How Paul McCartney Reacted to the Title of The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’
The Beatles‘ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has one of the most striking titles in the band’s catalog. Paul revealed what he thought of the name when he first heard it. In addition, he criticized Beatles fans for interpreting the title in a certain way.
The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ was inspired by a drawing John Lennon loved
In the 1997 book Paul McCartney: Many Years From Now, Paul discussed the origin of The Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” “I went up to John’s house in Weybridge,” he recalled. “When I arrived we were having a cup of tea, and he said, ‘Look at this great drawing Julian’s done. Look at the title!'” For context, Julian was John’s son with his first wife, Cynthia Lennon.
“He showed me a drawing on school paper, a five-by-seven-inch piece of paper, of a little girl with lots of stars, and right across the top there was written, in very neat child handwriting, I think in pencil, ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,'” he added. “So I said, ‘What’s that mean?,’ thinking, ‘Wow, fantastic title!'”
Paul McCartney said fans who felt the title of the song abbreviated to LSD were wrong
John explained Julian’s drawing to Paul. “John said, ‘It’s Lucy, a friend of his from school. And she’s in the sky,'” Paul recalled. “Julian had drawn stars, and then he thought they were diamonds.
“They were child’s stars, there’s a way to draw them with two triangles, but he said diamonds because they can be interpreted as diamonds or stars,” he continued. “And we loved it and she was in the sky and it was very trippy to us. So we went upstairs and started writing it.”
Some fans came to believe that the title of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” abbreviated to LSD. This made it one of The Beatles’ most controversial songs. Paul noted the tune’s title actually abbreviates to “LITSWD.” He felt the idea that the song title referenced LSD made for a better story than the truth.
How ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ performed and impacted popular culture
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” was never a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. It appeared on The Beatles’ psychedelic masterpiece Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. It’s probably the most psychedelic tune on the album besides “A Day in the Life.” Sgt. Pepper topped the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks. It remained on the chart for an astounding 233 weeks.
“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” became a pop culture phenomenon. Major singers like Elton John, Miley Cyrus, and The Clark Family Experience covered the track. The tune also clearly inspired the name of Lucy, one of the main characters of the Fab Four jukebox musical Across the Universe. The track was also used to advertise the movie Lucy in the Sky starring Natalie Portman.
Paul loved the title “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” — and he helped turn it into a classic track.
