Which Songs are About Drugs?

"Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds": totally about drugs, right? The initials even spell it out for you: LSD! Well, not according to John Lennon, who innocently based the song on a drawing his son Julian made in preschool. (Julian's teacher's name: Lucy).

And "Lucy" is hardly alone in being (mis-)interpreted this way; a lot of people just can't say no to thinking that any song with cryptic lyrics is some sort of drug anthem. Considering the subject matter, it can be hard to tell fact from fiction...
~Jens T. Carstensen
Further Reading:
Songs About Drugs
Songs the Author Denied Was About Drugs
As a sidenote, we don't really believe that "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" isn't about drugs. Lennon stuck with his story, but who knows if he would have come clean had he lived. Paul, Ringo and Yoko might be the only ones who can definitively answer this question, and we tried to ask Yoko, but her publicist knocked the question down before it could get to her.
More Fact or Fiction

Comments: 38

  • Fernando Larios from San Diego CaMuch more to learn.....
  • Steven from BoiseLucy in the Sky with Diamonds, was about a little girl that was a friend of Julian's Lucy O' Donnel. She died of lupus. Julian was able to see her just before she died of the disease. Many years later. They were in pre- school together.
  • Melissa Washburn from 63445Is the song "lithium", by nirvana about meth? I can relate to the " everyday is sunday" line, it's a cool story.
  • Purple Hayes from ConnecticutRegarding Lennon's explanation for "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds": First, realize that Lennon liked to screw with people's heads. Second, kids that age don't say things like, "It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds" - no kid talks like that. And the initials L.S.D. were purely a coincidence? Sure. John made that story up, absolutely positively.
  • Anonymous from San DiegoDo you think Spacemen 3's album "Taking Drugs to Make Music To Take Drugs To" about writers block?
  • Anonymous from VaI thought "And She Was" was about suicide. "No time to think about what she's done," I wonder how many other people thought this?
  • Beatlemania from EnglandHow can you not mention Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds?
  • Anonymous from OrlandoThat "25 or 6 to 4" explanation is such bulls--t. Musicians claim that songs, such as "25 or 6 to 4," which are obviously, at-least PARTLY about drugs, are NOT, at-least PARTLY about drugs; I think they do this, among other reasons, because: 1) It keeps people talking about the song; this is good publicity, for the song, in particular, and the band, in general. 2) In The Old-Days, a lot of radio-stations wouldn't play songs that were about drugs, if it were admitted that the songs were about drugs.
  • Bianca from Surry Hills, Nsw, Strayamate, I think Victoria cheated
  • Modais from AustraliaGuns and Roses Mr brownstone.
    Choir boys run to Paradise.
    Wheres all the good songs on this list Lennon didn't take all the drugs
  • Imagae from DetroitFACT: The entire album “Dirt” by Alice In Chains is about banging filthy hot shots of heroin in the darkest corners of the loneliest rooms.

    All the people who died, died. All my friends. They all died. (<< also a true story)
  • Timmy from Greenbay, Wisconsin. U. S. A.Got all but 2 correct. Many were a "intelligent guess" but still correct. Acid in the late 60's early 70's was given and taken freely. Great music, then also.
  • Joe Mama from Us FloridaWhat about Dr Feelgood or Pour some sugar on me. Hell back to Motley Crue Kick Start My Heart and Sublime Badfish.
  • Paco from Alicante, SpainNice one
  • Mayzee from Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaIt's common knowledge that Julian Lennon came home from school as a little boy with a drawing he did at school. It was not of his teacher however. Good grief! You can listen to him in interviews talking about it. It was about a little classmate. John asked Julian what the picture was and he said, 'It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds." The actual picture that Julian drew is in a gallery somewhere and when he wanted to use it for something, he had to ask to borrow it, even though he drew it.

    Julian reconnected with Lucy when she grew up and discovered she had lupus. He started the white feather foundation to raise funds for lupus research and figured that, since Lucy had earned his father so much money, that Lucy deserved some benefit too. So he released a song a few years ago called "Lucy" in honour of her and to raise money for his foundation.

    Look it up. Julian talked about it on talk shows. There are youtube videos. It's not hard to research this.
  • Kramo from Toronto, CanadaNo one...I mean no one...really believes Lennon's explanation anymore. I think he came clean in the Playboy interview.
  • Hawker from ConnecticutCreative people get things from the world around them, and if John Lennon caught the Irony of LSD being in the name of Julian's painting, so be it! The whole feeling and lyrics of the song is like tripping. Artists prefer to leave drug connections out of it.
  • Pamela from NjTen right, two wrong, but unlike the others who commented, I had to guess on every single one. Who truly knows for sure what a song is about besides the person who wrote it?
  • Hans from Cambridge, MaLet's correct some of these answers: Yes, America was formed in London, but the members were American. Their fathers were in the military stationed in the UK. As for Lucy in the Sky - yes, the LSD acronym was not intentional, and Lucy, Julian's classmate (not teacher) was the subject of his painting, but the song is still very clearly inspired by acid with acid imagery.
  • Razz from Toledo, Ohio10 right 2 wrong. Last two I had to guess. Never heard them. Shame on me. lol
  • Jerry from IndianaI thought that "And She Was" was about a woman being pregnant. The album had a general theme around raising kids. She was floating because she was so happy to be having a child. I could be wrong.
  • Ketil from DenmarkJohn Forgerty was and is still heavily against drugs. He has stated that he can count the times, he has smoken weed, with one hand (max. 5 times) and he has never performed drunk.
  • Celeste from Erie, PaGot 5 myself, others were guesses. Agree w tr from fla. No John, No George....no Beatles. Really, I've got to get you into my life is about smoking pot. Makes a lame song, lamer
  • Scott4 wrong...but I only dropped acid in my younger days!
  • Pete from Madison, WiLucy was Julian's classmate ,not his teacher.
  • Vagnão from Campinas - BrazilI got 5 right and 7 wrong. Ok... English language is not my native language...
  • Don Ebberts from Anaheim, CaI got 7 right, most were guesses, some of the songs I never heard of.
    I was surprised that "Puff The Magic Dragon" wasn't on the list.
  • Karen from Manchester, Nh3 wrong, but in my defense, I've never even heard 2 of the songs referenced (#s 8 & 12). Also, in regards to "Lucy", Doug from Stoudsburg got it right; I remember reading that Julian Lennon helped the real Lucy with her medical expenses near the end.
  • Pete from Blackpool, England9 right, 3 wrong, though some were 'lucky' guesses.
  • Henry from London, England9 Correct and 3 wrong! not bad
  • James from Vidalia, Ga8 correct, 4 wrong. I'm usually like everybody else. That's strange... well, might be that... hummm... is everybody else high right now? 'cause I'm not!

  • Lynn from Las VegasGot 4 out of 8 right
  • Tr from Fl.Man, I wish I hadn't have read this. "Got to get you into my Life" has been the one Beatles song that I loved all my life. Very disappointing but then again with the Beatles, it figures.
  • Blair from KentuckyYOLO
  • Sioraf As Na Cillini from IrelandI got 5 right and 7 wrong. Ow.
  • Ekristheh from HalathI failed miserably on this! (I kept choosing "fiction") I want to hear Paul McCartney's Ode to Chocolate. For now, we have George's "Savoy Truffle", which is literally about a box of candy. As Yoko is a conceptual artist, if you were to ask her about Lucy on her Ask Yoko Fridays on twitter, she would probably say something along the lines of "What do you think it means?"
  • Doug from Stroudsburg, PaPaul McCartney in a recent interview insisted that Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was not about drugs. The Lucy mentioned in the song died four years ago and the obituaries insisted she had inspired a drawing by Julian Lennon that later became the basis of the song. I don't know that I believe it, but I doubt you'll get anyone to say otherwise.
  • Jim from North Billerica, MaA Fun Quiz although in a million years I never would have guessed that "Got to get you into my life" was about pot.
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