Episode 273: I Am The Walrus; what do they say?

BDJ's Cellar Full of Remixes

The ending of the song I Am The Walrus is one of the most mysterious and intriguing parts of the Beatles’ catalogue. It features a mix of nonsense lyrics, random sound effects, and a snippet of a BBC radio broadcast of Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Some people claim that the version of the song on the new Red and Blue album, a compilation of remastered Beatles hits released in 2023, differs from the original version that appeared on the Magical Mystery Tour EP and album in 1967. They say that the vocals are clearer and more isolated, and that some of the background noises are different or removed.

To test this claim, we have isolated the vocals from the ending of the song. Here is what we found:

• The vocals are indeed more audible and less distorted than the original version. This is probably due to the improved sound quality and remastering process of the new album.
• The lyrics are still mostly nonsensical, but some of them can be deciphered more easily. For example, a French voice talks about the 'nouvelle republique' and the Vietnam war.
• The radio broadcast of King Lear is also the same, but it is slightly more synchronized with the vocals. The broadcast was recorded by John Lennon from a transistor radio that he randomly tuned in while recording the song. The broadcast features the lines “O, untimely death!” and “I know thee well: a serviceable villain”, spoken by the characters of Edgar and Gloucester, respectively.

In conclusion, the version of I Am The Walrus on the new Red and Blue album does have some differences from the original version. The mystery remains whether the words that we can now hear are added new, or that they existed in the original but were mixed so low that we can't distinguish them.