And Here's another Clue for You All

LLW 67IF.

The so-called clues of Paul McCartney’s 1966 death are far too numerous to list here. Indeed, fans of the PID hoax continue to find new ones every day. A more thorough accounting of them can be found at the Paul Is Dead, and the Officially Pronounced Dead websites, and in Iamaphony’s very entertaining Rotten Apple series on YouTube.

The clues themselves fall into six separate categories: (1) backmasked examples; (2) cryptic lyrics; (3) artwork appearing on album covers, liner notes, and special promotions packages; (4) movie allusions; (5) non-Beatle clues; and (6) post-Beatles references. Here’s a very selective sample of each type.


Backmasked Examples

 
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1) The refrain of :”Getting Better” sounds like “After all, Paul is dead. He lost his hairs, head” when reversed.
(2) The end of the title track’s refrain sounds like “It was a fake mustache” when reversed.

Magical Mystery Tour
(1) Lyrics of the song “Blue Jay Way,” when reversed, sound like “He said, ‘Get me out.’ Paul is what is. Paul is Hare Krishna it seems. Paulie is naughty.”
(2) Lyrics beginning the coda of “I Am the Walrus” when reversed sound like “Ha ha! Paul is dead.”

The Beatles (White Album)
(1) Mumbling heard after the final cadence of the song “I’m so Tired” sounds like “Paul is dead, man. Miss him, miss him.”
(2) In addition to “Turn me on, dead man,” “Revolution no. 9,” when reversed, contains a passage that sounds like a man screaming “Get me out.”


Cryptic Lyrics

 
Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1) The song “She’s Leaving Home” begins with the phrase “Wednesday morning at five o’clock as the day begins.”
(2) The song “Lovely Rita, Meter Maid” is allegedly a reference to constable Rita Davies.
(3) The song “Good Morning, Good Morning” begins with the lyrics “Nothing to do to save his life.”
(4) The first verse of “A Day in the Life” contains the lyric “He blew his mind out in a car. He didn’t notice that the lights had changed.” The verses end with the phrase, “I’d love to turn you on.”

The Beatles (White Album)
(1) The song “Glass Onion” contains the line “And here’s another clue for you all: the walrus was Paul.”


Artwork and Photography

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(1) The general motif is that of a funeral, according to some, with the bass drum serving as a headstone. Yellow flowers are arranged in a shape reminiscent of a Rickenbocker bass strung for a left-hander.
(2) Tom Mix, and a number of other celebrities who died in motor vehicle accidents appear in the background.
(3) The top half of the bass drum, when reflected by a mirror shows the phrase “1 ONE 1 X HE DIE” (11 November he die)
(4) On the liner notes, George Harrison points to the lyric “Wednesday morning at five o’clock as the day begins” from the song “She’s Leaving Home.”
(5) On the inner sleeve, McCartney sports a patch that looks like it says “OPD” which to some means “Officially Pronounced Dead.”
(6) A hand is over McCartney’s head supposedly symbolizing that he is dead.

Abbey Road
(1) The Beatles are supposedly depicting a funeral scene. Lennon, dressed in white, symbolizes the minister. Starr, dressed in black, represents the undertaker. Campbell, dressed in business suit, but barefoot, represents the corpse (apparently in some places they bury corpses without shoes), and Harrison, dressed in denim plays the part of the gravedigger.
(2) The license plate of the Volkswagon parked on the curb reads “LMW 28IF,” which some interpret as “Lived McCartney Would 28IF,” or “If McCartney had lived, he would have been 28.”


Movies

Magical Mystery Tour
(1) The booklet accompanying the soundtrack’s release included a still photograph from the movie in which McCartney, playing a military officer, sits at a desk behind a sign reading “I was.”
(2) In the “I Am the Walrus” sequence, the bass drum appears to say “[Heart] the 3 Beatles.” Also in that sequence, guys dressed as surgeons do a bizarre dance. Paul, barefoot, has put his shoes next to the drum kit. The shoes have red stains under them. McCartney is the only one dressed in a black costume. And twice, during the video, Lennon jumps up from behind the piano and puts his left hand over McCartney’s head.

Yellow Submarine
(1) In one scene, aboard the sub, there are five Beatles, because McCartney appears twice in two separate locations.


Non-Beatle Clues

The most talked-about non-Beatle clue is a song by Terry Knight, an American disc jockey who had roots in the Detroit area. In the spring of 1969, he recorded a cryptically worded tune titled “St. Paul,” which quickly hit the UK pop charts. Because of the numerous allusions to the Beatles in lyrics, and abundant musical quotations from “Hey Jude,” the Paul in question can be no other than McCartney. Some of the lyrics hint of McCartney’s death, but in a metaphorical way:

You
Knew it all along.
Something had gone wrong.
They couldn’t hear your song and sadness in the air,

While they
Were crying out, ‘Beware!
‘Your flowers and long hair!’
While you and Sgt. Pepper saw the writing on the wall.

“St. Paul” became the only song Knight published by Maclen, a proprietary firm jointly owned by McCartney and John Lennon to administer their collaborations.


Post Beatles Clues

(1) In the video for the 1987 George Harrison song “When We Was Fab,” the left-handed bass player where’s the same costume worn by McCartney in Magical Mystery Tour.
(2) In his 1971 song “How Do You Sleep,” John Lennon makes a reference to the Paul Is Dead rumor.
(3) In documentary footage released in 1988 as Imagine, centering on Lennon’s life during the 1970s, John, George and Yoko Ono make small talk over the breakfast table. Lennon makes a reference to “The Fab Four,” and Harrison immediately corrects him, saying, “The Fab Three.” Lennon agrees. Then Harrison grouses about “Beatle Bill.” In the middle of the exchange, both men become aware of the camera, and Lennon gives it an exaggerated wink. (Click here to see it.)
4. In the 1984 movie Give My Regards to Broad Street, an actor accidentally refers to McCartney as “William.” (Click here to see it.)

Just for the fun of it, you might want to contribute more “clues.”