Originally published November 21, 1997.
Just as there is a small minority of people who seriously believe that Elvis Presley is alive, there are Some who believe that Paul McCartney is dead.
“The Walrus was Paul,” author R. Gary Johnson examines this theory. Allegedly, McCartney had a car crash at 5am on Nov. 9, 1966, after a late-night recording session. But a contradictory story states that McCartney suffered from major facial injuries to half of his face after a motorbike accident. According to the book, McCartney and a friend were riding on a motorbike. He tried to take a turn, accelerated too quickly and “soared over the handlebars landing on his face and badly cutting his upper lip”
Even though the two stories don’t agree, rumors quickly circulated that Paul McCartney had died. Many believe that death clues linked to the tragedy are prevalent in Patterson’s book.
For example, the album cover of “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” features yellow hyacinth flowers in the shape of a left-handed bass guitar – McCartney’s instrument. As suggested in “The Walrus was Paul,” the guitar is a symbol for a coffin. Furthermore, the hyacinths seem to spell out “Paul.”
This death clue isn’t too obvious, but if you squint your eyes and use a little imagination, the connection can be made.
Perhaps an interesting and more challenging death clue also lies within the Sgt. Pepper’s emblem which is on the drum head. If a mirror is held in the middle of “Lonely Hearts” a bizarre message is reflected.
“1 One IX He Die” could possibly refer to McCartney’s death, considering that one arrow points to him, and to the floral grave. The cover of “Abbey Road” also suggests death. All the Beatles are walking across the street, in what some believe is a funeral procession. Everyone is wearing shoes. Except Paul who is barefoot. In many countries, it is traditional to bury the dead without their shoes
All the clues mentioned so far take some coaxing to understand. They can be justified only visually. However, many lyrics also suggest that Paul McCartney very well may have died.
The song “She’s Leaving Home” begins with “Wednesday morning at five o’clock as the day begins” The alleged car crash was on a Wednesday morning at 5am. In “A Day in the Life,” John Lennon sings “He blew his mind out in a car. He didn’t notice that the light had changed. A crowd of people stood and stared. They’d seen his face before.” Is this a direct reference to the automobile accident which could have attracted a crowd due to the popularity of the Beatles?
Other clues lie within the band’s lyrics as well. The book notes, “The soft muttering right before Blackbird’ when played backwards seems to say Paul is dead, miss him miss him.”
And during the fade out/fade in part of “Strawberry Fields Forever,” a creepy voice exclaims, “I buried Paul.”
I don’t believe that Paul McCartney is dead. I think this theory is far-fetched and unrealistic, but this book took an interesting look at rumors that circulate the mysterious events.
