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Glass OnionFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search For the large hand blown glass bottles, see Glass onion. "Glass Onion" Song by the Beatles from the album The Beatles Released 22 November 1968 Recorded 11 September 1968 Genre Rock Length 2:17 Label Apple Records Writer Lennon–McCartney Producer George Martin The Beatles track listing [show]30 tracks Side one0."Back in the U.S.S.R."0."Dear Prudence"0."Glass Onion"0."Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da"0."Wild Honey Pie"0."The Continuing Story of Bungalow Bill"0."While My Guitar Gently Weeps"0."Happiness Is a Warm Gun"Side two0."Martha My Dear"0."I'm So Tired"0."Blackbird"0."Piggies"0."Rocky Raccoon"0."Don't Pass Me By"0."Why Don't We Do It in the Road?"0."I Will"0."Julia"Side three0."Birthday"0."Yer Blues"0."Mother Nature's Son"0."Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"0."Sexy Sadie"0."Helter Skelter"0."Long, Long, Long"Side four0."Revolution 1"0."Honey Pie"0."Savoy Truffle"0."Cry Baby Cry"0."Revolution 9"0."Good Night"

"Glass Onion"[1] is a song by the Beatles from their 1968 double-album The Beatles primarily written by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. This is the first track on the album to feature Ringo Starr on drums. Starr briefly left the group during recording sessions for the album and was replaced on drums by Paul McCartney on both "Back in the U.S.S.R." and "Dear Prudence."

Contents [hide] 1 Lyrics 2 Personnel 3 Notes 4 References

[edit] LyricsThe song refers to several earlier Beatles' songs, including "Strawberry Fields Forever", "I Am the Walrus", "Lady Madonna", "The Fool on the Hill" and "Fixing a Hole". The song also refers to the "Cast Iron Shore," a coastal area of south Liverpool known to local people as "The Cazzy".[2]

The song's "the Walrus was Paul" lyric is both a reference to "I Am the Walrus" and Lennon saying "something nice to Paul" in response to changes in their relationship at that time.[3] Later, the line was interpreted as a "clue" in the "Paul is dead" urban legend that alleged McCartney died in 1966 during the recording of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and was replaced by a look-alike and sound-alike. The line is preceded with "Well, here's another clue for you all".

Lennon himself dismissed any deep meaning to the mysterious lyrics:

“ I threw the line in—'the Walrus was Paul'—just to confuse everybody a bit more. It could have been 'The fox terrier is Paul.' I mean, it's just a bit of poetry. I was having a laugh because there'd been so much gobbledygook about Pepper—play it backwards and you stand on your head and all that.[4] ”

Paul McCartney descibes one of the Beatles favorite restaurants "Parkes on Beauchamp Place" operated by Tom Benson. "Tom would bend the petals back on tulips to create a strange organic sculpture for each plate, the stamen and inside colouring of the petals making an almost unrecognisable object. John referred to them in 'Glass Onion' : 'Looking through the bent back tulips,to see how the other half live'[5]"

[edit] PersonnelJohn Lennon - double-tracked vocals, acoustic guitar Paul McCartney - bass guitar, piano, recorder George Harrison - lead guitar Ringo Starr - drums, tambourine George Martin - string arrangement Henry Datyner - violin Eric Bowie - violin Norman Lederman - violin Ronald Thomas - violin John Underwood - viola Keith Cummings - viola Eldon Fox - cello Reginald Kilby - cello Personnel per Ian MacDonald[5] [edit] Notes1.^ "Glass onion" is British slang for a monocle. 2.^ allertonOak 2009. 3.^ Wenner 2000, p. 87. 4.^ The Beatles 2000, p. 306. 5.^ Paul McCartney Many Years From Now 1997, p.127 6.^ MacDonald 2005, pp. 311–314. [edit] ReferencesThe Beatles (2000). Anthology. MacDonald, Ian (2005). Revolution in the Head: The Beatles' Records and the Sixties (Second Revised Edition ed.). London: Pimlico (Rand). ISBN 1-844-13828-3. Wenner, Jann S (2000). Lennon Remembers (Full interview from Lennon's 1970 interview in Rolling Stone magazine).