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Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

 
Classical Work: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Classical Works
  • Date: 1967
  • Composer: John Lennon & Paul McCartney
  • Period: Modern (1910-1949)

Review

Inspired by a painting by John Lennon's three-year-old son Julian, Lennon and McCartney wrote this song together in the music room of Lennon's house. The song's lyrics were a psychedelic gloss on Alice in Wonderland set as a song in three parts in three keys. The song opens with a delicately arpeggiated melody in triple time played by McCartney on the Hammond organ set to the celesta stop. The melody describes a slow descent from A major through A major changed into a secondary dominant, then the submediant minor to close on an augmented F chord. Lennon's solo voice enters below the organ's delicate arpeggios with a gently lilting melody in rising and falling major and minor thirds. Beneath Lennon, McCartney underlines the fundamental progression on the bass. When Lennon repeats his lilting melody, McCartney's bass takes the harmony to the submediant major of F major and Starr enters with repeated triplets on the closed high hat. When Lennon's voice returns to the opening melody, McCartney's bass unfolds contrapuntal lines and Starr's high hat is joined by Harrison playing a drone on the tambouras. After a slip down from the second augmented chord, the music completely changes. In 6/8 time, Lennon sings a nagging melody ending in a sigh in B flat major doubled by Harrison on sustained electric guitar above McCartney's steady triplets on bass doubled by Starr on the rim of the crash cymbal. After Starr's three thick thwacks on the bass tom-tom, the music again completely changes. Over McCartney's full chords on the organ and Starr's steady backbeat in 4/4 time, Lennon sings the triumphant title three times with McCartney's voice riding above him and the bass striding beneath him. After a long-held harmony, the music returns to the opening. Once again, the music follows through the opening triple-time verse to the swaying 6/8 time of the bridge and climaxes in the steady 4/4 time of the chorus and again returns to the opening. Thwacks from the bass tom-tom bring the song back for two turns on the chorus before the final, soaring fadeout. "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" is the third song on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, released in June 1967. ~ James Leonard, All Music Guide

Albums with Complete Performances of the Work

Title Date
America's Pops-Sampler 1985
Bach on Abbey Road: Beatle Melodies Improvised in the Style of J. S. Bach
Beatles Baroque 2001
Beatles Book 1996
Beatles Symphony 1995
Classical Beatles [Barnes & Noble Exclusive] 2008
Imagine 1996
Orchestral Sgt. Pepper's: Orchestral Arrangements of the Classic Beatles Album
Plays Lennon & McCartney 1994
Plays the Beatles 2000
Symphony for the Stars: The Beatles 1995
The Beatles Book
The Music of the Beatles 1994
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Wikipedia: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about The Beatles' song. For the graphic character "Lucy in the Sky", see Karolina Dean.
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
Song by The Beatles

from the album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Released 1 June 1967
Recorded Abbey Road Studios
1 March 1967
Genre Psychedelic rock
Length 3:28
Label Parlophone R6022
Writer Lennon/McCartney
Producer George Martin
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band track listing
Music sample
"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds"
Single by Elton John
B-side "One Day (At a Time)"
Released 18 November 1974
Genre Psychedelic rock, Rock
Length 6:16
Label MCA (US/Canada)
DJM Records
Writer(s) Lennon/McCartney
Elton John singles chronology
"The Bitch is Back"
(1974)		 Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds
(1974)		 "Philadelphia Freedom"
(1975)

"Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by English rock band The Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney for the group's 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

At the time of its release, the Beatles claimed that the inspiration for the song came from a drawing by John Lennon's son, Julian, which Julian called "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". The song sparked controversy when released, including being banned by the BBC because of the supposed reference to the drug LSD,[1] with the letters of the title spelling Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Lennon would later deny the reference during an interview with Rolling Stone. Although John Lennon throughout his life denied that the title and content of the song had to do with LSD,[2] on June 2, 2004, McCartney admitted to BBC that it was "pretty obvious" that the song was inspired by LSD.[3]

Contents

Arrangement

The song has an arrangement typical of later Lennon-McCartney compositions; much of the song is in compound duple metre (6/8 time), except the chorus, where it switches to 4/4 time. The song also shifts between musical keys, using the key of A major for the verse, B♭ major for the pre-chorus or bridge section, and G major for the chorus[4]. It consists of a very simple melody (reminiscent of a nursery song), sung by Lennon over an increasingly complicated underlying arrangement which features a tamboura, played by George Harrison, and a counter melody on Lowrey organ played by Paul McCartney being taped with a special organ stop to give it a sound like a celeste.[5]

Session tapes from the initial 1 March 1967 recording of this song reveal that Lennon originally sang the line "Cellophane flowers of yellow and green" as a broken phrase, but McCartney suggested that he sing it more fluidly to improve the song.[6]

Title and lyrics

Julian's drawing

According to the Beatles, one day in 1966 Lennon's son, Julian, came home from nursery school with a drawing he said was of his classmate, Lucy O'Donnell [7], whom Julian drew with diamond-shaped eyes. Showing the artwork to his father, young Julian described the picture as "Lucy — in the sky with diamonds."[8] Julian later 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 for a song about 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds'."[9]

His son's artwork appears to have inspired Lennon to draw heavily on his own childhood affection for Lewis Carroll's "Wool and Water" chapter from Through the Looking-Glass. Carroll's work has also been cited as an influence upon Lennon's "I Am the Walrus" which refers to a character from Through the Looking-Glass and his two books, In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works. As well as Carroll, other influences on the song include popular skits on British radio comedy programme (The Goon Show) making references to "plasticine ties", which showed up in the song as "Plasticine porters with looking glass ties"[citation needed].

The original painting was for a time in the hands of Julian's mother Cynthia. As of June 2009, the whereabouts of the painting are unknown.[10]

Lucy

Lucy O'Donnell Vodden (1963 - 22 September 2009) was the inspiration for the song.[11] She was born in Weybridge, Surrey, in 1963.[12] She was a classmate of Julian Lennon, son of John Lennon, at Heath House School.[12] Julian Lennon drew a picture of O'Donnell in 1966 and took it to his father, explaining to him that the picture he drew was, "That’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds."[11] The quote became the legend for the origin of the song.[11]

O'Donnell married her husband and "childhood sweetheart", Ross Vodden, in 1996.[10] In 2007 she admitted to being the Lucy referred to in the song in an interview with the BBC Radio.[11] She told the BBC that, "I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant... Julian had painted a picture and on that particular day his father turned up with the chauffeur to pick him up from school."[11]

In 2009, Julian Lennon learned that Vodden, who lived in Surrey, England, suffered from the immune system disease lupus. Lennon sent her flowers with a personally written card.[1] After learning that Vodden was taking solace from gardening and looking at plants, Lennon also sent her gift vouchers for a garden centre. Vodden, who saw Lennon in the intervening years once at a concert of his, reacted by saying, "It was lovely of Julian."[8][10] Vodden developed an infection on the second day of her first vacation with her husband in eight years.[10] She was rushed to a hospital in King's Lynn, Norfolk,[10] where she died on 22 September 2009, aged 46, with her husband, father, sister and brother at her bedside.[13][14] Julian Lennon and his mother, Cynthia, released a statement saying they were "shocked and saddened" by Vodden's death.[10]

On December 15, 2009, Julian Lennon will release a single, "Lucy," dedicated to his late friend. Most of the proceeds are earmarked for lupus foundations.[15]

Reviews and legacy

Rolling Stone magazine described the song as "Lennon's lavish daydream"[16] 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."[17] 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."[18]

In later interviews, Lennon expressed disappointment with the Beatles' arrangement of the recording, complaining that adequate time was not 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."[19]

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.[20]

Personnel

Personnel per Ian MacDonald[21]

Elton John version

In 1974, Elton John released a cover version as a single. Recorded at the Caribou Ranch, it featured background vocals and guitar by John Lennon under the pseudonym Dr. Winston O'Boogie. The single topped the Billboard pop charts for two weeks in January 1975 and also appeared on the 1976 musical documentary, All This and World War II.

The B-Side of the single was also a John Lennon composition, "One Day (At a Time)," a song from Lennon's 1973 album Mind Games. As with the A-Side, Lennon appears on the B-Side, playing guitar.

During their collaboration, Elton John appeared on John Lennon's song "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night". Lennon promised to appear live with John at Madison Square Garden if "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night]" became a number 1 single.[22] It did, and on Thanksgiving Night, 28 November 1974, Lennon kept his promise. They performed "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds", "Whatever Gets You Thru the Night", and "I Saw Her Standing There". The Lennon-sung "I Saw Her Standing There" (credited to The Elton John Band featuring John Lennon) was originally released in 1975 on the B-Side of Elton John's "Philadelphia Freedom" single. In 1981, all three live songs were issued on "28 November 1974," an Elton John E.P. In 1990, the three songs were made available on the Lennon box set. In 1996, they were also included on the remastered edition of Elton John's Here and There album.

Elton John once said, "[Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds] is a song that I never do in a set at a concert simply because it reminds me too much of John Lennon. This is the same with Empty Garden". Today, John does occasionally perform it. The single was later released on the 1996 re-release of Elton John's album Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy.

Preceded by
"Angie Baby" by Helen Reddy		 Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Elton John version)
4 January 1975		 Succeeded by
"Mandy" by Barry Manilow

Other cover versions

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Katz 2009.
  2. ^ Plimmer & King 2007, p. 182.
  3. ^ BBC News 2004.
  4. ^ Hal Leonard 1993, pp. 646–650.
  5. ^ Lewisohn 1998, pp. 100–101.
  6. ^ Lewisohn 1998, p. 100.
  7. ^ The Guardian 2009.
  8. ^ a b Kral 2009.
  9. ^ BBC Radio 2, Sounds of the 60s, 2 February 2008
  10. ^ a b c d e f Brooks 2009.
  11. ^ a b c d e Kung 2009.
  12. ^ a b Sherwin 2007.
  13. ^ Hoyle 2009.
  14. ^ BBC News 2009.
  15. ^ usatoday.com.
  16. ^ Rolling Stone 2003.
  17. ^ Unterberger 2009.
  18. ^ Jones 2007.
  19. ^ songfacts.com.
  20. ^ Johanson & Edey 1981, p. 22.
  21. ^ MacDonald 2005, p. 240.
  22. ^ Sheff 2000, p. 31.

References

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1960s and 1970s
"Lady Samantha" (1969) · "It's Me That You Need" (1969) · "Border Song" (1970) · "Rock n' Roll Madonna" (1970) · "From Denver to L.A." (1970) · "Take Me to the Pilot" (1970) · "Your Song" (1970) · "Levon" (1971) · "Tiny Dancer" (1972) · "Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time)" (1972) · "Honky Cat" (1972) · "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters" (1972) · "Crocodile Rock" (1972) · "Daniel" (1972) · "Saturday Night's Alright for Fighting" (1973) · "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" (1973) · "Step into Christmas" (1973) · "Candle in the Wind" (1974) · "Bennie and the Jets" (1974) · "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (1974) · "The Bitch is Back" (1974) · "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" (1974) · "Philadelphia Freedom" (1975) · "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" (1975) · "Island Girl" (1975) · "Grow Some Funk of Your Own" (1976) · "I Feel Like a Bullet (In the Gun of Robert Ford)" (1976) · "Pinball Wizard" (1976) · "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (1976) · "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (1976) · "Bite Your Lip (Get Up and Dance!)" (1977) · "Crazy Water" (1977) · "The Goaldigger's Song" (1977) · "Ego" (1978) · "Part-Time Love" (1978) · "Song for Guy" (1978) · "Are You Ready for Love" (1979) · "Johnny B. Goode" (1979)
1980s
1990s
2000s
"This Train Don't Stop There Anymore" (2002) · "Your Song" (2002) · "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (2002) · "Are You Ready for Love" (2003) · "The Bridge" (2006) · "Tinderbox" (2006) · "Rocket Man" (2007) · "Step into Christmas" (2007) · "Joseph, Better You Than Me" (2008)
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