John Lennon Said The Beatles’ ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ Was About His Desire for Someone Like Yoko Ono

The Beatles‘ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” is one of the most famous psychedelic songs ever. John Lennon said the track reflected his desire for a woman like Yoko Ono. In addition, he discussed the song’s connection to a famous book.

John Lennon explained the ‘girl with kaleidoscope eyes’ from ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’

The book All We Are Saying: The Last Major Interview with John Lennon and Yoko Ono features an interview from 1980 in which Lennon discusses “Lucy In the Sky With Diamonds.” The musician explained the lyrics revealed his desires.

“There was also the image of the female who would someday come save me — a ‘girl with kaleidoscope eyes’ who would come out of the sky,” he said. “It turned out to be Yoko, though I hadn’t met Yoko yet. So maybe it should be ‘Yoko in the Sky with Diamonds.'” 

John said he desired a “secret love” when he wrote the song. “So it turned out to be Yoko, though, and I hadn’t met Yoko then,” he said. “But she was my imaginary girl that we all have.”

John Lennon discussed how Lewis Carroll’s Humpty Dumpty inspired The Beatles

During the interview, John went on to explain the imagery of “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.” According to the Beatle, “The images were from Alice in Wonderland. It was Alice in the boat. 

“She is buying an egg and it turns into Humpty Dumpty,” John continued. “The woman serving in the shop turns into a sheep, and the next minute they are rowing in a rowing boat somewhere and I was visualizing that.” John appeared to be talking about a scene from Through the Looking Glass, the sequel to Alice in Wonderland. 

John discussed the idea that the title of the song is based on the initials LSD. “It was purely unconscious that it came out to be LSD,” he said. “Until somebody pointed it out, I never even thought of it. I mean, who would ever bother to look at the initials of a title? It’s not an acid song.”

How ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ performed in the U.S. and the U.K.

“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’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album topped the Billboard 200 for 15 weeks, staying on the chart for 233 weeks in total.

The Official Charts Company reports “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. Meanwhile, Sgt. Pepper was No. 1 in the U.K. for 28 weeks. The album remained on the chart for 277 weeks altogether.

“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” isn’t just fascinating — it was also personal for John.