How ‘Alice in Wonderland’ Influenced Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s Songwriting

The Beatles’ lyrics were often influenced by surrealist and psychedelic imagery. Author Lewis Carroll pioneered surrealist images through his Alice in Wonderland novels. John Lennon and Paul McCartney were both influenced by Alice in Wonderland and even infused Carroll’s work into their songwriting. 

John Lennon and Paul McCartney were fans of ‘Alice in Wonderland’

In an interview for his website Paulmccartney.com, the former Beatle discussed his song “Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey” from his Ram album. Paul McCartney addresses some of the more creative but confusing lyrics he put in the song, and the singer-songwriter says his songwriting is often inspired by Alice in Wonderland. McCartney also shares Lennon had a passion for Carroll’s work, and the two bonded over it. 

“I like surrealist art, I also like surrealist words,” McCartney shared. “A great example of this is Lewis Carroll writing Alice in Wonderland – it’s a crazy thing, you’ve got a cat sitting in a tree that grins and talks, and you’ve got Alice falling down a hole and meeting the red queen, and so on. That whole tradition was something that I loved, and when I met John, I learned that he loved it too. So, it was something that became a bond between us.”

McCartney used surrealist imagery in ‘Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey’

Carroll’s words have made their way into Lennon and McCartney’s songwriting. In The Beatles’ song, “I am the Walrus,” the lyrics allude to “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” a poem featured in Through the Looking Glass. McCartney says he is often inspired by Carroll’s imagery and wants to bring similar surreal words to his songs. 

“I’d always liked writing love songs, ballads, and rock ‘n’ roll songs, but then one of my other little side interests was to invent surrealist stuff. Admiral Halsey was someone I’d read about – he’s a character from American history – and I just liked the name. I was playing around with that and making up a fictional story, and I just ran into the words ‘and butter pie’. Well, there’s no such thing as a butter pie, that I’ve ever heard of anyway.”

“So, it was a surrealist image, like in surreal art where you have a thing called a ‘hair cup’, which is just a cup that’s made out of fur. You wouldn’t think to drink from it, it’d be disgusting, but as an image it’s interesting and shocking. ‘Butter pie’ is that kind of equivalent, but in a song. I kept with that image and thought, by way of a surreal explanation, ‘the butter wouldn’t melt so I put in a pie’. I was very into surrealism at that particular time, so I wrote songs like ‘Monkberry Moon Delight’ which is again totally surreal.”

McCartney’s surreal lyrics can often influence his music

McCartney explains how his surreal imagery can often influence his music. His performance changes if the lyrics are more “zany.” He admitted he is inspired by other artists who take creative risks in their vocal performances when the lyrics deserve more flare. 

“If the lyrics are a bit zany, then you end up having fun with the vocal like you’re a character,” McCartney elaborated. “I’m inspired by people like Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, who did a song called ‘I Put A Spell On You’. When I first heard it, I couldn’t believe the way he was using his voice, I thought, ‘wow, this guy is singing far out’!”