Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

"**Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds**" is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney  for The Beatles' 1967 album _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band_.

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, people realized that the first letter of each of the title's nouns spelled  LSD. Though Lennon denied and mocked the idea of a hidden LSD reference, the BBC banned the song.

Later, other artists made a cover version of the song. One of them was Elton John, whose 1974 recording was at the top of the _Billboards_ chart for two weeks.

### Julian's drawing

According to the Beatles, Lennon's son, Julian Lennon showed his father a nursery school drawing he called Lucy - in the sky with diamonds, depicting his classmate, Lucy O'Donnell.
Julian 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..."   Lucy Vodden née O'Donnell died of an immune system disease in 2009.

Lennon was surprised at the idea that the song title was a hidden reference to LSD.

## Reviews and legacy

_Rolling Stone_ magazine described the song as "Lennon's lavish daydream" and music critic Richie Unterberger said "'Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds' was one of the best songs on the Beatles' famous Sgt. Pepper album, and one of the classic songs of psychedelia as a whole. There are few other songs that so successfully evoke a dream world, in both the sonic textures and words." In a review for the BBC, Chris Jones described the song as "nursery rhyme surrealism" that contributed to Sgt. Pepper's "revolutionary ... sonic carpet that enveloped the ears and sent the listener spinning into other realms."

In later interviews, Lennon expressed disappointment with the Beatles' arrangement of the recording, complaining that inadequate time was taken to fully develop his initial idea for the song. He also said that he felt he didn't think that he sang it very well. "I was so nervous I couldn't sing," he told the journalist Ray Connolly, "but I like the lyrics."

A 3.2 million year-old, 40% complete fossil skeleton of an _Australopithecus afarensis_ specimen discovered in 1974 was named "Lucy" because the Beatles song was being played loudly and repeatedly on a tape recorder in the camp.

The White dwarf star BPM 37093, which contains a core of crystallized carbon roughly 4000 km in diameter, is informally named "Lucy" as a tribute to the Beatles song.

## Personnel

- John Lennon – double-tracked vocal, lead guitar
- Paul McCartney – harmony vocal, Lowrey organ, bass
- George Harrison – harmony vocal, lead guitar, acoustic guitar, tambura
- Ringo Starr – drums, maracas
- Personnel per Ian MacDonald

## Infobox (song)

- **name**: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
- **artist**: The Beatles
- **album**: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- **released**: 1 June 1967
- **recorded**: 1 March 1967,
Abbey Road Studios, EMI Studios, London
- **genre**: Psychedelic rock
- **length**: 3:28
- **label**: Parlophone <small>R6022</small>
- **writer**: Lennon/McCartney
- **producer**: George Martin