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.

 Title and lyrics 
 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..."  BBC Radio 2, Sounds of the 60s, 2 February 2008 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.Aguilar, David. "This Valentine's Day, Give The Woman Who Has Everything The Galaxy's Largest Diamond", Retrieved on 2010-04-29.

 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

 Notes 

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Category:The Beatles songs
Category:1967 songs
Category:Elton John songs
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