John Lennon’s ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ lyrics up for grabs

Beatles fans will now have the chance to bid on scans of two sheets with handwritten lyrics and drawings done by Beatles mop-top John Lennon for the song “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds.” Auction house Profiles in History is expecting this piece of rock ‘n’ roll history to fetch more than $200,000, when it goes on sale on next month at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. The draft contains the opening lyrics for the song and a rough sketch of four people in a room with windows draped in curtains.

The psychedelic song was released on the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. At that time, people and media houses said that it was an idea to rave about the drug LSD, based on the first letters of Lucy, sky and diamonds. However, Lennon disagreed on the same by saying that he did not realize until later the title contained those letters in sequence.

Lennon said that he got the inspiration from a painting his son Julian drew of his classmate Lucy. When a child, Julian Lennon came to his father with the painting and told him, “That’s Lucy in the sky with diamonds.”

Later in 2007, a British woman named Lucy Vodden said that she had been the source of the song. Controversies apart, the song was widely admired. Rolling Stone magazine described the song as Lennon’s lavish daydream and music critic Richie Unterberger said that “Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds” was one of the best songs on The Beatles’ famous Sgt. Pepper album.

Via: Reuters