walrus" as nonsense to frustrate a teacher at his old school doesn't make any sense considering that Lennon was known at his school for writing all sorts of clever stuff and was exposed to Lewis Carroll, etc. in that very school.

[@imnampun2625]

Wait til you see Obey the Walrus

[@nikahmadi7992]

2:42 you let your what down!?!

[@dfadlc00]

What if he wasn't the eggman, they weren't the eggman and he wasn't the walrus?

[@LarzGustafsson]

Like "Ca Plane Pour Moi".

[@thepostapocalyptictrio4762]

John Lennon was a big Fats Waller fan. That has been suggested the walrus relates in some way.

[@FlyoverStatePark]

I'll never forget how Paul McCartney came up with Sergeant Pepper. He apparently misheard someone say "pass the salt and pepper" and thought he heard "Sergeant Pepper". That's how I learned that sometimes lyrics are just lyrics.

[@MARACUTAIA239]

But at 1962, A band called Billy Pepper nd the Pepperpots invented the name, sooooo what's the point?

[@augustosolari7721]

John later created a meta comment on the Walrus issue with Glass Onion in the White Album.

[@markmamdouh8117]

Great video I hope you do more videos about john lennon

[@areamusicale]

Apparently, it took two weeks for John Lennon to write down the first sentence “I am he as you are he, as you are me and we are all together” (he was tripping).

[@lucas_laux]

what a lovely video!

[@nvm9040]

The magical mystery tour is the strangest album by the Beatles according to John I Am the Walrus is a silly psychedelic tune with lyrics that make no sense

[@phlufff_fxd]

Lovely video!

[@dagmarland]

This song, IMO, was unmistakably about how much Lennon hated being famous, while being expected to be grateful for his fame. Whether he was conscious of this message or not. When I listen to it, I see references to fans, groupies, police holding back crowds, miserable bus tours, the depersonilization of being an idol, etc.

[@Bartholomule01]

I think Aesop Rock is a kinda Bob Dylan of his time in terms prose that feels massively cryptic but is definitely not nonsense. Rap is a really great medium for writing like that.

[@belindagulycz1590]

before i continue the vid, i just wanna saybim excited as fuck cause i lietrally chose to "break down" this song for english class and it wasnt easy. i had to use the simplest examples like a simile or paradoxs. "let the fuckers work that one out" is pretty much how i felt when we were told about the project. so its funny to me. *continues video* edit: 🤯 so it is the walrus from the walrus and the carpenter NO FUCKING WAY*continues*

[@BariumCobaltNitrog3n]

There's a term in film theory called the unreliable narrator, who leads you down the wrong path so you are surprised by the ending because you believed, or sympathized with the story being told in voice-over, ignoring the story being told visually. Lennon wants you to believe he is just another guy with nothing to say, which couldn't be farther from the truth.

[@bingus14566]

I hate that photo of JL smiling like a madman you put in here. Its so scary, and I'm mad you lingered on it for so long... twice! Great video

[@nicholasinzunza8887]

i know this is not true but i like to head canon the "all together" line foreshadows "come together" on abbey road, since the beatles are always very self-referential.

[@DCMill]

"I am the walrus" -Donny

[@gizzardwizard1795]

John Lennon does this really well on other songs too

[@ItzKiddShadez62]

i miss him man

[@Ryan-mr3zf]

the walrus was Paul