Beatles: Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds Meaning

Song Released: 1967

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Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds Lyrics

picture yourself in a boat on a river,
with tangerine trees and marmalade skies -
somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly …
a girl with kaleidoscope eyes!

cellophane flowers of yellow and green,
towering over your head …
look for the...

1. 1TOP RATED

   DrunkenLlama

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   Jan 18th 2006, 22:12 report

   
   

   According to the Beatles, one day in 1966 Lennon's son Julian came home from nursery school with a drawing he said was of his classmate, a girl named Lucy. Showing the artwork to his father, young Julian described the picture as "Lucy - in the sky with diamonds."
   
   Julian later said, "I don't know why I called it that or why it stood out from all my other drawings but I obviously had an affection for Lucy at that age. I used to show dad everything I'd built or painted at school and this one sparked off the idea for a song about Lucy in the sky with diamonds."
   Who was Lucy?
   Four year old Lucy O'Donnell was about a year older than Julian Lennon when he enrolled at the private Heath House School in Weybridge, Surrey. John Lennon and the other Beatles visited her family's antique and jewellery shop now and then, so the family knew Julian. When the little boy became homesick or unsettled at school, Lucy would be called out of class to sit with him while he drew pictures.
   
   In 2005, her sister Mary Foster said, "One day John Lennon came into the shop and said, 'Hello, Lucy in the sky with diamonds.' We thought it was just John being John." When the song appeared on Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the Richardsons noticed the name but weren't sure of any connection until 1975, when Lennon told an interviewer the story of his son's picture.

   
   
   
   

2. 2TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Apr 25th 2006, 18:30 report

   
   

   It was said before that this song is a mirror to I am The Walrus. This is sort of correct, but it's really that I Am The Walrus reffers to THIS. I'm sure that this had some socialist means, because I Am The Walrus did, and it refers to Lucy in the Sky in that song.
   
   I'm sure most of you are saying "it's not about LSD" and those saying "ITS SOOO ABOUT LSD" have both probably never experienced this stuff. I'm SURE he was either high, or drawing from past experiences of being high when he wrote it, but it odsnt mean that's what the whole things about.
   
   Being a lyricist, and a strange one at that, I know where you get these things from. Sometimes ill be writing a song and say to myself "hmm I remember that one time when..." and make a small refference to something, but not make the whole song about it. It probably had refferences to Julians picture, and lucy herself, but he was clearly high or thinking of haullucinations when he wrote it.
   Kaleidascope eyes gives it away. I was thinking today "when you look through a Kaleidascope, you see these shimmery things swirling around (diamonds) and then he thought about Lucy, being in this kaleidascope. Something he might have seen when high on LSD.
   
   So look, it's based on the picture, but inspired by a trip. That's the short story. But I'm sure that everything means somthing else, even "rocking horse people eat marshmellow pies".... Its all metaphoric and based on SOMETHING. That's how the brain works.
   
   Just don't assume it was scrambled down on paper randomly while tripping, but also don't assume that those crazy lyrics where written while clean for a week.
   
   -Matt Vituccio

   
   
   
   

3. 3TOP RATED

   anonymous

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   Dec 1st 2006, 02:34 report

   
   

   Is there a reason why a song must have only one meaning? Or why the entire song must be based around and pertaining to only ONE subject? Do you honestly think that it's feasible that a song, usually have three verses and two or more chorus, is going to be so singularly oriented that it would all be only about ONE specific thing?
   
   I can see something beautiful and appreciate it in an artistic sense, while at the same time be reminded of a childhood memory, and at the same time think, "This would be really cool on acid."
   
   I think that the kid's picture thing is probably true. I also think that the Allison in Wonderland thing probably has some merit. The song is definately very colorful and very fanciful with some crazy imagery; it's a very skillful and detailed imagination... That could very possibly be about or inspired by LSD.
   
   (Wow, this'd be cool on acid.)
   ;)

   
   
   
   

4.  

   anonymous

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   Mar 21st, 01:39 report

   
   

   I?ve been surfing online more than three hours today, yet I never found any interesting article like yours. It?s pretty worth enough for me. In my opinion, if all webmasters and bloggers made good content as you did, the internet will be a lot more useful than ever before.

   
   
   
   

5.  

   GreatestBandEver

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   Jan 10th, 02:45 report

   
   

   The Beatles were masters at writing songs with multiple meanings. It may have started from a picture but they didn't miss the fact that Lucy, Sky, and Diamonds was also LSD. Now for almost 50 years the controversy goes on and so does the song. Same thing with Hey Jude and many of their songs. May have started one way but they certianly weren't opposed to people believing it had some other meaning... I think they were amused by everything that fans came up with... all part of their genius.

   
   
   
   

6.  

   anonymous

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   Nov 16th 2012, 17:19 report

   
   

   Thanks for your post on this web site. From my own experience, there are occassions when softening way up a photograph might provide the professional photographer with a dose of an imaginative flare. Often times however, this soft clouds isn't just what exactly you had under consideration and can often times spoil a normally good snapshot, especially if you thinking about enlarging it.

   
   
   
   

7.  

   anonymous

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   Jun 17th 2012, 16:10 report

   
   

   this song is clearly about being high on acid or LSD Lennon lied it isn't about any person its about being high

   
   
   
   

8.  

   anonymous

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   May 4th 2012, 23:16 report

   
   

   If you never really peaked on acid you have no clue what so ever

   
   
   
   

9.  

   purehecate25

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   Feb 18th 2012, 00:24 report

   
   

   I think it has different meanings to different people. SO STOP FIGHTING ABOUT IT! :P

   
   
   
   

10.  

    anonymous

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    Jan 26th 2012, 13:04 report

    
    

    It's about a drawing, not about drugs. Why would he lie about it being about drugs, if it's already banned by the BBC and radio?

    
    
    
    

11.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 8th 2011, 01:36 report

    
    

    Many of you are overanalyzing the song, coming up with interpretations that are very weakly supported by the song's lyrics.
    
    Regardless of how the song was inspired, the song's lyrics consist of a series of visual imagery that is utopian, colorful, surreal, and childlike in nature. Think Alice in Wonderland, and you've got the right idea.
    
    That's all there is to it. Newsflash: not all artistic works have specific meanings or messages. John Lennon in particular wrote plenty of songs that were meaningless, or that were even meant to perplex the bozos that think that everything has some kind of deeper meaning.
    
    Also, for the record, the song's title was inspired by a drawing one of Lennon's sons drew, and the actual lyrics of the song were inspired by Lennon's experiences on LSD. The initials of the song's title was a coincidence though, surprisingly.

    
    
    
    

12.  

    anonymous

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    Sep 8th 2011, 00:30 report

    
    

    WIKIPEDIA SAYS- Lennon's son, Julian, inspired the song with a nursery school drawing he called "Lucy — in the sky with diamonds". Shortly after the song's release, speculation arose that the first letter of each of the title's nouns intentionally spelled LSD. Although Lennon denied this, the BBC banned the song.
    BUT IT ALSO SAYS-
    In a 2004 interview, Paul McCartney said that the song is about LSD, stating, "A song like 'Got to Get You Into My Life,' that's directly about pot, although everyone missed it at the time." "Day Tripper," he says, "that's one about acid. 'Lucy in the Sky,' that's pretty obvious. There's others that make subtle hints about drugs, but, you know, it's easy to overestimate the influence of drugs on the Beatles' music."

    
    
    
    

13.  

    anonymous

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    Jul 3rd 2011, 15:58 report

    
    

    I agree with the song being mixed between john looking at julians picture, and him being on lsd... hha... thats the most fair answer... hhe.. but the truth lies within his grave... and all hes doin is laughing at us debating about it... ill be like that one day... i want people to debate about me... haha.. anything about me... hehehehe

    
    
    
    

14.  

    anonymous

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    Jun 9th 2011, 16:29 report

    
    

    It's reported that it was about Julian's school drawn picture. But consider this people...
    (L)ucy in the (S)ky with (D)iamonds
    
    
    Quite a coincidence, no?
    
    Also don't forget to note this song was written around their heaviest LSD use.
    
    Cheers
    

    
    
    
    

15.  

    anonymous

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    May 7th 2011, 21:45 report

    
    

    Its inspired by Lennon's first son, Julian. He was a little "trippy" and high on LSD when writing this or at-least still under a mind altering psychedelic influence which is an explanation of the odd surreal lyrics. The lyrics simply seem to talk about a girl named Lucy who he continuously finds and looks for who he or the character in the song seems to love or have a slight interest and affection for. I find there to be references(Excluding actual LSD)and surreal odd and random lyrics.

    
    
    
    

16.  

    anonymous

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    May 7th 2011, 00:19 report

    
    

    I'm a little older than Julian and back then I couldn't understand the depths of the Baptists' hate for the Beatles who mostly sang about peace and love. Having learned here about Julian's picture of his friend Lucy (?perhaps the kids imagined her able to fly [in the sky] and rich [with diamonds]?).
    Now I can see it clear as day: Lennon wrote an *awesome, catchy kid song* that is filled with LSD influence. There's the watery sound filled with bendy notes and a potential drug reference in almost every line. All of the imagery is playful, harmless kid stuff and much may have come from playground storytelling. And it perfectly describes a trip in a 'newspaper taxi' where you 'climb in the back with your head in the clouds and you're gone'. -- LeMoyne

    
    
    
    

17.  

    stoneman

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    Apr 22nd 2011, 12:57 report

    
    

    I think that the song primarily is the reminiscence on the childhood- not necessarily Julian's. Could be Jonhn's childhood, too. Julian's word could have inspired John to talk about his childhood. Maybe we can compare Syd Barret's Mathilda Mother with this.

    
    
    
    

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    anonymous

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    Apr 17th 2011, 01:07 report

    
    

    LSD, Lennon got a picture from his son and he got the idea from that.

    
    
    
    

19.  

    enlightened

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    Apr 15th 2011, 17:47 report

    
    

    this song may be about his son yes but also his inner son being blocked out by the sun your blind when you stair into the sun so you moved to the fountain of H and tried to look for the sun but its gone.listen to power to the people he gave us all compressed cole of x-mas.may we all shine on

    
    
    
    

20.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 20th 2011, 20:11 report

    
    

    It's pretty obvious that this song is under the influence of LSD.
    (L)ucy in the (S)ky with (D)iamonds
    Funny, huh?
    I'm a big fan of the Beatles! I love them to death but it would take ALOT of imagination to think of this song with no drug influence.
    Just take a look a the lyrics!
    "Where rocking horse people eat marsh mellow pies"
    "Newspaper taxis appear on the shore, waiting to take you away"
    "Clim in the back and you're gone"
    ?????
    Possibly "gone" referring to high?

    
    
    
    

21.  

    anonymous

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    Mar 12th 2011, 21:42 report

    
    

    ok well honestly i just listend to the song and all the people who keep saying its about johns son painting a picture or ehat ever? what dose that have to do with marshmellow pies? like wtf... its clearly about LSD because it keeps saying stuff like "climb in the back with your head in the clouds and your gone" yeh. not one of you thought for one second that they were talking about being high? like kaleidoscope eyes? if that dosent give it away then i really dont know what els dose.

    
    
    
    

22.  

    Mercedæs Møretti Å

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    Mar 3rd 2011, 22:37 report

    
    

    I think it's talking about how money doesn't make you rich, other things make you rich too, and people who think money makes them rich are crazy. John Lennon had a lsd trip wen he wrote it and he's just using his imagination to say an important message.
    

    
    
    
    

23.  

    anonymous

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    Jan 29th 2011, 19:48 report

    
    

    If you listen to "I am the walrus" you hear the "cu cu ca chu" part (if you listen to the song you'll understand what im talking about) then if you listen to "Lucy in the sky" you hear the "cu cu ca chu" beat (not words) towards the end pick up, after you hear the "lucy in the sky with diamonds!!" you hear the "cu cu ca chu" beat, im not saying this song didnt have SOME drug influence, but john was very political and i think that's one of the reasons why he got shot, but thats another story, i think this song is a combination of drugs, global politics, or a drawing by a kid,