TheBeatlesOnline

The Beatles' lyrics were at the time, as they still are today, open to much scrutiny and specualtion. The Beatles were to some extent amused by this, and Lennon in particular did his best to confuse listeners who thought his songs carried hidden meanings.

One of the rumors that circulated at the time was that Paul McCartney was dead, and that he had been replaced by an actor. In 1966 Paul had been injured in a moped accident, and this sparked a rumor that the had been decapitated. Hence some fans started to search the Beatles' lyrics for clues that would support the "Paul is dead" theory.

On Strawberry Fields Forever, it was claimed that John said "I buried Paul," when what he really said was "cranberry sauce."

The line "bury my body" on the fade out of I Am The Walrus was also considered by some to be suspect, even though the line was tkaen from a Sheakespeare radio play incorporated into the song.

On the cover photgraphs of the Sgt. Pepper record, Paul wears a badge with the letters O.P.D, which some claimed was an abreviation for "officially pronounced dead." In reality it stands for Ontario Police Department. Paul is also the only Beatle holding a black instrument (a clarinet) on the cover, and the only one facing away from the camera on some of the photographs. The Sgt. Pepper cover also shows a hand above Paul's head, and the Beatles (apparenly) clustered around a grave, dressed in suits.

Further "clues" were later found in the song I'm So Tired, where Lennon supposedly mumbles "Paul is dead, man, miss him, miss him," and on the Abbey Road cover photograph where Paul appears barefoot. The Abbey Road cover also shows a number plate with the inscription 28 IF, which i supposed to mean that Paul would have been 28 years old if he had lived (he was 27 at the time.)

The list could go on and on, but one question remains unsolved. Who wrote all of Paul's songs if he had been replaced by an actor?

The song Glass Onion refers to some of these non-sense conspiracy theories. Several Beatles songs are mentioned here, among them Strawberry Fields Forever, I Am The Walrus (here's another clue for you all, the walrus was Paul), Lady Madonna, The Fool On The Hill and Fixing A Hole. Other Beatles songs can also be traced if one listens carefully to the arrangement.

Lennon also sings about "Cast Iron Shore," which is an actual place in Liverpool. He had apparently looked for an excuse to use this name in a lyric for a while, so he threw it in here. Cast Iron Shore is a dismal waterfront on the north side of the Mersey where rubbish from Liverpool's sewers washes up.

As for the title, Glass Onion could refer to transparency and endless layers of meaning, but it's also likely to have been inspired by Lewis Carroll's Through A Looking Glass.

Lennon had recorded a mish mash of sound effects that he wanted to use in the song, but after conversations with producer George Martin he decided to use strings instead. The version with sound effects, however, is available on Anthology 3, together with an acoustic demo take of the song which was recorded in George Harrison's home recording studio.

Glass Onion

I told you about the walrus and me, man
You know that we're as close as can be, man
Well here's another clue for you all
The walrus is Paul
Standing on the cast iron shore, yeah
Lady Madonna trying to make ends meet, yeah
Looking through a glass onion
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
Looking through a glass onion

I told you about the fool on the hill
I tell you man he's living there still
Well here's another place you can be
Listen to me
Fixing a hole in the ocean
Tryin' to make a dovetail joint
Looking through a glass onion