"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song that appears in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was written primarily by John Lennon but was credited as Lennon/McCartney. It was recorded on March 1, 1967 and released May 26 that same year.
Inspiration[]
Julien's Drawing[]
While in nursery school, John Lennon's son Julien showed his father a drawing he called "Lucy- in the sky with diamonds", a picture of a Lucy O'Donnell, a classmate.
The Real Lucy[]
Lucy Vodden née O'Donnell was a classmate of Julien's and the subject of his famous picture. She died of lupus in 2009.
In the Movie[]
In the Yellow Submarine film, John arrives in the Foothills of the Headlands to find that they are showing him pictures of colorful, dancing women. A woman on horseback appears, who is a fictional woman named Lucy. She bears no connection to the real-life Lucy O'Donnell. The song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is sung by John
Lucy on Horseback
Speculation[]
It has been a long-held belief that the song, with it's use of strange lyrics and odd melody, is about LSD. Even the song's title, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds," spells out "LSD" with its’ initals. Though The Beatles have denied this claim, the BBC has banned the song.