The psychedelia-infused rock-pop amalgamation crafted by The Beatles often causes many to understandably interpret their music in specific ways, finding allegorical narratives of drug-fuelled escapades or deeply personal reflections. Despite John Lennon shedding light on the true meaning of one song in particular, it continued to spark years of speculation.
‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ first occurred to Lennon when his son, Julian, came home from school one day with a picture of his friend Lucy. “He had sketched in some stars in the sky and called it ‘Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds’,” Lennon recalled, the poeticism of such an innocent moment inspiring him to immediately go away and write the number.
Despite the simple story behind the song, the title and its inclusion of certain drug-related initials, namely LSD, caused many to assume the track was about drugs. Lennon, of course, feigned ignorance, claiming that he hadn’t noticed the nod to the drug in the title, but even Paul McCartney called his bluff on that one. “That’s pretty obvious,” McCartney once said, discussing the piece’s references to drugs.
Whatever the true meaning, this track was personal to Lennon, who injected the track with honesty and vulnerability. However, his relationship with the piece evolved in connection with the transformative experience of being in the world’s biggest band in history. Specifically, the singer recounted the difficulty he encountered when the group was breaking up, which impacted the way he performed the song.
There were a number of fractures that resulted in The Beatles disbanding, including an internal clash of interests and a burgeoning bitterness that seemed to show no signs of slowing down. At the same time, Beatlemania had instilled a certain level of pressure into the members which saw them relentlessly anticipating and even longing for their inevitable downfall.
Amid the mix of elation, frustration, and utter fatigue, Lennon encountered a strange sense of anxiety and paranoia whenever he took to the stage. Discussing performing ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ around that time, Lennon recalls being “so nervous I couldn’t sing”, which tainted his perception of the song somewhat, despite the fact he still resonated with the lyrics.
Perhaps there was also a sense of guilt that Lennon couldn’t shake, especially considering the fact that some of the lyrics were written about Yoko Ono, even though he hadn’t even met her yet. In the tune, Lennon sings about the “image of the female who would someday come save me”. His desire to break free, combined with the increasing pressures of the band, likely gave the track an unprecedented amount of weight during a time when he expected it the least.
Listen to the remastered version of ‘Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds’ below.
