Exploring the theory that ‘Come Together’ is about The Beatles themselves
There is a famous clip, in the historic archives, of a young, troubled fan of The Beatles descending upon John Lennon’s private residence to tell him just how deeply his music had changed his life.
As he explained to Lennon that he believed the music was speaking directly to him, Lennon quickly refuted the idea, explaining to the fan that, largely, he was just having fun with words and there was no intent behind the songs at all.
Now, at complete risk of sounding like the modern incarnation of that overly analytical fan, allow me to explain the theory that The Beatles’ song ‘Come Together’, as identified by Connie McLean. The online commentator has done what all good Beatles fans do, and read between the lines of perhaps one of their silliest lyrically, to actually discover what may have been an ode to themselves.
The theory goes that with each new verse, Lennon sings about an individual Beatle, abstractly describing them and their individualities, which would ultimately make sense given the chorus line. Maybe this song, after all, was written amidst the whirlwind of their impending break-up, as one last siren call.
That makes the opening verse a reference to Ringo Starr, the band’s chirpy and lovable drummer. The opening lyrics read, “Here come old flat-top, he come groovin’ up slowly”, which would be a clear reference to Ringo’s rhythmic responsibility in the band. While the next two lines of “He got ju-ju eyeball, he one holy roller / He got hair down to his knee” present as both arbitrary and contradictory, given the fact that Ringo had the shortest hair during Abbey Road, the final line feels as though it comes back to the drummer who was known as the band clown: “Got to be a joker, he just do what he please.”
At this point, the theory feels like somewhat of a stretch, but the later verses help contextualise it. Next up is George Harrison, who was the most spiritual of the bunch and that was something Lennon felt he could describe in the lyrics. Highlighting his penchant for the barefoot, Lennon sings, “He wear no shoeshine, he got toe-jam football / He got monkey finger, he shoot Coca-Cola / He say, ‘I know you, you know me’ / One thing I can tell you is you got to be free.”
Once again, the verse treads the line between Lennon-esque nonsense and subtle accuracy, as references to barefoot wandering and embracing the freeness feel inherently Harrison.
Next up is Lennon himself, who in the third verse, is referenced: “He bag production, he got walrus gumboot / He got Ono sideboard, he one spinal cracker / He got feet down below his knee / Hold you in his armchair, you can feel his disease”. His one true love acts as the glaring reference in this verse, as well as ‘walrus gumboot’, which feels like a direct highlighting of his irreverent songwriting style that created the track ‘I Am The Walrus’.
Lastly, his songwriting partner McCartney is brought into the frame, on the final verse which reads: “He roller-coaster, he got early warnin’ / He got muddy water, he one mojo filter / He say, “One and one and one is three” / Got to be good-lookin’ ’cause he’s so hard to see”. Of the four, this is arguably the most difficult to decipher, but his well-known love for Muddy Waters allows the remaining descriptions to be paled into view. Was labelling him a roller-coaster a reference to his emotional spectrum, as well as outrightly admitting that he was traditionally viewed as the good-looking Beatle?
The reality is, were the Beatles to write an ode to themselves, it would never be a direct love letter, especially if Lennon was at the helm lyrically. This would be as close as it would get, arbitrarily playing with character references before swiftly undercutting them with the outright abstract. But these verses, combined with the lyrical yell of ‘Come Together’, give the theory some validity and, if anything, make the song even more iconic.
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