Many people thought this was about drugs, since the letters "LSD" are prominent in the title, and John Lennon, who wrote it, was known to have taken acid. In 1971 Lennon told Rolling Stone that he swore that he had no idea that the song's initials spelled L.S.D. He added: "I didn't even see it on the label. I didn't look at the initials. I don't look— I mean I never play things backwards. I listened to it as I made it. It's like there will be things on this one, if you fiddle about with it. I don't know what they are. Every time after that though I would look at the titles to see what it said, and usually they never said anything."
Paul McCartney recounted trading lyric ideas with Lennon in an interview, saying, "We never noticed the LSD initial until it was pointed out later, by which point people didn't believe us." This is confirmed by a 1971 interview of Lennon, where he described searching for acronyms in other song titles only to find "they didn't spell out anything." In an interview with Playboy, published in 1981, Lennon revealed the true background of the song: "My son Julian came in one day with a picture he painted about a school friend of his named Lucy. He had sketched in some stars in the sky and called it 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,' Simple." George Martin also denied the song was about LSD in the book The Complete Beatles Recording Sessions by Mark Lewisohn.
However, Lewisohn goes on to say "there can be little doubt that this was the very substance that provoked such colourful word imagery to flow out of Lennon's head and onto paper." McCartney agrees in a 2004 interview, where he noted that Julian's painting had inspired the song, but that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was also inspired by LSD. For his part, Lennon attributed the colourful prose not to the drug, but to the writings of Carroll. George Martin also accredits the influence of Carroll and Dylan Thomas on Lennon.
Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
The Beatles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 girl with the sun in her eyesAnd she's gone
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you're gone
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah
Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Ah
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
The lyrics to The Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" depict a surreal, dreamlike landscape filled with vivid colors and images. The first verse sets the scene with a boat on a river surrounded by tangerine trees and marmalade skies. The lyrics also introduce a mysterious girl with kaleidoscope eyes who beckons the singer, but disappears just as quickly. The second verse takes the listener to a bridge with rocking horse people eating marshmallow pies, and more colorful flowers. Here, the lyrics describe newspaper taxis waiting to take the singer away, suggesting a departure from reality. The final verse brings the listener to a train station with plasticine porters and a turnstile where the girl with kaleidoscope eyes once again appears.
The interpretation of the lyrics is often debated, with some suggesting that the song is about drug use, particularly LSD, while others argue that the song is simply a whimsical tale of a fantastical world. John Lennon, who wrote the song, confirmed that the inspiration for the song came from a drawing his son Julian made of a classmate named Lucy, who was in fact a real person. He acknowledged that the psychedelic imagery in the song may have been influenced by his own experiences with LSD, but maintained that the song was not a deliberate reference to the drug.
Line by Line Meaning
Picture yourself in a boat on a river
Imagine yourself in a state of peaceful calmness, drifting along a flowing body of water.
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
The environment around you is surreal, with orange trees and skies that resemble a sweet and colorful jam.
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A voice enters your tranquility, distant and barely audible. You respond in a sluggish manner, not wanting to break your harmony.
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes
The owner of the voice appears before you, a girl with eyes that seem to reflect a constantly shifting pattern of colors.
Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Blossoms made of translucent material float around you, some yellow, some green.
Towering over your head
These flowers rise high above you, creating a sense of wonder and awe.
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
The girl you met before is the one to follow, her eyes shining with the radiance of a sun that guides you.
And she's gone
Suddenly, the girl vanishes, leaving behind only the memory of her beauty and the desire to pursue her.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
The name Lucy refers to the girl with kaleidoscope eyes, while diamonds may symbolize her brilliance and value.
Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
You decide to pursue her, and find her near a water feature that creates a calming atmosphere.
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
The place she's brought you to is downright bizarre, with imaginary beings riding rocking horses and consuming pies made of fluffy treats.
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
Despite the strangeness of the location, the inhabitants seem friendly and welcoming, smiling at you as you pass by the flowers.
That grow so incredibly high
Once again, the flowers tower above you, indicating that you're in a place where reality is distorted.
Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
You notice an unusual mode of transportation, taxis made of newspapers, waiting for passengers to take them away.
Waiting to take you away
You're faced with a choice, either to stay in this strange place or to leave with the taxis and continue your journey.
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
You choose to leave, boarding the taxi with your mind occupied by the wonder of the surreal world you just left.
Picture yourself on a train in a station
The scene changes, and now you're on a train, waiting to embark on a journey that once again takes you away from reality.
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
The train staff is made of colorful figures that resemble plasticine, all wearing ties that seem to be made of mirrors.
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
As the train is about to depart, a familiar face appears, the girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes
You're reminded of the surreal world you just left behind, and the girl who led you there.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
The name Lucy is repeated, once again referring to the girl, while diamonds may symbolize her beauty and mystery.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
The chorus repeats, underlining the importance of the girl and the surreal world she represents.
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
The chorus repeats one last time, leaving the listener with the lingering feeling of a surreal experience that defies explanation.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Philip Kassabian
An excellent Beatles song.