Beatles: Come Together Meaning

Song Released: 1969

Covered By: Taylor John Williams (2014), Gary Clark Jr. (2017)

Come Together Lyrics

Lyrics removed by the request of NMPA

1. halfassed

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   Mar 19th 2014 !⃝

   No deep meaning just what I hear.. I will pick a few words I found some real life 60's world common sense. "feet down below his knees" ..feet patches for clothing popular then. "got to be good looking cause he so hard to see?"
2. reid.copping

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   Jun 16th 2013 !⃝

   It's pretty obvious that this song is about a guy who is trying desperately to find the hidden meaning in the Beatles' lyrics.
   
   Clearly, this man spends so much time engrossed in lyric sheets that "He got hair down to his knee," and "he just do what he please," indicating that he tosses aside the important things in life in order to devote his time to analysing the words in Beatles' songs.
   
   This man doesn't keep his obsession to himself. No sir, he's looking for every opportunity to "Hold you in his armchair," in order to force you to listen to his ramblings. His obsession is so apparent that, as indicated in the song, when you're in his presence "you can feel his disease."
   
   "He roller coaster" is a metaphor for the ups and downs that this man experiences. The up comes from the excitement the man feels when he thinks he's close to cracking the puzzle, but this is followed by a plunge down the other side when he realizes he's incorrect in his assumption, and in the end, "he got muddy water," because the meaning is unclear and hard to decipher.
   
   Arguably the key to the song is in the phrase, "Come together, right now." This represents the impatience and exasperation of the lyric analyst and his desperation to make the components of the song "come together" in order to reveal the hidden meaning.
   
   Moral of the story: It's a waste of time and energy to try and find "the truth" in a Beatles song. Interpret their songs however you want, but don't go thinking you'll ever know what they're really about - only the Beatles will ever possess that secret.
3. anonymous

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   Nov 9th 2012 !⃝

   Sorry, minute 1:02:00 of the video
4. anonymous

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   Nov 9th 2012 !⃝

   I only read the first part and already knew this was going to be full of bullshit. Ringo's ability was not limited, and certainly not "borderline acceptable". In fact Ringo Starr was already one of the most known drummers in liverpool at the time. The rest of the beatles themselves have said that they felt like playing with a star when ringo had just joined the band. (He was the drummer of the band "Rory Storm and the Hurricanes" which was very well known at the time and he was known to be an extraordinary drummer). IF you dont believe me maybe you'll believe the Beatles. this is the first episode of the series "the Beatles Anthology" the whole episode is very interesting but the part which is important for this is from the minute 53. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_wiKO2QaO8
   dont talk down on music legends that deserve your respect.
5. anonymous

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   Nov 6th 2012 !⃝

   i think it has to do with a person before going to war in vietnam during it and after...

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
6. anonymous

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   Oct 15th 2012 !⃝

   I love all these interpretations and all.
   But I honestly think this song is about God.
   I'm too lazy to explain my reason/ but ever since I was little I thought they were personifying God if he were a human just like us.
   
   It makes sense to me c:
   
   I'm an athiest, but I love this song to death.
7. anonymous

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   Sep 23rd 2012 !⃝

   No song has "zero" meaning.
8. anonymous

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   Aug 16th 2012 !⃝

   Actually the first verse is George and the second one is Ringo. "He one holy roller" refers to George's connection to Indian religion. "He got toe jam football
   He got monkey finger" refers to Ringo as the joker of the group.
9. anonymous

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   Mar 13th 2012 !⃝

   How is "toe-jam football" about being dead?......
10. sid_9000

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    Dec 29th 2011 !⃝

    The following is an interpretation of "Come Together" from The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album:
    
    • First and foremost, James Paul McCartney died on November 9, 1966, in a tragic auto accident or plane crash that rendered him decapitated.
    • He was replaced by a remarkable lookalike named William Campbell or William Shepherd (who went by the nickname "Billy"); he was also an accomplished professional musician. He was allegedly the winner of an unheralded McCartney lookalike contest soon after Paul's death. It's possible this impostor was also a former Canadian policeman based on the "OPD" or Ontario Police Department patch stitched to Paul's costume on the cover of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
    • The Beatles were still in peak form, so it had been determined that the band would continue. "The show must go on", as they say, despite Paul's premature death.
    • British royalty and the MI5 (British intelligence) agreed to partake in the cover-up (along with The Beatles and recording company at the time) in an effort to prevent mass hysteria, culture shock and even suicides. I'm sure the royal family appreciated the massive tax revenues that The Beatles generated, too.
    • The Beatles were a massive hit-machine producing an unprecedented number of record sales at the time. There was absolutely no reason to stop. Moreover, the tax revenues they produced for the state, that is, THE QUEEN, may explain why the royal family was involved in the cover-up. As the old adage goes, "the answer to 99% of all questions is MONEY".
    • Campbell/Shepherd may have been the leader of a band named Billy Pepper and the Pepperpots, whereby his stage name was Billy Shepherd. (Please note the "Sgt. Pepper" and "Billy Shears" connection.) Good luck trying to dig up an old 45 on this band. This theory remains largely unclear and speculative.
    • Campbell/Shepherd wrote most of the so-called Mersey scene music in the band, which also covered a few prominent Beatles songs during this period in the early 60s. For all we know they may have been an early Beatles cover band before it became fashionable.
    • There's a seemingly out of place photo of Campbell/Shepherd on "The Beatles" (the "White Album"). He's pictured wearing glasses and sporting a mustache. This picture that was used for the Sergeant Pepper character.
    • Campbell/Shepherd had undergone plastic surgery, especially in the nose, chin, lips, eyes and cheeks. You may see "Faul" (short for "fake Paul" as John Lennon would call him) in caricature form on "Magical Mystery Tour" with a deep red nose, quite customary of plastic surgery.
    • It's clearly not the real Paul McCartney reappearing in 1967. He's about 1½" taller and the ear lobes are different (attached versus unattached).
    • The Beatles deliberately left many clues surrounding Paul's death on every album starting with "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" as a way of coping with their collective grief.
    • Why would they do this? Who in their right mind would concoct such a vile hoax - besides big governments - unless it were actually true? This was all very deliberate. The Beatles and those standing to gain the most all agreed to take a lifelong vow of silence, undoubtedly for many valid reasons including all of the following: 1) money; 2) they'd most assuredly be hated and regarded as frauds if they were exposed; 3) the MI5 had threatened to KILL them if anyone let the cat out of the bag; and almost as important, 4) The Beatles' mystique would be lost forever.
    
    Again, why stop the gravy train?
    
    So the song "Come Together" was written by John Lennon from Paul's perspective, you know, a dead person narrating from the grave as in a movie like "Sunset Boulevard". Paul says, "Come together right now, over me", meaning at his grave site (in what is believed to be an unmarked grave in either Strawberry Fields or Blackpool).
    
    Please note: The second line in each of the following verses refers to the REAL James Paul McCartney. To wit:
    
    • The first verse is clearly about George Harrison and Paul's closest friend:
    
    "Here come old flat top" - A clear-cut reference to Chuck Berry, whom George greatly admired by singing one of his hit songs "Roll Over Beethoven".
    
    "He come grooving up slowly" - According to the The Beatles "Anthology", John stated that he immediately recognized Paul's musical skills with his rendition of Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock". Maybe this is what John meant by "grooving" since Cochran was a noted cool rocker of the 50s, though it's not mentioned whether Paul's decision was made quickly. John did invite him to watch his band perform, so maybe Paul needed a little more time to think it over.
    
    "He got joo joo eyeball" - Possibly a dual meaning - his weakness for candy as in "Savoy Truffle", but also giving the evil eye, especially during the "Abbey Road" recording session and the filming of "Let It Be" (which George hated). Even by George's admission, he regarded the whole studio experience as his own "winter of discontent."
    
    "He one holy roller" - This refers to George's connection to the spiritual world.
    
    "He got hair down to his knee" - He had the longest hair of all The Beatles during the "Abbey Road" days.
    
    "Got to be a joker he just do what you please" - It got to the point where George wanted out and didn't care about The Beatles anymore. He mentions this very fact in "The Beatles Anthology", interestingly, starting with "Sgt. Pepper".
    
    • Verse two is about Ringo Starr:
    
    "He wear no shoe shine" - As the drummer always in the back during the Beatlemania years, he pounded away with shoes never requiring polish to scuff up the white skin on the bass drum. The other three needed their shoes to shine performing in the front to their throngs of screaming fans.
    
    "He got toe jam football" - A direct reference to Paul's rugby playing days, wherein the term "toe jam football" is often cited as a nickname for rugby. Apparently, Paul received a rugby trophy during his youth and it appears in the letter "L" on the grave site cover art of "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band".
    
    "He got monkey finger" - This could be a reference to Issac Asimov's short story entitled "The Monkey's Finger" whereby a trained monkey is instructed to write what he is told. Likewise, Ringo is specifically instructed to drum in the particular style of a song.
    
    "He shoot Coca-Cola" - Possibly two references: Scotch and Coke (a favorite elixir) or Ringo's later massive consumption of cocaine.
    
    "He say I know you, you know me, one thing I can tell you is you got to be free" - Ringo was always going on about peace and love, arguably the most laid back of all The Beatles.
    
    • "Come together right now over me" - Paul requesting his former bandmates at his graveside.
    
    • The third verse is all about John:
    
    "He bag production" - John and Yoko were involved in bizarre performance art known as "Bagism", whereby they were holed-up in an apartment, called the media and performed interviews from inside a large white sack.
    
    "He got walrus gumboot" - A gum boot is an over-sized rubber boot used by plumbers and such. Perhaps he was trying to say that Paul was deep in the whole walrus controversy. After all, "the walrus was Paul" as it was clearly stated in "Glass Onion" on the white album.
    
    "He got Ono sideboard" - Obviously referring to Yoko Ono constantly at his side during the recording sessions.
    
    "He one spinal cracker" - John is a "back-breaker", someone painfully difficult to deal with.
    
    "He got feet down below his knee, hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease" - An extremely stubborn person who would not kowtow - or KNEEL - to anyone. Moreover, if you got close to him, you'd understand this.
    
    • "Come together right now over me" - Paul, again, from the grave. Then, interestingly enough, there is a guitar solo before the final verse, about "Faul" the impostor:
    
    "He roller coaster" - Could be a reference to the lines in "Helter Skelter" regarding his decisions for creative direction of the band. Mind you, Faul, albeit a great impostor, was also an unexpectedly brilliant songwriter who undoubtedly secured his place in the band.
    
    "He got early warning" - In order to effectively be an impostor, Faul was required to undergo plastic surgery and threatened with his life by the MI5 if he were to expose the ruse. Moreover, the other three had different ideas about where The Beatles were headed and subsequently gave Faul an ultimatum regarding the band's management. The plan was to use up approximately fifty songs composed by John and Paul, and then quit the band, which they did. However, Faul continued the facade and was then protected by the MI5 because he saw the golden opportunity to get incredibly rich using another man's name. Listen to John's "Baby You're a Rich Man" and "How Do You Sleep?" and you'll see what I mean. But also listen to Faul's "Too Many People" where he sings, "Too many reaching for a piece of cake."
    
    "He got Muddy Water" - This one is tricky, so I did a little more research and discovered another possible reason how Paul actually died. I found the following:
    
    Yes, Paul was involved in an earlier car accident on a typically seasonal rainy day. His car failed to stop in time and hit a van, but was NOT serious enough to do any real damage. During the crash Paul lost his top-wig and busted a few teeth. (Yes, they donned wigs during the Beatlemania days.)
    
    Paul later phoned Ringo to tell him what had happened and that he would meet him later. Soon after the telephone call the police arrived and Paul decided to take a taxi home. The next morning, Ringo tried to call Paul but couldn't get in touch with him. Paul's steps had been retraced through friends but nobody had seen or heard from him.
    
    Later in the week, one of Ringo's friends had called to say that people he knew had seen Paul in France. They all flew to Paris, but Paul was no longer in the place where he was seen before. A few more days had passed, when a call was received from a girl, that days before, had found Paul near her house, wandering along a hill in a confused state with a damaged leg, lacking personal documents and cash. It was at this time when Brian Epstein went to retrieve Paul and on Sunday they started their trip back home. From that day forward no more news was heard about EITHER of them for days.
    
    It was very early in the Wednesday morning of the week after that a phone call was received to identify Paul's body, found on a beach near Outreau, North France. They were in a fatal plane crash, whereby Paul was mangled, decapitated and entirely unrecognizable almost looking "like a walrus", according to one of the medical examiners on the scene. Brian was still in the plane.
    
    So perhaps the "Muddy Water" reference specifically refers to the "muddy waters" where Paul was found dead as a result of a plane crash? Many people think that this is precisely how Paul and Brian met their ultimate demise.
    
    Bear in mind another story, somewhat far-fetched, whereby Brian Epstein was taken hostage by gangsters for ransom money, and Paul was an incidental victim in the crime. There's compelling evidence for this, which still requires more research.
    
    "He one Mojo filter" - Obviously referring to Faul's buzzkill attitude since joining The Beatles, his demanding and pushy ways, contrary to Paul's affable nature...or MOJO.
    
    "He say, 'One and one and one is three.' Got to be good looking 'cause he so hard to see" - Of course one and one and one is George and Ringo and John, the surviving Beatles at the time. Paul was always known as the "cute Beatle", so his replacement had to be a good-looking one, too. Faul was it.
    
    
    Come together right now over me.
    Come together (repeated)- Paul fading away.
    
    There ya go. Ringo Starr is the ONLY original Beatle still alive.
11. anonymous

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    Dec 26th 2011 !⃝

    and what about holy roller?
12. anonymous

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    Dec 23rd 2011 !⃝

    in 1969, The Beatles started work on the John Lennon song ‘Come Together’ at Abbey Road studios in London. The inspiration of the song come’s from Timothy Leary’s gubernatorial campaign for governor of California titled “Come together, join the party” against which former president?
    
    Answer: Ronald Reagan
    
    
    ok so now are u all done trying to find what this song was about now lol there words not just random people trying to talk about songs they will never know the meaning of or y they wrote it take the facts not what your head pulls from it(on that note take what u want just dont post stupid none facts ) 1+1+1=3 the number of men running for the seat not members of the band
13. anonymous

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    Dec 23rd 2011 !⃝

    this song had nothing to do with the band it was wrote as a campaign song for a man running against ronald reagan for the cali gov. set in the 60's point and fact people read to much into music!!!!!!!!!!!!
14. anonymous

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    Oct 28th 2011 !⃝

    I'm not sure about anything except the first line, "Here come ol' flattop"...
    It's borrowed from Chuck Berry's "You Can't Catch Me"...
    
    And I think that I've heard that some of the other lines has to do with "Paul is dead"...
15. anonymous

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    Aug 28th 2011 !⃝

    JOhn Lennon did write this for Timothy Learry ( the Drug guru in the 60's) during his campagin for governnor. To me the line " one and one and one is three". means the other 3 beatles John, George, and Ringo have solo careers. They didn't want to break up quite yet because, they wanted to leave everyone with a great album, and they did Abbey Road. Although Let It Be is the offical last album. John pause when sing one, and one, and one is three as if the three are now solo artists.

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