# Poll: Is “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” about LSD / drugs / psychedelia, or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [March 9, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334 "2025-03-09T15:24:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/101 "2025-03-15T15:59:13Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I mean, keep in mind that it was made by a preschooler. It’s not that, so much as it’s hard to imagine that picture inspiring much of anything at all. Maybe the colors faded during the time between when Julian drew it and when the photo was taken, but nothing stands out much from the background. I can see it inspiring “Mellow Yellow” maybe. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/102 "2025-03-15T16:07:13Z")
I went poking around, and there are different photos with slightly different colors. I think it was more green when it was drawn, and has faded. And the reds may have faded even earlier. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2025, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/103 "2025-03-15T19:32:37Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > One of the problems I have with the ‘no drugs’ stance is that there’s a lot more in the song than was in the drawing. Totally believable to me that at least some of that additional imagery was inspired at least in part by hallucinogenic experiences. No one is arguing against that. > [@Chronos](#): > > The argument is always that it’s about LSD specifically. And the only piece of evidence for that is the initials. And the initials are a pretty weak piece of evidence. Yep. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/104 "2025-03-16T00:38:42Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > No one is arguing against that. Maybe not _arguing_ against it, but 24% of the poll respondents so far _say_ they’re against it. Close enough AFAIAC. ---
**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 16, 2025, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/105 "2025-03-16T00:53:46Z")
For what it’s worth, I was one of those 24, mostly because I clicked too quickly before reading all three options. I’m closer to “a little about drugs”. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/106 "2025-03-16T16:14:27Z")
We should all remember that songs have one and only one very specific inspiration behind them. No other events in the life of a lyricist, no one else they knew, met, encountered, or even heard about has any influence on their work. Lucy in the Sky was either entirely about a child’s drawing, or about nothing but a trip on acid. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2025, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/107 "2025-03-16T19:15:50Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > We should all remember that songs have one and only one very specific inspiration behind them. No other events in the life of a lyricist, no one else they knew, met, encountered, or even heard about has any influence on their work. Lucy in the Sky was either entirely about a child’s drawing, or about nothing but a trip on acid. > [@DrDeth](#): > > It seems to me, that the basic debate is that Lennon set up the whole name to be a “wink wink nudge nudge” reference to LSD- vs- the title is purely innocent and refers to the kids drawing. This is the divide. Yes the song is psychedelic, yes, there may be drug imagery in there. But that doesnt mean it is ABOUT drugs, or that Lennon was pulling a scam on their fans. If the song was Lucy in the Sky with Stars, no one would say it is about LSD or drugs. It would be just another trippy song on a rather psychedelic album- some of which seemingly were inspired by taking drugs. And some of which were admitted to be inspired by or about drugs. ---
**Author:** ![DKW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dkw/32/3118_2.png) [@DKW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DKW)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/108 "2025-03-17T05:06:58Z")
Am I really going to be the guy who brings up The Wizard of Oz? 'Kay, whatever. There’s a difference between acknowledging that a Populist sympathizer inserted an element of his stance in the form of the main character’s shoes in a famous work of fiction and insisting that the entire story is an allegory of a real-world political struggle. Likewise, there’s a difference between agreeing with what appears to be a strong consensus that illicit substances, which probably did include lysergic acid diethylamide, played some part in the making of a certain Beatles song (which I’m totally cool with!) and dying on the hill that the song was about a drug and absolutely nothing else, particularly when the song title is _twice as goddam long as the drug in question._ Seriously, **that** is a stone-cold ironclad thousand year brick wall dealbreaker for me. I don’t care if you wink and nudge hard enough to set off car alarms. While I’m at it, I’m pretty sure Toy Soldiers is about alcoholism. (It would help if Martika could sing for beans…) ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2025, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334/109 "2025-03-17T15:58:52Z")
> [@DKW](#): > > dying on the hill that the song was about a drug and absolutely nothing else Who in this thread is saying that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-is-lucy-in-the-sky-with-diamonds-about-lsd-drugs-psychedelia-or-not/1015334.md?page=5)