Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Paul is Dead Clues

Front Cover Clues

• The people are looking at what appears to be a freshly dug grave.
• The yellow flowers (directly below the flowers that spell Beatles) are in the shape of a bass guitar. Paul was the bass player for The Beatles.
• There are three sticks on the yellow flowers that represent the strings of the bass. There are only THREE sticks to represent the THREE remaining Beatles.
• Also, notice that the yellow flowers spell out 'PAUL?'; questioning Paul's existence.
• The doll on the right of the cover (in the white, black, and red stripes) has a small white car, with a blood red interior, on her lap. This is a model of the car that Paul died in.
• Directly below the doll's left foot is a white vase with yellow flowers in it. If you look closely it resembles a car plummeting over a cliff with flames coming out of the back end.
• Below the 'T' in Beatles is a statue of the Hindu God Shiva 'The Destroyer.' Its hand points directly to Paul.
• Notice The Beatles standing behind the drum in the center of the photo. They are standing sideways except for Paul who is facing directly forward. John, Ringo, and George look *three dimensional* while Paul looks like one of the cardboard cutouts.
• Paul is the only one holding a black instrument. Black is associated with death. This may seem insignificant now, but it turns up a few more times.
• This is the first occasion where we see an open palm above Paul McCartney's head. There are many different theories as to what this signifies. It is generally taken to mean either that the person under the open palm will soon die or has recently passed away. As you will see, this turns up quite a few times.
• Take a small mirror, or the bottom of a CD will work, and place it perpendicular to the center of the drum, so that you split 'LONELY HEARTS' in half. Now read the combined writing on the drum and the mirror. It says 1 ONE 1 X HE | DIE. '1 ONE 1' equals three, another reference to three Beatles. The 'X' crosses out Paul because he is no longer alive. And the arrow between 'He' and 'Die' points directly to Paul.

Gatefold Clues

• The Fab Four are sitting facing the camera. On Paul's left arm is a patch that says O. P. D. (Officially Pronounced Dead), much like D. O. A. (Dead on Arrival).
• The photo was taken at such an angle, and with Paul's sleeve folded, so that it appears to say O. P. D. when in reality it reads O. P. P. This stands for the 'Ontario Provincial Police.'
• Another interpretation is that William Campbell was once a police officer in Canada. The lyrics to 'She Came in Through the Bathroom Window' explain this.

Back Cover Clues

• Paul is facing backwards, to signify that the man in the photograph is an imposter.
• Paul, George, and John were all about the same height, but in this photo Paul appears higher than the other two. This represents that he is *rising up,* ascending if you will.
• The words "Without You" are coming out the side of Paul's head, from the song title "Within You, Without you."
• George's thumb is pointing to the lyrics "Wednesday morning at 5 o'clock," the time of Paul's death.
• George's (in red) hand makes an L, John's (in green) a V, and Ringo's (in pink) an E. Paul (in blue) is the HOLE where the O would be in the word LOVE.

Lyrics Clues
 

'SGT. PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND'

"Let me introduce to you the one and only Billy Shears"
As I mentioned earlier, Paul was supposedly replaced by William Campbell. Billy is a nickname for William.
Also, Billy Shears can be seen as a play on words. Billy Shears-> Billy'S hears-> Billy's Here. As though they were introducing William (Billy) to the world.

'SHE'S LEAVING HOME'

"Wednesday morning at five o'clock"
The time when the car accident occurred.

'LOVELY RITA'

"When I caught a glimpse of Rita"
Paul was looking at Rita and not paying attention to the road.

'GOOD MORNING, GOOD MORNING'

"Nothing to do to save his life" " You are own you're own, you are in the street"
References to the car accident.

"People running around, it's five o'clock"
Another reference to the time of the accident.

"Watching the skirts, you start to flirt, now you're in gear"
Refers to Paul watching Rita. "In Gear" refers to driving.

'A DAY IN THE LIFE'

"He blew his mind out in a car, he didn't notice that the lights had changed"
Describes, in more detail, the accident.