Re: Paul is dead

Posted by ESC on September 22, 2001

In Reply to: Glass Onion posted by Michael on September 22, 2001

: I heard that the term "Glass Onion" in The Beatles song of the same name referred to a looking glass in a coffin. Anyone have another idea or is this actually what it refers to?

The short answer is, I don't know. Any British undertakers out there that have the answer?

The question relates to the "Paul is dead" stir of 1969: http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/3674/pid.html "In 1969 Russell Gibb, a radio Disc Jockey in Detroit, announced that (Beatle) Paul McCartney was dead. His proof: evidence strewn throughout the Beatles' songs, movies, and album artwork. Newspaper and television reporters picked up the story and the news quickly spread across America.
THE STORY OF PAUL'S DEATH
The story states that Paul McCartney was involved in a car accident. Apparently 'he hadn't noticed that the lights had changed.' The accident occurred at 5 a.m. on a Wednesday morning. Cause of death was massive head trauma. So severe were his wounds that dental records were useless for identifying the body..."

The use of the phrase "glass onion" was one of the clues. I searched "Paul is dead" and found http://catless.ncl.ac.uk/Obituary/paul.html White Album lyrics: Glass Onion: "..looking through a glass onion.." (a glass onion is a term used for a coffin with a glass panel over the top so you can see in, see how the other half live)

Another site http://www.recmusicbeatles.com/public/files/faqs/pid.html said: "One 'clue' alleged that centuries-old definition of a 'glass onion' referred to a glass coffin handle used in Britain in the past (Russ Gibb seems to have come up with this one) but a scrupulous search of the OED shows no such meaning."

• Re: Paul is dead MIchael 09/22/01 ( 0)