Eiffel Tower - Paris, France
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 48° 51.506 E 002° 17.585
31U E 448147 N 5411959
"Semolina Pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower" are lyrics from the final verse of the Lennon-McCartney song "I Am The Walrus" from the Magical Mystery Tour album.
Waymark Code: WMH7DQ
Location: Île-de-France, France
Date Posted: 06/03/2013
Views: 153
Many people have tied to make sense of the lyrics to the nonsense song "I Am The Walrus". Who is Semolina Pilchard and why is (s)he climbing up the Eiffel Tower? Perhaps John Lennon was simply writing in the spirit of Lewis Carroll who often wrote verses simply because he liked the sound of the words.
According to the website: Beatlesagain.com there may be a motive for the lyrics. The site quotes from a book written by John Lennon's friend and confidant Pete Shotton - The Beatles, Lennon And Me.
John was apparently going through some fan mail when a student from Quarry Bank school reported that his literature teacher was playing Beatles songs in class. The students would then take turns analyzing the lyrics followed by the teacher's interpretation of what the Beatles were tying to say.
John Lennon once attended Quarry Bank as a youngster. The Quarry Bank school headmaster had once assessed John Lennon's prospects with the words: - "This boy is bound to fail."
"Inspired by the picture of that Quarry Bank literature master pontificating about the symbolism of Lennon-McCartney, John threw in the most ludicrous images his imagination could conjure. He thought of 'semolina' (an insipid pudding we'd been forced to eat as kids) and 'pilchard' (a sardine we often fed to our cats). Semolina pilchard climbing up the Eiffel Tower....," John intoned, writing it down with considerable relish."