The lyric from The Beatles’ “I Am the Walrus” finishes with “come.” The deliberately surreal line is one of many strange images in the song’s opening verse.
John Lennon wrote “I Am the Walrus” in 1967, and The Beatles released it as the B-side of the single “Hello, Goodbye.” It also appeared on the Magical Mystery Tour soundtrack and album. Lennon combined several ideas, including two fragments of songs and imagery influenced by Lewis Carroll.
The song’s absurd language was partly designed to resist straightforward interpretation. Lennon later said he wanted to confuse people who analyzed Beatles lyrics too literally. The recording includes orchestral instruments, sound effects, and a radio broadcast of Shakespeare’s King Lear near the ending.
The line is often recalled as “waiting for the man to come,” but the lyric says “waiting for the van to come.” That small distinction is essential in a finish-the-lyrics question. The track’s surrealism, unusual structure, and studio experimentation made it one of the most distinctive recordings of the Beatles’ psychedelic period.