# Myths that form about songs and bands / band members **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [February 11, 2025, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173 "2025-02-11T16:37:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/141 "2025-03-08T22:07:24Z")
> [@JacobSwan](#): > > The Jam and Cream had to cancel their joint tour of Devon and Cornwall as they couldn’t agree which one came first. For those that don’t know - and I assume that there are many - this is the funniest post of the last several weeks on the Dope. If you are still puzzled… It’s a trope of English culture that a cream tea, a West Country treat, is based around scones with jam and cream. But which goes on the scone first? The trope would have you believe that there is a simmering border was between Devon and Cornwall about… well, exactly that, which one goes on first? So: hats off to Jacob. I laughed out loud. > **[A Tale of Two Cream Teas: Why the British Are Still Arguing Over Their Scones](https://www.seriouseats.com/british-cream-tea-correct-order-5225936)** > > An ongoing Devon and Cornwall conflict resonates across England: When it comes to assembling a cream tea, does the jam go on first or does the cream? j ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/142 "2025-03-08T22:16:20Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > At certain clubs- when you “buy a girl a drink” at her urging, they put a very expensive bottle of “champagne” on your tab, but she gets soda. I was a ‘host’ at a Soho jazz club about a dozen years ago to help a friends business. If a punter wanted to buy me a drink they would pay for a double rum and coke, but I’d just get the coke. So it’s an old scam that still has plenty of mileage. (And it’s not just the girls that do it.) ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2025, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/143 "2025-03-08T22:36:18Z")
During the 1994 MLB strike, the Ohio radio station WJMP played nothing but “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” for nearly two consecutive months. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/144 "2025-03-09T05:11:12Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Yeah, you’re the prime example of this. You just glossed right over a list of reasoned arguments The arguments are that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has LSD in the title, but it actually is LITSWD. And that Lennon was lying for no good reasons. And i am not the only one- most posters here agree it is not about drugs. Wikipedia disagrees. This cite disagrees- > **[Music Review: Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds](https://www.acep.org/toxicology/venomous-media-reviews/music-review-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds)** > > The American College of Emergency Physicians promotes the highest quality of emergency care and is the leading advocate for emergency physicians, their patients, and the public. as does this > **['Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' not about LSD, said Lennon](https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/lennon-explains-lucy-song-not-about-lsd/)** > > John Lennon, in an interview with Dick Cavett, explained that the 'Sgt. Pepper' track 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' was not written about LSD and finally Snopes > **[Is 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds' Code for LSD?](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds/)** > > It wasn't long before listeners discovered the "hidden" pun in the song's title, "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." The initial letters of certain words spelled out the acrostic LSD. and yes, Lennon and the crew could be coy and joke around, _but Lennon was interviewed many times about the song and steadfastly, every single time denied it was about drugs-_ while cheerfully admitting other songs were. > [@JacobSwan](#): > > I was a ‘host’ at a Soho jazz club about a dozen years ago to help a friends business. If a punter wanted to buy me a drink they would pay for a double rum and coke, but I’d just get the coke. So it’s an old scam that still has plenty of mileage. (And it’s not just the girls that do it.) Thank you. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/145 "2025-03-09T05:11:52Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > That the “facts and evidence” you’re talking about? I expect the facts and evidence would be the actual picture, which still exists, and the fact that the identity of the actual Lucy who’s pictured is well known. Sadly she [died young](https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/arts/music/29lucy.html). [Here is the Snopes page](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds/) which reproduces the picture in question and rates the notion that the initials were a deliberate reference to LSD as “false”. Coincidences happen. They’re almost always meaningless. [Lsd](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A3sd) in the UK in the mid sixties was the usual shorthand for pounds/shillings/pence, which was a far more common usage at the time than the drug version. Yes Lennon used LSD at the time. No, not everything is a deliberate drug reference. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/146 "2025-03-09T14:47:36Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The arguments are that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has LSD in the title, but it actually is LITSWD. And that Lennon was lying for no good reasons. And i am not the only one- most posters here agree it is not about drugs. I do not believe that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” (notice how I capitalized it) is “about drugs.” But it is pretty clearly [psychedelic rock](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychedelic_rock). And I find it entirely plausible that Lennon saw the initials LSD in the painting title and thought, consciously or unconsciously, that it would make a good title for a psychedelic rock song because of the LSD connection. And it’s possible that at least some of the imagery in the song was inspired by Lennon’s own experiences on LSD. And I think that, especially if it was unconscious, this is something we’ll never know for sure. ETA: I also think it’s possible that the imagery of the song was _not_ inspired by any LSD trips. I’ve heard too many people say, about some weird bit in a song or book or movie, “They must have been on drugs when they wrote that.” I don’t think people who say that understand how creativity works. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/147 "2025-03-09T15:26:55Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > The arguments are that “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” has LSD in the title, but it actually is LITSWD. And that Lennon was lying for no good reasons. And i am not the only one- most posters here agree it is not about drugs. Well, if you go by title case, it’s LitSwD. Notice which letters are capitalized? And _most_ posters here have _not_ agreed that it’s not about drugs. I haven’t done a hard count, but I’ve been following my thread here, and I’d say it’s about 5-4 in your favor. So you might have a majority, but you don’t have a mandate 😉 But enough informal debate: Let’s put it to a poll: [Poll: Is “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” about LSD / drugs / psychedelia, or not?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334) ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/148 "2025-03-09T16:16:54Z")
Awesome! Can we now take this Lucy in the Skyjack discussion to that thread? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/149 "2025-03-09T16:24:42Z")
Sure! Next up for debate: ‘Judy in Disguise’, by John Fred and his Playboys… Thinly veiled parody of “Lucy in the Sky”, or just a song about the songwriter’s daughter Judy, who liked to play dress-up? > **[RE:Visit – John Fred and His Playboys, "Judy In Disguise (With Glasses)" (1967)](https://musictap.com/2019/07/19/revisit-john-fred-and-his-playboys-judy-in-disguise-with-glasses-1967/)** > > How one misheard song title led to a hit that sounded nothing like the mistaken song. ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/150 "2025-03-09T17:13:43Z")
> [@solost](#): > > parody of “Lucy in the Sky”, I remember some shock jocks on a morning radio show doing a tasteless parody of this song in 1989. It was about Lucille Ball and was called “Lucy in the Hospital Dying.” I think it was Bob Rivers. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/151 "2025-03-09T20:18:14Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Well, if you go by title case, it’s LitSwD. Notice which letters are capitalized? Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds is another way I have seen it. But this one choice wont prove anything- _Well maybe the original inspiration was the drawing, and the title was a coincidence, but come on, it’s at least a little about drugs, or psychedelia in general._ Because of course they _were_ using drugs. So, no it is _not about LSD_, but certainly some drug references could have snuck in subconsciously. And yes, you can certainly call it psychedelic rock. However, a poll doesnt solve the question- it just lists opinions. Lennon said over and over it is not. And Snopes has spoken. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/152 "2025-03-09T20:51:32Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > Awesome! Can we now take this Lucy in the Skyjack discussion to that thread? Apparently not. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/153 "2025-03-09T21:01:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > However, a poll doesnt solve the question- it just lists opinions. Lennon said over and over it is not. And Snopes has spoken. Well, it’s all opinions, isn’t it? John has said the song is not about drugs, but we can’t ask him about it anymore. Paul has said it’s “pretty obvious” the song is about LSD. Who does one believe? > [@Zakalwe](#): > > [quote="JohnT, post:148, topic:1014173, full:true”] > Awesome! Can we now take this Lucy in the Skyjack discussion to that thread? Apparently not. [/quote] To be fair, the thread is about myths that form about songs and bands, so it’s not like it’s really a hijack. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/154 "2025-03-09T21:04:31Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Paul has said it’s “pretty obvious” the song is about LSD. Who does one believe? Paul didnt write it. And his quote is kinda nebulous. Read it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/155 "2025-03-09T21:05:56Z")
Oh, but Paul, who was, like, there, his opinion doesn’t count as much as yours? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/156 "2025-03-09T21:08:31Z")
His quote was nebulous and his opinion counts less than Lennons, who wrote the song and had the art to prove it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/157 "2025-03-09T21:10:33Z")
Well, you’re entitled to your opinion. I’m entitled to disagree with it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/158 "2025-03-09T21:14:52Z")
True, your opinion is valid. And i agree to a point that the song may well have drug imagery and is certainly psychedelic. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2025, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/159 "2025-03-09T23:52:32Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Well, if you go by title case, it’s LitSwD. Notice which letters are capitalized? I was 17 in 1967), took **LITSWD** and the colors were awesome! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2025, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173/160 "2025-03-10T02:00:02Z")
[Moderating] Since we now have a thread specifically for “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, how about we take that discussion over there? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/myths-that-form-about-songs-and-bands-band-members/1014173.md?page=9)