I don't think that's actually true, though. "I Am the Walrus" was written in 1967, a year before Pilcher arrested Lennon. And the same article mentions a more likely connection:
> John Lennon and Paul McCartney began writing a play about a Liverpudlian man who thought he was God titled "Pilchard," but they abandoned the project.
A pilchard is also a type of herring, essentially a sardine. What does "semolina pilchard" mean and what does it have to do with the Eiffel Tower? I don't know, but I don't think we're actually supposed to understand it. I feel like a core part of the song is Lennon taunting the people who loved analyzing Beatles' lyrics by writing a song that was deliberately incomprehensible and layered with in-jokes.
wholalaa t1_j22rv5e wrote
Reply to TIL The "Semolina Pilchard" mentioned in "I Am the Walrus" is a reference to Scotland Yard drug squad detective Norman "Nobby" Pilcher, who led a midnight drug raid on John Lennon's London flat in October 1968. He'd targeted musicians Mick Jagger, Brian Jones, Eric Clapton and Donovan prior to that. by 54_actual
I don't think that's actually true, though. "I Am the Walrus" was written in 1967, a year before Pilcher arrested Lennon. And the same article mentions a more likely connection:
> John Lennon and Paul McCartney began writing a play about a Liverpudlian man who thought he was God titled "Pilchard," but they abandoned the project.
A pilchard is also a type of herring, essentially a sardine. What does "semolina pilchard" mean and what does it have to do with the Eiffel Tower? I don't know, but I don't think we're actually supposed to understand it. I feel like a core part of the song is Lennon taunting the people who loved analyzing Beatles' lyrics by writing a song that was deliberately incomprehensible and layered with in-jokes.