The "Paul is dead" Story

Originally posted to the net by rjp1@ihlpa.UUCP (Pietkivitch)

This is the message you hear when you play the ending of _I'm So Tired_ from the Beatles "White Album", backwards. All the Beatles discussion on the net has brought back memories from the "Paul is dead!" period. Back then, me and a couple of my friends really poured over our Beatles albums (American versions) looking for "clues" about McCartney's death. We had discovered phone numbers and called them. Got strange replies like, "you're getting closer" and "beware of Abbey Road". I think there were times when we almost believed. But of course, he wasn't dead. And the phone numbers and messages could have been faked. After a time, these numbers didn't work anymore and we lost interest. But at the time, we were immersed..

For some reason or another, a Paul McCartney look alike contest was held. The winner was William Campbell. He supposedly looked enough like PM to sit in with the other Beatles for photographs, sometimes even fooling the photo- graphers. There is a picture of William Campbell on the poster that comes with the White album. He's in the lower left-hand corner. A small picture, he has a mustache and is wearing glasses. Looking back on that period, I now understand the "hoax" to be a metaphysical statement made by the Beatles. Paul did indeed die, spiritually, as he was re-born in the ways of the Maharishi. A spiritual rebirth; his old self dying. The creative genius of the Beatles (and I think all of them were involved to some extent in the great hoax) was to have done this without anyone suspecting for a couple of years. I think it all started when a DJ stated that he thought PM was dead, and that the proof lie in the album covers and in the lyrics of songs.

Well, I dug out my old scrap book and found a good many "clues". Some of them are clear statements, while others apply only with a stretch of the ol' imagination. The way we understood it back then was, PM got into this car wreck early one Wednesday morning at 5 am whilest looking at a pretty meter maid, not seeing the changing traffic lights. He wasn't killed outright, but his car caught fire, a crowd of people stood around, and then he died from head wounds (he lost his teeth and hair). The morning papar came out with an article but was then censored, recalled. Enter William Campbell and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Here's some of the clues found on album covers and song lyrics:

These are from the "American" versions

Rubber Soul album:
The title "Rubber Soul" in the shape of a heart, indicating a "false soul" amongst them. The Beatles are peering downwards (at/in a grave?!).
Rubber Soul lyrics:
I've Just Seen A Face:
"..had it been another day I might've looked the other way, and I'd have never been a were.." (the British accent on the word 'aware' sounds like 'a were').
Girl:
"..that a man must break his back to earn his day of leisure will she still believe it when he's dead.." (who, Jane Asher?!)
I'm Looking through You:
"..I'm looking through you, where did you go? I thought I knew you, what did I know. You don't look different but you have changed, I'm looking through you, you're not the same.." "..your lips are moving I can not hear, you don't sound different I've learned the game.." "..you were above me but not today, the only difference is you're down there.." "..you've changed, you've changed, you've changed.." (yep, he's down there in the grave)
In My Life:
"..all these places have their moments ... some are dead and some are living, in my life I love you more.."
Yesterday And Today album:
The original Y&T album cover had a picture of the Beatles with decapitated dolls, raw meat, and loose teeth. PM had both teeth and a doll head on him, indicating the places of his fatal injuries. On the "other" album cover, the Beatles are standing and sitting on an empty case. PM is inside of the case indicating that he's buried in one. Is that a picture of William Campbell?! William Campbell has this faint scar on his upper lip, PM doesn't.
Yesterday And Today Lyrics:
Nowhere Man:
"He's a real nowhere man.." "..doesn't have a point of view, knows not where he's going to.." "..you don't know what you're missing, nowhere man can you see me at all?.."
Dr. Robert:
"..you're a new and better man.." "..he does everything he can, Dr. Robert.." (William is the new man. Nothing Dr. Robert can do will bring Paul back) Yesterday:
.."oh I believe in yesterday, suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be, there's a shadow hanging over me. Yesterday came suddenly.."
And Your Bird Can Sing:
"..you can't see me, you can't see me.." "..you can't hear me, you can't hear me.."
Revolver album:
First cover with an open palm above PM's head. An open palm signified that the person below was departed from this world.
Revolver lyrics:
Taxman:
"..if you drive a car *Paul*.." "..if you get too cold *Paul*.." "..my advice to those who die -taxman.." (see your taxidermist)
Eleanor Rigby:
"..father McKenzie (McCartney?!) writing the words of a sermon that no one will hear.." "..was buried.." "..father McKenzie wiping the dirt from his hands as he walks from the grave, no one was saved.."
Yellow Submarine:
"..in the land of submarines.." "..sky of blue, sea of green in our yellow submarines.." (nice term for a casket that's underneath a sea of green grass)
She Said She Said:
"..she said I know what it's like to be dead.."
For No One:
"..she says her love is dead.." "..she says that long ago she knew someone but now he's gone.."
Got To Get You Into My Life:
"..I was alone I took a ride I didn't know what I would find there.." "..and then suddenly I see you.." (lovely Rita, meter maid)
Tommorow Never Knows:
"..laid down all thoughts surrendered to the void.." "..*Paul* play(ed) the game existence to the end.." (hmmm, we all play the game existence to the end)
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album:
I think here, the Beatles were masters. The crowd includes faces (and bodies) of many famous people who passed away or have become outdated. Even the wax figues of the "early" Beatles stand in. They're overlooking a grave site. The flowers spell out the word "Beatles" and there is a bass guitar there with 3 sticks upon it indicating that there are 3 remaining Beatles. There is another open palm above PM's head. A doll sits off to the side (Jane Asher?!) with red lines (blood) running down her dress. A small car sits on her lap, a model of the car PM was driving. On the back cover, the Beatles are all facing forward except for PM, who's turned around. George is pointing a "sixth" finger at him, a sign of ill-omen. If you read across the back cover, from left to right, you can find all sorts of clues. Starting with "Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly" (from Lucy), continue to read across "Wednesday Morning at five o'clock as the day begins", "life flows on within you and without you", "you're on your own you're in the street". Inside the album, PM has a patch on his left arm "O. P. D.", which in Canada means "Officially Pronounced Dead". [Editor's Note: The patch actually reads O.P.P. which stands for Ontario Provincial Police which was given to Paul when the Beatles stopped in Totonto. Thanks to Chris Bowes for this information] Hmm, looks like William Campbell again. He always had a mustache or slight beard.. One last note, the paper sleeve that held the vinyl record looked like it had been standing in, soaking up blood! At the bottom it's bright red but then fades into a light pink at the top. Subsequent releases of this album did not have the red-faded-into-pink color scheme on the inner sleeve.
Sgt. Pepper's lyrics:
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band:
"..so let me introduce to you the one and only Billy Shears and Sgt. Pepper's lonely heart's club band.." (Sgt. Pepper's Band is actually an idea taken from history (somewhere) where a man was able to take the place of another man without anyone catching on. Billy is a nice nickname for William Campbell)
Fixing A Hole:
"..and it really doesn't matter if I'm wrong I'm right where I belong. See the Beatles standing there, they disagree.." "..silly Beatle run around, they worry me.." (William is adjusting to his new role)
She's Leaving Home:
"..Wednesday morning at five o'clock as the day begins.." (the time of the fatal accident)
Lovely Rita:
"..standing by a parking meter when I caught a glimpse of Rita.." (took his eyes off the road!)
Good Morning, good Morning:
"..nothing to do to save his life.." "..and you're on your own you're in the street.." "..people running around it's 5 o'clock.." "..watching the skirts you start to flirt, now you're in gear.."
A Day In The Life:
"..I saw the photograph. He blew his mind out in a car, he didn't notice that the lights had changed. A crowd of people stood and stared they'd seen his face before, nobody was really sure if he was from the house of *Paul*.."
Magical Mystery Tour album:
Paul is in the walrus costume on the cover. The walrus is a sign of death in certain cultures. The word "Beatles" when held to a mirror is actually a phone number! The number is: 2317438. When my friends and I called this number way back then, we'd get this strange, cryptic message "You're getting closer.." and then the call would cut off abruptly. Inside the album is a booklet with pictures from the movie. Page 3 has a picture of Paul seated at a desk with a banner in front of him stating "I was". Also looks like Campbell again, you can see the scar on his lip here. Page 15 has a cartoon of Paul playing with a car on his desk. On page 18 and on the last page of the booklet there's that open palm again above PM's head. Page 23 has PM wearing a black flower, not a red one like the others are wearing.
Magical Mystery Tour movie:
There are a couple of clues in the movie, but I don't recall them at the moment.
Magical Mystery Tour lyrics:
Fool On The Hill:
"..day after day, alone on a hill, the man with the foolish grin is perfectly still.." "..but nobody ever hears him and the sound he appears to make.." (that's because he's gone)
I Am The Walrus: (no you're not! Said little Nicola.)
"..bury me, bury me.." "..bury my body.." "..*Paul* you're darn near death!.." "..rest you.."
Hello Goodbye:
"..you say goodbye, I say hello.." (exit PM, enter WC)
Strawberry Fields Forever:
"..I buried Paul.." (this infamous line means he must've been there with father McKenzie)
All You Need Is Love:
"..No one you can save that can't be saved.." "..nothing you can see that isn't shown.." "..yes, he's dead.." "..we loved you yeah, yeah, yeah.."
Interestingly enough, "Lady Madonna" and "Revolution" (45 rpm version) were released next in 1968, but didn't appear on an album until the "Hey Jude" album was cut in 1970. So, I'll put "Hey Jude" next, before the White album.
Hey Jude album:
The picture above the Beatles on top of the doorway they are standing in front of is a picture of where Paul is supposed to be buried.
Hey Jude lyrics:
Lady Madonna:
"..Wednesday morning papers didn't come.." (they were recalled remember)
Revolution:
"..don't you know it's gonna be -all right, *Paul* died, all right.." (a couple of those "all rights" sound just like "*Paul died", also a background vocal occasionally dubs in/over *Paul* died)
White album:
The 4 glossy pictures of the Beatles are John, George, Ringo, and William! And, of course, there is a small picture of William on the poster that comes with the album, as previously mentioned.
White album lyrics:
Glass Onion:
"..I told you about Strawberry Fields.." "..well here's another place you can go.." "..to see how the other half live, looking through a glass onion.." "..I told you about the walrus and me.." "..well here's another clue for you all, the walrus *was* Paul.." "..I told you about the fool on the hill.." "..listen to me, fixing a hole in the ocean.." "..looking through a glass onion.." (a glass onion is a term used for a coffin with a glass panel over the top so you can see in, see how the other half live)
I'm So Tired:
"..Paul's dead man, miss him miss him.." (what you hear when you play the very end of the song backwards)
Mother Nature's Son:
"..find me in my field of grass, Mother Nature's son.."
Revolution #9:
"..his voice was low and his eye was high and his eyes were closed.." "..*Paul* died.." "..my fingers are broken and so is my hair, I'm not in the mood for wearing clothing.." "..maybe even dead.." "..you become naked.." (these are heard playing the song forward amongst other things, the droning "number 9". McCartney has 9 letters in it) "..get me out, get me out!.." "..turn me on dead man, turn me on dead man.." (these are heard playing the song backwards, there is a nasty car crash and it catches fire, that's when you hear Paul screaming "get me out! get me out!". Curiously, the forward droning words "number 9, number 9" actually are the words "turn me on dead man" backwards!)
Yellow Submarine album:
The open palm appears above Paul's head on the front cover, while the yellow submarine is pictured beneath the land, very stationary.
Yellow Submarine movie:
The movie has a couple of clues, one happens during the song "All You Need Is Love" when John sings "..yes, he's dead.." the word "know" on the screen changes into the word "now" at the same moment.
Yellow Submarine lyrics:
Only A Northern Song:
"..when you're listening late at night you may think the band is not quite right.." "..you may think the bands a little dark and out of key, you're correct, there's nobody there.." (there's nobody there on bass, if that's what you mean)
Hey Bulldog:
"..you think you know me but you haven't got a clue.."
Yellow Submarine:
(see Revolver)
All You Need Is Love:
(see Magical Mystery Tour)
Abbey Road album:
The cover shows the Beatles walking across Abbey Road. John is dressed in white, as the preacher. Ringo is dressed as pallbearer, Paul, who is out of step, barefoot, and holding a cigarette in his right hand when he is a left hander, is the corpse. And George is dressed like the grave digger. A Volkswagon has a license plate that says "28 if", meaning, Paul would be 28 if he were alive. On the back, the word "Beatles" is broken, and a glimpse of a woman (Rita?!) can be seen walking by.
Abbey Road lyrics:
Come Together:
"..he say I know you, you know me.." "he got early warning.." "..he say one and one and one is three. Got to be good looking cause he's so hard to see.."
You Never Give Me Your Money:
"..one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, all good children go to heaven.."
The song "You Know My Name, Look Up The Number" was released on the flipside of "Let It Be" (45 rpm). This strange song has a cuckoo clock that "cuckoos" 5 quick times just before another phone number is read off. This number gave us the "beware of Abbey Road" message each time we called.
That about wraps it up. I'm sure that there are other clues out there that I am/was not aware of, or have simply forgotten. I also remember someone trying to verify that the vocal patterns of Paul's voice were the same when he sang "Yesterday" and "Lady Madonna", but found that they were different voices instead! It's all too much..

Oh yeah, almost forgot. The song "I'll Follow The Sun" has some hints of what was to come when Paul sings "..someday, you'll look to see I've gone.."

More from Scott Slavin....

Worried about losing their public or something, the Beatles decided to hide the death and get a replacement for public appearances. The replacement was named . . . Billy Shears. I don't remember the supposed chronology, but I think it was just before the release of Sgt. Pepper. In any case, John was haunted by Paul's death, because he felt that if he had been there (or whatever) Paul wouldn't have been driving where the accident happened.

There was no person "Billy Shears", the Beatles were using a play on words to express that William Campbell was in the group:

Billy Shears = BillyS hears = Billys hear = Billys here

Get it!! Billy is there, and the Beatles were introducing him.

Don't we all read books on such pointless matters. William Campbell is the guy who won the Paul McCartney lookalike contest, but he was not announce as the winner in 1965 (? on the year) He became friends with the Beatles and had some plastic surgery (yeah sure like I believe this stuff too).

I, you, he, she and everybody else knows it was a publicity stunt. Not that the Beatles will admit it, but it benefitted them. It made there albums sell more.

Now lets get on with some more serious matters. Like John Lennon death clues. Like the one on the Magical Mystery Tour. If you look at ( I don't remember the page number) the booklet that came with the older MMT albums there is a picture of John and a sign next to him stating "The best way to go is by MD&C" Obviously MD and C means Mark David Chapman. Go ahead look, I ain't jokin'.

Yet More Clues!!!

on the Sgt. Pepper cover:
the interior of the small car held by the doll is blood red; was it like this when paul's head was crushed or whatever happened to him?

paul is the only beatle facing directly forward, supposedly because the others were posing with a life-size cut-out of him for the cover photo.

the "younger" paul is consoling the "younger" ringo, who looks like he's looking down into a grave (all four of them are looking down like that)

the flowers in the shape of the bass are actually over what is supposed to be paul's grave, and the bass looks peculiarly like the one paul played most often; it's even supposedly left-handed.

paul is the only beatle to be holding a black instrument; an english horn, which is also the only one of the four of them holding an instrument not from a marching band.

one of the patches of yellow flowers looks like a flaming car going off a cliff; i think it's the patch that the little doll is looking at.

"day in the life" often claimed to be the song john wrote immediately after paul died. clearly the whole first verse talks about exactly what everyone thought were the circumstances of paul's death. Some people will tell you that the big orchestral build ups are somwhow representative of the car crash; and that the big final chord at the end sounds like the musical interpretation of slamming a coffin shut. I know they used to give me the creeps, with or without the hoax stuff.

magical mystery tour: the movie and photos
there's one album photo from the movie that shows the group standing outside of a large stone structure. this structure is paul's tomb. also, the white-capped "eggmen" in the background were the surgeons who tried to save paul.

paul is pictured as the fool on the hill with a crushed hat (head injuries???).

although what scott slavin said about mark david chapman was pretty wild, "the best way to go is by md&c" is believed by hoax buffs to refer to one of the more widely known english funeral parlours -- could this have been the company that handled paul's burial????

the subtitle of "i am the walrus" is "'no you're not!,' said little nicola, because as we find out in "glass onion" the walrus is not john, it WAS paul.

"i am the walrus" lyrics:

"hello, goodbye" lyrics:
white album liner photos
i believe one of the album photos shows a lifeless paul floating in a tub of water. there is some dark substance around his mouth. this could be a photo of the body being washed/prepared for burial.

lyrics
don't pass me by: ringo sings: "you were in a car crash, and you lost your hair" while my guitar gently weeps: george can supposedly be heard in the song's fade-out saying "oh paul, oh paul" martha my dear: "Hold your hand out you silly girl see what you've done" -- more reference to the meter maid?? (see what she's done?) blackbird: "Take these sunken eyes and learn to see" -- reference to paul's condidtion? i will: "For if I ever saw you; I didn't catch your name; But it never really mattered; I will always feel the same." -- if he ever saw this meter maid, he never caught her name, but it never really mattered because now he's dead???

abbey road cover:
paul is barefoot because that's how many corpses were buried in england. his eyes are closed.

let it be lyrics:

these could all be references to paul departing from this world. "let it be" could be another way of saying "rest in peace". the whole song has a very sorrowful feeling to it, and as you can see, every line of every verse can be twisted into a "clue".

get back: the second verse is about a transvestite, someone pretending to be what he is not; metaphor for billy campbell pretending to be paul?

long and winding road lyrics:

One point my parents (who lived through this and say that if the "current" Paul Mccartney were to admit to the hoax tomorrow, they would "not be surprised") brought up was this: Paul was with Jane Asher for such a long time; then all of a sudden he's marrying Linda Eastman. they both remember being very surprised at the suddenness of his marriage (maybe William Campbell was dating Linda Eastman already??).

Paul didn't have much family left, so there wasn't much question of being able to keep family leaks under control.

Some people seem to think that Billy Campbell is a couple of inches TALLER than the "real" Paul. They would argue that part of the reason the Beatles stopped touring was to minimize the chance that people would notice the physical difference between the two.

John was supposedly haunted by Paul's death because the wreck was said to have happened after Paul left the studios angry, following a fight with the rest of the group. He stormed out, and the rest is either history or fiction, depending on your opinion.

all of which just goes to show how ridiculous this stuff is; you can twist anything into evidence that Mccartney died.


Sent to me by Mark Fortney:

First take either the album LP cover or CD cover and look for the drum. Notice the letters lonely hearts. Place the edge of a butter knife or mirror across the center of the letters reading HEARTS and it will read "HE ^ DIE" pointing straight up to Paul.