[quote by=Sadie4 link=Blah.pl?b=songs,m=1094807355,s=5 date=1094916560] well I think that is just Ian's opinion on that particular song. I have a different opinion, and no one can say which one is more valid.[/quote]
That's exactly right.
Ian is not especially the best author to read...his errors and personal interjections alone negate a lot of the book's worth. However, if ANYone writes something and it makes YOU think or understand or have an epiphany of your own then it is certainly worthy.
Basically lyrics that are that wild are always going to be wide open for interpretation and misinterpretation. Only John can tell us what he meant, because some people have certainly guessed correctly. But we don't know which ones.
Also I think the question really was: were the lyrics nonsense or did John purposely write them to represent something? To that I'd say, yes, they meant something...to John. Possibly the secret to all life, perhaps stoned gibberish. But I think he did indeed pick and choose which words to use. Of course, he was well known for being one who went for the totality of the SOUND of a recording...many of his nonsense words sounded good to him so he used them without thought to meaning.
As for Walrus, he clearly used Lewis Carroll as a jumping off point, a literary reference, so it wasn't haphazard nor accidental. And many of the other lyrics seem carefully conceived as well, yet seemingly haphazard in placement. Perhaps that is where the disconnected feeling of the song comes from...
(The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus is singing I Will right now on the news behind me. How bizarre life is!)