The hidden message Paul McCartney coded into ‘The Simpsons’
There are many reasons that fans love Paul McCartney. Alongside his position as one of the most influential songwriters of all time, his affable demeanour and lifelong commitment to kindness have afforded him a charming status that not even his Beatles bandmate, Ringo Starr, can claim.
Many stories exhibit the Liverpudlian’s brilliance, with one of the best coming via his 1995 appearance in the season seven episode of The Simpsons, ‘Lisa the Vegetarian’. The significant episode tackled the topic of Lisa Simpson deciding to become a vegetarian, and it proved to be momentous for two reasons.
Notably, McCartney is one of the world’s most famous vegetarians. He had been for decades when the episode aired, which is why the producers asked him to guest star in it. However, his condition was that Lisa’s vegetarianism would not be a one-off. Brilliantly, since then, Lisa has upheld the lifestyle.
McCartney’s wife Linda, who sadly passed away in 1998, also guest-starred alongside her husband. At the time of its release, she explained they relished the chance “to spread the vegetarian word to a wider audience”.
Once his request was accepted, McCartney had real fun alongside the producers. They included a genius parody of the historic rumours about hidden messages in Beatles songs and the so-called coding practice of backmasking.
The most famous myth that followed The Beatles in their time was that McCartney died and was replaced by a lookalike. Subscribers to this theory found proof everywhere, including in the song ‘Revolution #9’, from 1968’s The White Album. Allegedly, it was possible to hear the phrase “turn me on, dead man” when played backwards. This was an apparent admission of the real McCartney’s demise.
Therefore, in ‘Lisa the Vegetarian’, the former Beatles man poked fun at the myth (per Legends Revealed). He tells Lisa: “Linda and I both feel strongly about animal rights. In fact, if you play ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ backwards, you’ll hear a recipe for a really ripping lentil soup.”
‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ is a love song McCartney wrote for Linda that appeared on his 1970 album McCartney. Then, for his Simpsons episode, he did something quite astounding. For the closing credits, he recorded the recipe for his lentil soup, which was then reversed into a recording of the piece.
For the final gag, after the recipe is read out, McCartney reportedly says: “Oh, and by the way, I’m alive.” So, not only is ‘Maybe I’m Amazed’ the source of perhaps his finest vocal performance on record, but it also achieved the lofty feat of the finest Simpsons guest star gag in history.
The Paul McCartney lentil soup recipe:
- one medium onion, chopped
- two tablespoons of vegetable oil
- one clove of garlic, crushed
- one cup of carrots, chopped
- two sticks of celery, chopped
- half a cup of lentils
- one bay leaf
- one tablespoon of freshly-chopped parsley
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- two and a quarter cups of vegetable stock or water
