Beatles: Come Together Meaning
Song Released: 1969
Covered By: Taylor John Williams (2014), Gary Clark Jr. (2017)
Come Together Lyrics
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Here come old flattop he come grooving up slowly Paul
Referring to Paul as the band cop or as someone that tells them what to do and the one that plays bass
He got joo-joo eyeball he one holy roller George
Referring to George, who was known to eyeball John prior to joining the band, and his religious convictions
He got hair down to his knee John
John Referring to himself as the one with the longest hair
Got to be a joker he just do what he please Ringo
This could be either a reference to Ringo’s goofy nature or a Reference to Pete Best who was known to not show up for shows, which prompted them to bring in Ringo, who filled in for Best when he didn’t show.
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He wear no shoeshine he got toe-jam football Paul
Paul is rumored to like being barefoot
He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola George
A reference to George’s drug use
He say "I know you, you know me" Ringo
This is in reference to Ringo joining the band by being a familiar face, having filled in for Pete Best on many occasions.
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free John
John’s views about freedom being expressed
Come together right now over me
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He bag production he got walrus gumboot Paul
In reference to Paul’s attitude during recording sessions, his bossiness often led to the others walking out of the session.
He got Ono sideboard he one spinal cracker John
John criticizing himself as a backbreaker often with Yoko on his side.
He got feet down below his knee Ringo
Referring to Ringo who was not often seen from the waist down due to his drumset.
Hold you in his armchair you can feel his disease George
Another drug reference to george. His armchair is the chair where he would sit in to inject himself, it also refers to him sharing drugs with others who would sit with him.
Come together right now over me
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He roller-coaster he got early warning John
Referring to the ups and downs John experienced as a Beatle and the warnings he got from Paul expressing his desire to leave the group.
He got muddy water he one mojo filter George
Muddy Water refers to heroin being cooked up and George trying to stop the fighting through spiritual methods.
He say "One and one and one is three" Paul
This is Paul telling the rest of the band they can go on without him.
Got to be good-looking 'cause he's so hard to see Ringo
Referring to the often obstructed view of Ringo from behind the drumset and being at the back of the stage.
Come together right now over me. Could be John asking the band to just keep it together for him. -
I thought that the accepted theory was that the song was about Keith Richards.
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old flat top is a nickname
for jesus I'll discuss this nickname more later on....
he say "one and one and one is three"
is a reference to the trinity
got to be good looking cause he's so
hard to see...
when are we to interpret lyrics in a literal sense?...as a metaphor?
as sarcasm? as prophecy or something else entirely?
this line about being hard to see implies that Jesus has already returned and is hard to see...it goes a step further than
biblical verses encouraging us to be watchful for jesus' return. -
Just to show that one can find lots of meanings in lyrics (especially John Lennon's) Below is my
analysis of "Come Together" where I show how the song is referring to Jesus Christ and not just
the four Beatles.
C O M E T O G E T H E R by The Beatles
Here come old flattop, With a halo He would be a "Flattop" or look like a "square"
He come grooving up slowly, His popularity developed over 30 years
He got joo-joo eyeball, Jew-Jew eyeballs - He was a Jew - Luke 2:21
He one holy roller, Holy roller - rolled away the stone - Acts 4:27, Mark 16:4
He got hair down to his knees, He was a Nazarene who wore long hair - Matt. 2:23
Got to be a joker, In cards a Joker trumps a King (King of Kings)- Rev.17:14
he just do what he please. He's God. He can do anything - Matt 19:26
He wear no shoeshine, Wears sandals not shoes - Mark 6:9
He got toe-jam football Another reference to bare feet - John 13:10
He got monkey finger, Jews ate with their hands (fingers) - Mark 7:3
He shoot Coca-Cola, He was popular and drank the popular drink of the day - wine
He say, "I know you, John 5:42
You know me", John 7:28
One thing I can tell you is, Luke 18:22
You got to be free. The truth will set you free! - John 8:32
Come together right now over me Refers to His ascension - Acts 1:6
He bad production, Or is it "bag" production? Rulers thought He was "bad"
He got walrus gumboot, No meaning in Walrus and gumboot - Anything spiritual here?
He got Ono sideboard, This has meaning only if Ono was praying to Jesus (The Judge)
He one spinal cracker, Refers to a Chiropracter, "Hand Healer" - Mark 6:5
He got feet down below his knees, A pun. He had 2 feet (24") below his knees as others kneeled
Hold you in his armchair, When you are close to Him; He was a carpenter - Mark 6:3
You can feel his disease. Sarcasm - you can feel His power - Luke 8:46
Come together right now over me Acts 1:6
He roller-coaster, Oscillation refers to Jesus is the Light - John 12:35
He got early warning, He warned of the coming judgment - Col.1:28
He got muddy water, He used spittal and clay (mud) in healing - John 9:11
He one mojo filter, He is the only "filter" to God the Father - John 14:6
He say,
"One and one and one is three" Refers to triune God (Father, Son and Holy Ghost) - 1 Jn.5:7
Got to be good-looking All the pictures seem to paint Him that way - Matt.17:2
Because he's so hard to see. Jesus is invisible now as God is invisible - 1 Tim 1:17
Come together right now over me Acts 1:6
In His Grace,
A Believer -
"A 'sideboard' is the term used when attorneys would be called away from a trial during court for private discussion. "Ono sideboard" makes refernce to the growing distraction that the rest of the band felt Yoko Ono was having on John. "
You are incorrect, that is a sideBAR, not a sideboard.
A sideboard is a piece of furniture, like a buffet.
Silly. -
Unlike most people here, I can't say I know exactly what this song is "about"; my general sense is, it's "about" John Lennon's love of the English language and his willingness to play around with it (which is a beautiful and significant thing, needless to say).
Having read every single thing ever written about the Beatles, and every Beatles interview, I can say the following with some degree of confidence in its accuracy:
The Beatles would have laughed heartily at the idea that the various verses are about various Beatles; the "top rated" interpretation would have really set them off. I can hear John saying: "What a fookin' idiot."In fact, he says something very much like that in the Rolling Stone interview; if I recall correctly, his word for such people is "cracked."
Not that what I'm saying will have any impact whatsoever on wackos who concoct myths about the lyrics (exactly, by the way, like wackos concoct myths about religious texts, the Zapruder film, etc. - it's a sort of religious need for deep, heavy meaning; harmless in most garden variety wackos, dangerous in the serious wackos like Manson).
I'm pretty sure this whole Website is a sort of church for wackos. -
I always thought the first verse was about Harrison - "he's one holy roller" might refer to his conversion to Hinduism. The second verse has an overall jokey tone, which could refer to Ringo being a jokey member of the group. The third verse contains "he got Ono sideboard" - so I think we can all conclude which Beatle that is about. The fourth verse, which includes "got to be good looking" may be about McCartney, as he was viewed as the 'cute' Beatle.
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Remember the simplest explanation is the most likely. The song is about John's penis. It's not about people coming together, it's about 2 people coming. Together, at the same time. Apparently with Yoko on top. ("over me"). Listen to the lyrics from this perspective and it's actually very obvious.
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This song is one of John Lennon's ways of explaining to the world that Paul Mccartney was dead.
Come together right now over me is referring to Paul in the grave and everyone coming together over him hair to his knees- dead people's skin recedes and the hair seems to grow, here come ol flat top, Paul's head was separated from him body in the car accident and so on. -
I lived that time, and Yoko was in the way, and Lennon was doing it his way. Paul wanted to go his way, George had no say.
So the first is pretty much right on. -
• First and foremost, James Paul McCartney died on November, 9, 1966, in a tragic auto accident that rendered him decapitated.
• He was replaced by a remarkable lookalike by the name of William Campbell, who was also an accomplished professional musician himself. (He was actually the winner of a Paul McCartney lookalike contest.)
• The Beatles were still in peak form. It was determined that the band would continue and "the show must go on" despite Paul's premature death.
• Also, British royalty and the MI5 (British intelligence) agreed to partake in the cover-up - along with The Beatles and the recording company at the time - in an effort to prevent mass hysteria, culture shock and even suicides.
• Besides, The Beatles were a massive hit-machine generating an unprecedented amount of record sales at the time. There was no reason to stop.
• Campbell had 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.)
• He 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.
• There is an unusual, seemingly out of place photo of Campbell/Shepard on "The Beatles" (the "White Album"). He's pictured wearing glasses and sporting a mustache. It was this picture that was used for the Sergeant Pepper character.
• Campbell had to undergo some major plastic surgery, especially in the nose, chin, eyes and cheeks. You may see "Faul" (as he is now known) in caricature form on "Magical Mystery Tour" with a severely 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 a very real deliberate ruse. 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: the money would stop flowing; they would most assuredly be hated and regarded as frauds; and most importantly, The Beatles mystique would be lost forever. Why stop the gravy train?
So, the song "Come Together" was written by John Lennon...from Paul's perspective, you know, like a dead person narrating from the grave 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 Strawberry Fields).
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 - Meaning his shy nature when he first joined the band at Paul's request.
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. 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 - Not sure, other than one of many injuries one may get through excessive drumming, particularly sprains in the ankles and feet.
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 gravesite.
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 oversized rubber boot used by plumbers and such. Perhaps he was trying to say that he was shit-deep in the whole walrus controversy.
He got Ono sideboard - Obviously referring to Yoko Ono constantly at his side during the recording sessions.
He one spinal cracker - John is a "backbreaker", 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 and the 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 - The other three had different ideas about where The Beatles were headed and subsequently gave Faul an ultimatum regarding the band's management.
He got Muddy Water - Faul's intentions about keeping The Beatles alive were made increasingly complex with his insistence on creative control.
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 and magic...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. -
This is good. Lennon may not actually have meant it to be, but the song is apocalyptic (revelatory). In the very same way as "The Wind Cried Mary" by Hendrix, "Bad Moon Rising" (that could also be "Red Moon Rising")by Creedence Clearwater Revival and many other songs. "Peace Train" by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) is just one other that is full of deep faith and prophetic foresight. And had Dr. MLK, Jr. been an artist, he might have gotten away with prophesying the new day that's coming along with many other African-American artists. Erikah Badu's "New Amerikah" is not just a good title for a CD. And though I love Chuck Berry, his mere use of the two words "flat top" in "You Can't Catch Me" is not the same insight.
The perpiscacity of the arts in the free expression of our pop culture is profound; and we should recognize that the Bible is also a very inspired work of art. I don't know about applying biblical exegesis to it as others have done here, but there is indeed gospel truth to "Come Together" (just like "Hey Jude," "Let It Be" and many other Beatles songs); and it will soon be clarified by Old Flat Top himself. He's been here before and his is the eye atop the pyramid on the back of your one dollar bill (The Great Seal). It's what enables his "early warning;" and his cause is genuine solidarity and unity. Our truly coming together. His "disease" is Agape; and he doesn't want to be cured. (No - I don't.) -
Paul McCartney died in 1966. He was replaced by a double, and although the lyrics may go with the other band members as well, "one and one and one is three" was a reference to the three original remaining Beatles because they didn't think of this new Paul as Paul. And there are clues like that in a LOT of their songs, as well as their album covers, and they were masters at back masking. In fact, if you listen to "a day in the life" backwards, that part that just sounds like random noise forward, sounds like a car crash backwards, which is how Paul died.
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John Lennon's sense of humor and poke at everything "establishment". It's plain and simple, a song about a certain part of the male anatomy. Just go back and read the lyrics with that in mind. You will crack up just like I am sure John did when this track got air play. And a little Lennon bragging that "He's a spinal cracker". "He just do what he please". Hahahaha. "He shoot Coca Cola" is about elimination not injection. Hahaha. "Flat Top" Hahaha!
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This is just like Happiness is a Warm Gun, its about shooting up, at the end you can even hear him sigh like he just got his fix. This song is not about the four Beatles but a set of descriptions of vastly different people and a plea for them all to come together and shoot.. shoot.. shoot.. up over the sound of him singing his songs on the album, just like the end of I am the Walrus asked us to smoke pot. The first two lines in the first set of verses describe a hawk, a holy roller, flat top conservative.The next two lines start over describing a hippie. Its hard to have a flat top with hair down to your knees. The next set of verses state the overall theme of the song. First two lines describe an addict "he got toe-jam football He got monkey finger he shoot coca-cola". He means there's an addict in every crowd as in "I know you, you know me".The next set of verses describe a square, a nerd, without sideburns, who's extremely nervous, and clumsy. It's ,Oh no, sideboards which are sideburns, not Ono. And lastly, he's talking about a black man , mojo filter and muddy water and a cut on his brainpower with the one an one an one is three line. He's must be good lookin cause he's so hard to see is not Paul it's a black man.The whole song is meant to sound like an old black guy singing an R&B song.The jest of the song is (whoever you are, whereever your from) Hey, here's our new album, sit down, turn it on, get high and have a good trip.There's no sinister master plan here, please leave the over-thinking to the funny papers. By the way, some of you might want to see a doctor. I love all of the Beatles, but John Lennon was never a saint, but a living breathing fuck up just like the rest of us, not a prophet, please try to remember that.
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