I loved this Amy! I always love it when you get excited and enthused about a piece. You have such great descriptive language in communicating what you are experiencing. Even though John says there is no LSD connection, I'm sure his previous experiences with it influenced his artistic vision, which resulted in this composition that I think reflects that psychedelic influence; similar in this case to a child's imagination. Great piano illustrations. Interesting how this incredible melody is mostly built on just three notes. Insightful closing remarks summing it all up. Great reaction, which of course I expected you would have with this song.😉
I agree with you Lee but John said it was inspired by the drawing which is probably true but you know it’s an LSD song and so did John. The Beatles did this a lot. “Who us? Heaven forbid, it’s just a childrens song based on Lewis Carol” the plausible deniability thing., it was like an inside joke, if you knew you knew. Yea great analysis and fun commentary from Amy. I’ve always loved this song.
@@Hartlor_Tayley John has strongly stated that if it was a drug song he would admit it was as he has admitted other drug songs he had written. He also said if it was supposed to be about LSD it would have been Lucy Sky Diamonds. There are more than three words in the title. He asked: How does Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds represent three letters? LSD? ua-cam.com/video/VAZAdhPXQ2w/v-deo.html
@@Hartlor_Tayleythe Carroll part is the truth. LSD had an incidental influence on John in a general way, but Alice is much more responsible for his artistic thrust. Before they ran out of time and the “Sgt. Pepper” concept was tacked on, a Wonderland theme was planned for this album.
@ I think the point of the song is to say that the free whimsey of a child’s imagination is similar to taking a trip. A double meaning of sorts which Beatle songs are famous for. The intention and vision for a song can be very different from how the song is interpreted after it is finished. All of John’s songs from this period were pretty psychedelic even if they were not overtly about psychedelics. Lucy is a psychedelic song about childhood imagination and expression. It’s not about acid per say
Elton John recorded a cover of this song in 1974 and it was a huge hit the following year. A couple of weeks after recording his version, he had John Lennon join him on stage at Madison Square Garden, where they performed this song together (in addition to "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Whatever Gets You Through The Night"). Elton had a bet with Lennon that if Lennon's single "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" reached #1 on the charts, then he would have to join Elton on stage and perform live. Lennon agreed to the bet, never imagining the song would actually reach #1, which it did! That performance took place exactly 50 years ago tomorrow, and was the last time Lennon ever performed live.
I believe Lennon performed live once more after that at a concert in honour of Lew Grade. To be present at that MSG concert must have been something else. Elton John still talks about it today regarding the reception that Lennon received.
It's difficult for me not to start crying listening to this song. John's voice is so present in this, and he has the perfect voice for this sort of magical/fantastical type of music. He was taken from us too early. It's also cool that the intro line would work really well as the opening melody for a fugue. Maybe that is why it sounds like it's meant for a harpsichord, or an organ, or the mellotron sound that they have. I can picture Bach layering things over the top of that line and having fun with it. And it's a beautiful bit of fantastic story telling.
"Newspaper taxis appear on the shore, waiting to take you away". This was written at a time when John was living at his estate outside of London with his young family. Paul, still a bachelor, lived in London as a man about town. The "family man" aspect of his everyday life left John marooned from the goings-on in "Swinging London", and he turned to one thing that he had throughout his life - reading. The daily newspaper delivered to his doorstep was the vehicle to take himself out of his suburban world which is obliquely referenced in "Good Morning Good Morning". Note that all of John's songs on Sgt Pepper have to do with something John reads or reacts to - his son's drawing, a circus poster, a cereal advertisement and, finally, a newspaper; "I read the news today, oh boy". John used the confines of the recording studio to express the confines of his contemporaneous existence - and delivered some of his greatest art in the process.
It's true that John attributed the line to Paul, though I've never found a confirmation of that from Paul. As we know from his commentary on "I Am the Walrus", John was increasingly annoyed with people attempting to analyze his lyrics, so it might be that John had enough awareness of his confessional material that he wished to put the interviewer off the track. Regardless, Paul visited John's estate regularly and observed John's current situation; it is certainly possible that he contributed the line as a sympathetic observation of his friend's current lifestyle. If so, just another example of what made them one of the greatest songwriting teams in history.
@@Bassman2353 Yes, "newspaper taxis" could have been prompted by Paul reflecting John's news fixation at that time, maybe just because there was a newspaper lying there, or by something else. But Paul did confirm John's claim that it was his (Paul's) image. George Martin quotes him in Summer Of Love: "I suggested 'cellophane flowers' - cellophane having been a favourite word of mine since childhood - and then shortly after that I came up with 'newspaper taxis' . John liked them both." And in Anthology Paul remembered the writing session as "swapping psychedelic suggestions as we went. I remember coming up with 'cellophane flowers' and 'newspaper taxis.'"
The rich sound played on an organ to sound like a harpsichord …this and the dreamy lyrics and the ethereal vocals and on and on…ALL this: the Beatles were Artists more than anything else. They were artists driven to create art.
❤ Brilliant song, so vivid 👍😃 Well said 👌😊👏👏👏👏 The musical quality of the words ... I love this remark 😍 That was again a wonderful reaction ❤👍😃 I enjoyed it so much and can't wait for next Wednesday 🤞😊
Thanks for the re-upload. Very nice analysis and reaction. I've lived with this song for most of my life -- it's one of my earliest childhood musical memories -- so it's great getting a fresh take, especially an educated one.
This. The interplay between the keyboard line (which is like a harmony) and the vocals (the static melody) is simply brilliant. Brings tears to my eyes.
Once again, I’m feeling like I’m getting instruction on how to listen to music and it’s enhancing my experience. I’ve listened to this countless times as other songs and I’m beginning to see the process of how to write music which I’ve been attempting for years. I think I have some great melodies, but they lack expression. Thanks for the music lesson. this gives me something to work on. Thanks for the inspiration.
If there is ever going to be a ViginRocks Greatest hits compilation I hope this video is in it. This is a fine example of all the things you do so well and here its all very well done. The best! Thanks Virgin Rock
I just subbed. Tis a pleasure to enjoy your reaction video. And its because you are so intelligent. Its refreshing to "meet" you...discover some one like you! Imagine that. On Thanksgiving.
The descending nature of the intro has always intrigued me. In the Sixties the term 'going down the rabbit hole' was sometimes used to describe taking LSD and I assume it refers to Alice following the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole into Wonderland where very strange things happen. The intro to Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds has a very childlike quality and it also has a slow descending feel. I've often wondered whether this was a conscious representation of 'going down the rabbit hole' at the start of the song thus explaining all the strange experiences that followed.
Ya fixed the muted segment, & I wound up listening to the whole vid again, Amy! So interesting to see a classical musician find such joy in my fav ever "pop" band. Thanx
Tamboura is definitely a drone instrument. Traditionally the resonating chamber is a large ground-modern tamboura have a smaller resonator. It is notable for having a string that slides under each string that is placed exactly where it will make the string buzz, to give the strings a longer sustain.
A composer I was thinking of when you were searching for a neoclassical "minimalist" composer was Satie ( I like him, no evidence the Beatles specifically were influenced). As to classical influences we do know of, Paul and John were interested in classical music and there is a video of Paul in 1968 talking about Shoenberg. I understand that he also was interested in Stockhausen and so was John. There is a story that Paul's girlfriend Jane Asher got him interested in Vivaldi. I do think that Paul and John (and George) were pretty eclectic in their musical tastes running from Motown, early rock, folk, jazz classical and later Indian music (esp. George). So, it is not too far off the mark to think that they were channeling some artist at any given time in one of their songs.
Paul has also talked about Bach and others. The Beatles were magical and Paul was the energizer bunny of the group. Ringo said that if not for Paul they would probably only have done 3 histloo,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this song vey interesting; as I understand it the song is about the effects of taking LSD. Do you know of Kate Bush? she has composed many unconventional pop songs using her own unique vocal style. Among her best known songs are 'Wuthering Heights' about Emily Bronte's novel of the same name as well as 'Them Heavy People' which includes references to religion and philosophy and the desire to broaden one's knowledge of life which makes a change from the usual fare of songs about unrequited love. Of course, I look forward to whatever material you choose.
@@VirginRock I just found your channel and I am really enjoying your analysis of music. It blows my mind that you are finding music other than the music you grew up with in this day and age of technology. I am envious. How lucky are you to listen to great music from a renaissance we won't see again in our lifetime. There is a whole world of absolute blissful music just waiting for you. I can tell you are enjoying it and as a lover of music, it makes me happy you're finding the same joy I get from it. If I may, as a lover of rock music I would love to see your reaction to a fitting rock song with classical structure. ELO 10538 Overture ✌😊
Greetings from an old Beatlemaniac from the 60s. This was wonderful. Are you aware of and or heard/seen Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio? Non of The Beatles has ever been able to read or write music so when the city fathers asked if Paul wanted to contribute a little piece he teamed up with Carl Davis and wrote a whole Oratorio. It won many awards though Paul did not perform. It and the making of video have been here on YT. Paul did one other classical record that was equally acclaimed. He really is a musical genius. Carl wrote the sheet music in coordination with Paul and was the conductor. Really special stuff I think you would appreciate as much or more than I did. Keep it up. The Beatles and their solo work is truly and profoundly magical. Brian
Several other "classical" pieces, in fact: Standing Stone, Ecce Cor Meum, Ocean's Kingdom, Spiral, Tuesday, A Leaf... Lots to admire and enjoy in there.
Especially John loved to play with words, and play with the public. So, its LSD, no doubt about that. Which made John wax childishly eloquent, so incredibly high.
Or in other words John uses a descending linear chord progression for the beginning of the song including the intro: A, A7/G, D/F#, Dm/F. He used it again for 'Dear Prudence'.
7:01That dissonant moment is basically an F major chord, but with its fifth missing, and the vocal line ("river", in the first verse) replacing the missing fifth with first a sharpened fifth (AKA minor sixth), followed by a flattened fifth (AKA tritone), turning the chord into first an augmented chord and then a flat 5 chord.
You can google Julian Lennon's wax crayon or oil pastel drawing online, as well as photographs and biographical details of little Lucy McDonnell, his friend from pre-school. As many people have pointed out, it looks a little too advanced for a pre-school child, and the title was hand-written in neat childish handwriting, also unlikely for a three-year-old. But numerous people who have no reason to lie confirm that Julian did bring home a drawing he'd done of someone flying amongst the stars, which he showed his Dad, and that when John asked what it was he replied that 'It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds', immediately sparking John's imagination to write a song. I did find one statement that may explain the anomalies. It claimed that Julian said the version you can see online (that's now owned by David Gilmore of Pink Floyd, and ended up being reproduced on one of Julian's own album covers as an adult) was actually a later version he drew since the original, simpler version seemed to have been lost. Here's a link to some fascinating quotes from multiple witnesses (including Ringo, Pete Shotton, Cynthia, Paul, and George Martin) to the creation of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, from Beatles Wiki: www.beatleswiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds Naturally John's song was inspired in part by the perceptual experiences of LSD and marijuana. But there is also clear imagery from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice' duology, which John, like many of us us children of the mid 20th century, was immersed in as a child. Ideas include the newspaper taxis (from the newspaper man on the train) and the boat on the river (from the shopkeeper from whom Alice tried to buy an egg, but who turned into a sheep and ended up in a boat on a river with Alice) and the general dreamlike quality of the whole thing. John also told Spike Milligan that he got the 'plasticine porters with looking glass ties' from the Goon's radio show that he loved, that referred to plasticine ties; the looking glass was from the second Alice book. John was always adamant he never intended to drop a 'clue' to the 'hidden meaning' of the song in the initials 'LSD', but Paul admitted it was all obviously very much acid-inspired. Truly creative people get their inspiration from everything they hear, see and feel. Only conspiracy theorists who are usually habitual circular thinkers believe everything that's slightly mysterious must have a specific, possibly darker, secret meaning. George Martin recalls it was Paul who worked out that opening organ line, on a Lowry organ, by playing lots and lots of arpeggios until that magical line appeared. The rest of the instrumentals for the song were hammered out by all four Beatles with George Martin in support. A witness was told by Martin that after four hours of concentrated work it was still sounding terrible, and he thought it might never come to anything but by 2.00am it was beginning to take on its final, magical form.
Shout out to author of extraordinary imagination: Lewis Carroll! Certainly one of the writers who had a great influence on John Lennon and quite possibly even this song. Go ask Alice...
You're right. It's no secret. Both Lennon abnd McCartney have independently said it had nothing to do with drugs (they didn't even notice the LSD coincidence until others started mentioning it) and *everything* to do with Carrol and Alice.
I think it's worth mentiong that although this was John's inspiration it was developed jointly by John and Paul, although the extent of Paul's actual contribution is not really known with certainty. Paul says is that it was John's inspiration from Julian's painting, that John already had the idea, and the title, and some musical shape for it, in particular some "very John" lyrics that set an Alice-In-Wonderland vibe, and that they finished it off together based on John's idea. According to John, talking to Hit Parader in 1972, Paul "helped with the last verse", but this isn't quite coherent because the one line he specifically credited to Paul is not in the last verse, but in the second. It's quite well known that when Jan Wenner for Rolling Stone asked John about his new journalistic writing ethos in 1970 and teased "So, no more newspaper taxis, then?" John replied, dismissively, well that was Paul's line anyway. So we know he contributed to the lyric. Consistently, Paul recalls the writing session as "swapping psychedelic suggestions as we went. I remember coming up with 'cellophane flowers' and 'newspaper taxis.'" (Anthology) Note, too, that the Abbey Road tapes show Paul coaching John how to sing the line 'cellophane flowers of yellow and green,' John saying 'Ok' and doing it as suggested. If Paul had any input to the verse or chorus melodies is not really known, but he did work out the underpinning Lowrey organ figure which George Martin very specifically and in detail credited to Paul - "a marvellous piece of composition, crucial to the staying power of the song" (Summer Of Love).
I'd be wary of what George Martin said. He was at times very biased towards Paul. He also totally contradicts himself in 'Summer Of Love'. Re Lucy he writes John had the introduction written before he got to the studio and then he came up with the line "picture yourself in a boat on a river". Yet when recounting what Paul had told him it's "We then went up to the music room at the top of the house and he (John) played me (Paul) the idea he had for it beginning with 'Picture yourself...' Elsewhere he points out the intro played by Paul are simply arpeggios (notes separated) of John's chords and that it evolved rather than being composed. So George M is a bit all over the place like a Shostakovich symphony. The only definitive credit John gave was that Paul contributed the "newspaper taxis" line. Paul has never claimed to have written any of the music for 'Lucy In The Sky'. John in Playboy said, "Paul suddenly called me to go into the studio, said it was time to write some songs. On Pepper under the pressure of ten days I managed to come up with 'Lucy In The Sky' and 'Day In The Life'. Paul has included Lucy in a list of John songs he never performs live.
@@gettinhungrig8806 Yes, it can be confusing. But it's somewhat clear to me that when GM says "John already had the intro" he is referring to the falling chord sequence, not to the melody (persisting as countermelody though the verse), which, as you point out, he then goes on to describe separately as having "evolved" from these chords in the studio. He says McCartney found that melody, but he doesn't disparage that process as "simply arpeggios of John's chords" as you put it; rather, he says "Paul improvised in his favourite arpeggio style until the magic phrase arrived", describing that as "a marvellous piece of composition . . . crucial to the staying power of the song." Of course GM could be misremembering all this but i don't see evidence for that here. It's true that John said in 1980 "On Pepper under the pressure of ten days I managed to come up with 'Lucy In The Sky' and 'Day In The Life'" but that doesn't mean Lucy and A Day In The Life were John's completely, whatever he may have wanted to believe in 1980. Re the latter he had previously had this to say: "A Day in the Life - that was something. I dug it. It was a good piece of work between Paul and me. Paul and I were definitely working together... we were doing it in his room with the piano. He said 'Should we do this?' 'Yeah, let's do that.' I had the "I read the news today" bit, and it turned Paul on, because now and then we really turn each other on with a bit of song, and he just said "yeah" - bang bang, like that. It just sort of happened beautifully... He had that beautiful little lick in the song 'I'd love to turn you on' floating around in his head, he couldn't use it for anything, so he stuck it on, and instead of going on and developing that lick into the middle eight which we would normally do we got into 'How about putting [in] a whole different song', which he already had... which is a precursor to Abbey Road style later on"
I always thought "newspaper taxies" was a visual of the advertising posters and placards all over the cabs. From dull, flat, black taxies, now we have newsprint taxies, full of ads and fonts and even pictures and logos.
I have always wondered why the high harmony comes on on the third line of the first chorus and then on the first of the second chorus then on the second line of the third chorus... curious... Beatles....
Prokofiev? Kabalevsky? George Martin cited Beethoven - for the opening figure, anyway: “Beethoven wouldn’t have minded one of those..” - when reviewing the track in 1992 for a documentary titled The Making Of Sgt Pepper (about 20 minutes in).
for about 25 years they did interviews where they said it had nothing to do with drugs. then Paul (and i think John in a different interview around the same time) said, of course it was about drugs but we couldn't say so
The picture actually exists and has been reproduced in publications. John Lennon was writing like that _AS A KID_ -- BEFORE drugs. See his books _In His Own Write_ (1964) and _A Spaniard in the Works_ (1965). That stuff was written years before. Perhaps we should go back and look at what impact the drug caffeine had on their songwriting. And then nicotine. And then alcohol.
I can understand someone automatically thinking the lyric is drug related but remember Lennon also wrote songs like "I Am the Walrus, "Come Together," "I'm So Tired," et al, with some very colorful, abstract, psychedelic, nonsensical lines it. Just one of his many writing styles.
John had no hesitation about admitting if a song was about drugs. He freely claimed that She Said, She Said came from a moment when He and Peter Fonda were tripping and Fonda kept saying, "I know what it's like to be dead." If Lucy was about LSD, he wouldn't have hesitated to say so.
यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् । स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥ १९ ॥ yo mām evam asammūḍho jānāti puruṣottamam sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ sarva-bhāvena bhārata Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service to Me, O son of Bharata. Bhagavad Gita 15.19 ( by Lord Krishna )
It was about drugs using "Alice in Wonderland" for inspiration (a book full of drug use) but "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" wasn't an acronym for LSD.
I met a girl with kaledoscope eyes once. Her eyes had so many colours. like a they had been marbled in multiple colours. She was trying to sell me a banking product. I have no idea what it was I was too busy staring into her eyes like a lovesick puppy.
I think you would enjoy listening to Aphrodite's Child's song 'Rain and Tears', it was a major hit in Europe in the 60's, and is heavily influenced by baroque music (Pachelbel specifically).
I'm not going to rewrite everything, because I have already repeatedly suggested the Elton John version with facts. I'll just request again from the deleted video to listen to the 7 minute version "Blue Monday" by New Order. And since I'm on an 80s music roll I'll also toss out: - "Poison Arrow" and "The Look Of Love" by ABC - "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" and "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League - "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners
You look my age, what rock were you under? We are second or third generations from these songs. Crazy to think anyone who is a trained musician never heard Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is absurd. I am a nobody and have enjoyed this song for decades. Well welcome to the world of great transitionary rock. Hey I have enjoyed your breakdowns but don’t like the “never heard” angle. Even if you did hear LSD, I would have listened to your breakdown. Love you but don’t want to be lied to.
I get the feeling Amy probably grew up with a conservative/religious background and might not have been exposed to any rock music, while also focusing in her adult life on classical music. It’s not far fetched to believe
@@garyleelarson It is not within the bounds of reality that someone brought up in a closed community with no access to TV or radio would not hear 1960’s Pop/Rock music including The Fab 4.
I loved this Amy! I always love it when you get excited and enthused about a piece. You have such great descriptive language in communicating what you are experiencing. Even though John says there is no LSD connection, I'm sure his previous experiences with it influenced his artistic vision, which resulted in this composition that I think reflects that psychedelic influence; similar in this case to a child's imagination. Great piano illustrations. Interesting how this incredible melody is mostly built on just three notes. Insightful closing remarks summing it all up. Great reaction, which of course I expected you would have with this song.😉
Yep 100% accurate
I agree with you Lee but John said it was inspired by the drawing which is probably true but you know it’s an LSD song and so did John. The Beatles did this a lot. “Who us? Heaven forbid, it’s just a childrens song based on Lewis Carol” the plausible deniability thing., it was like an inside joke, if you knew you knew. Yea great analysis and fun commentary from Amy. I’ve always loved this song.
@@Hartlor_Tayley John has strongly stated that if it was a drug song he would admit it was as he has admitted other drug songs he had written. He also said if it was supposed to be about LSD it would have been Lucy Sky Diamonds. There are more than three words in the title. He asked: How does Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds represent three letters? LSD? ua-cam.com/video/VAZAdhPXQ2w/v-deo.html
@@Hartlor_Tayleythe Carroll part is the truth. LSD had an incidental influence on John in a general way, but Alice is much more responsible for his artistic thrust. Before they ran out of time and the “Sgt. Pepper” concept was tacked on, a Wonderland theme was planned for this album.
@ I think the point of the song is to say that the free whimsey of a child’s imagination is similar to taking a trip. A double meaning of sorts which Beatle songs are famous for. The intention and vision for a song can be very different from how the song is interpreted after it is finished. All of John’s songs from this period were pretty psychedelic even if they were not overtly about psychedelics. Lucy is a psychedelic song about childhood imagination and expression. It’s not about acid per say
Elton John recorded a cover of this song in 1974 and it was a huge hit the following year. A couple of weeks after recording his version, he had John Lennon join him on stage at Madison Square Garden, where they performed this song together (in addition to "I Saw Her Standing There" and "Whatever Gets You Through The Night").
Elton had a bet with Lennon that if Lennon's single "Whatever Gets You Through The Night" reached #1 on the charts, then he would have to join Elton on stage and perform live. Lennon agreed to the bet, never imagining the song would actually reach #1, which it did!
That performance took place exactly 50 years ago tomorrow, and was the last time Lennon ever performed live.
I believe Lennon performed live once more after that at a concert in honour of Lew Grade. To be present at that MSG concert must have been something else. Elton John still talks about it today regarding the reception that Lennon received.
And Elton was quoted as saying, “it was the biggest ovation I ever heard ever on stage when John walked on at Madison Square Garden to join me.”
"Lucy" is like a sung children`s tale - playful and mysterious - thank you for your analysis
It's difficult for me not to start crying listening to this song. John's voice is so present in this, and he has the perfect voice for this sort of magical/fantastical type of music. He was taken from us too early.
It's also cool that the intro line would work really well as the opening melody for a fugue. Maybe that is why it sounds like it's meant for a harpsichord, or an organ, or the mellotron sound that they have. I can picture Bach layering things over the top of that line and having fun with it.
And it's a beautiful bit of fantastic story telling.
The line i believe is played on a Lowrey organ.
I listened to this song hundreds of times over the years and never realized how simple the melody is.
"Newspaper taxis appear on the shore, waiting to take you away". This was written at a time when John was living at his estate outside of London with his young family. Paul, still a bachelor, lived in London as a man about town. The "family man" aspect of his everyday life left John marooned from the goings-on in "Swinging London", and he turned to one thing that he had throughout his life - reading. The daily newspaper delivered to his doorstep was the vehicle to take himself out of his suburban world which is obliquely referenced in "Good Morning Good Morning". Note that all of John's songs on Sgt Pepper have to do with something John reads or reacts to - his son's drawing, a circus poster, a cereal advertisement and, finally, a newspaper; "I read the news today, oh boy". John used the confines of the recording studio to express the confines of his contemporaneous existence - and delivered some of his greatest art in the process.
merci pour le commentaire.
Interesting points, however, the line "Newspaper taxis appear on the shore, waiting to take you away" was contributed by Paul.
@@Bassman2353 good insights.
It's true that John attributed the line to Paul, though I've never found a confirmation of that from Paul. As we know from his commentary on "I Am the Walrus", John was increasingly annoyed with people attempting to analyze his lyrics, so it might be that John had enough awareness of his confessional material that he wished to put the interviewer off the track. Regardless, Paul visited John's estate regularly and observed John's current situation; it is certainly possible that he contributed the line as a sympathetic observation of his friend's current lifestyle. If so, just another example of what made them one of the greatest songwriting teams in history.
@@Bassman2353 Yes, "newspaper taxis" could have been prompted by Paul reflecting John's news fixation at that time, maybe just because there was a newspaper lying there, or by something else. But Paul did confirm John's claim that it was his (Paul's) image. George Martin quotes him in Summer Of Love: "I suggested 'cellophane flowers' - cellophane having been a favourite word of mine since childhood - and then shortly after that I came up with 'newspaper taxis' . John liked them both." And in Anthology Paul remembered the writing session as "swapping psychedelic suggestions as we went. I remember coming up with 'cellophane flowers' and 'newspaper taxis.'"
The rich sound played on an organ to sound like a harpsichord …this and the dreamy lyrics and the ethereal vocals and on and on…ALL this: the Beatles were Artists more than anything else. They were artists driven to create art.
Thank you Amy for reacting to this, and thank you Jules and Lucy for inspiring such a song!
❤ Brilliant song, so vivid 👍😃 Well said 👌😊👏👏👏👏
The musical quality of the words ... I love this remark 😍
That was again a wonderful reaction ❤👍😃 I enjoyed it so much and can't wait for next Wednesday 🤞😊
Thank you for re-uploading so we can catch the misssing audio!
Thanks for the re-upload. Very nice analysis and reaction. I've lived with this song for most of my life -- it's one of my earliest childhood musical memories -- so it's great getting a fresh take, especially an educated one.
John Lennon wrote this song. He has a lot of songs with static melody but shifting harmony. Briliant.
This. The interplay between the keyboard line (which is like a harmony) and the vocals (the static melody) is simply brilliant. Brings tears to my eyes.
Love your enthusiasm and glad that you are enjoying your journey.
I've heard it a lot of times and it is really cool.
I love when Paul comes in...
That was great. I have a whole new appreciation for this song.
Once again, I’m feeling like I’m getting instruction on how to listen to music and it’s enhancing my experience. I’ve listened to this countless times as other songs and I’m beginning to see the process of how to write music which I’ve been attempting for years. I think I have some great melodies, but they lack expression. Thanks for the music lesson. this gives me something to work on. Thanks for the inspiration.
Also what's crazy about this is it's about 3.5 years from. Please please me. That's the part that disturbs me the most.
My Favorite Group and My Favorite Channel Peace
It is a truth universally acknowledged , that a person in possessoin of a good pair of ears , must be in want of this song.
Nice!
Nice riff on Jane Austen: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."
A series of visions set to the three notes of "Three Blind Mice."
If there is ever going to be a ViginRocks Greatest hits compilation I hope this video is in it. This is a fine example of all the things you do so well and here its all very well done. The best! Thanks Virgin Rock
I just subbed. Tis a pleasure to enjoy your reaction video. And its because you are so intelligent. Its refreshing to "meet" you...discover some one like you! Imagine that. On Thanksgiving.
The descending nature of the intro has always intrigued me. In the Sixties the term 'going down the rabbit hole' was sometimes used to describe taking LSD and I assume it refers to Alice following the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole into Wonderland where very strange things happen. The intro to Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds has a very childlike quality and it also has a slow descending feel. I've often wondered whether this was a conscious representation of 'going down the rabbit hole' at the start of the song thus explaining all the strange experiences that followed.
Could have been more or less conscious, but the musical device certainly does the job.
Rubber Soul and Revolver are my two favourite Beatles albums, but Sgt Pepper’s is just iconic
Yes. SGT PEPPERS is too important to have fretting about Good or Bad.
She is SUCH a lovely woman!
Ya fixed the muted segment, & I wound up listening to the whole vid again, Amy! So interesting to see a classical musician find such joy in my fav ever "pop" band. Thanx
Tamboura is definitely a drone instrument. Traditionally the resonating chamber is a large ground-modern tamboura have a smaller resonator. It is notable for having a string that slides under each string that is placed exactly where it will make the string buzz, to give the strings a longer sustain.
A composer I was thinking of when you were searching for a neoclassical "minimalist" composer was Satie ( I like him, no evidence the Beatles specifically were influenced). As to classical influences we do know of, Paul and John were interested in classical music and there is a video of Paul in 1968 talking about Shoenberg. I understand that he also was interested in Stockhausen and so was John. There is a story that Paul's girlfriend Jane Asher got him interested in Vivaldi. I do think that Paul and John (and George) were pretty eclectic in their musical tastes running from Motown, early rock, folk, jazz classical and later Indian music (esp. George). So, it is not too far off the mark to think that they were channeling some artist at any given time in one of their songs.
Paul has also talked about Bach and others. The Beatles were magical and Paul was the energizer bunny of the group. Ringo said that if not for Paul they would probably only have done 3 histloo,
@@briandonovan1584 thanks. I wish I could locate more info on their classical music interests.
Don’t forget that these recording sessions started out with Strawberry Fields.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this song vey interesting; as I understand it the song is about the effects of taking LSD. Do you know of Kate Bush? she has composed many unconventional pop songs using her own unique vocal style. Among her best known songs are 'Wuthering Heights' about Emily Bronte's novel of the same name as well as 'Them Heavy People' which includes references to religion and philosophy and the desire to broaden one's knowledge of life which makes a change from the usual fare of songs about unrequited love. Of course, I look forward to whatever material you choose.
Great classic tune! John at his best! Check out "I Am the Walrus" too!
It's great to live vicariously through you as you listen to songs I have heard 1000s of times and still love.
😊
Thank you, Kevin, for supporting my journey!
@@VirginRock I just found your channel and I am really enjoying your analysis of music. It blows my mind that you are finding music other than the music you grew up with in this day and age of technology. I am envious. How lucky are you to listen to great music from a renaissance we won't see again in our lifetime. There is a whole world of absolute blissful music just waiting for you. I can tell you are enjoying it and as a lover of music, it makes me happy you're finding the same joy I get from it. If I may, as a lover of rock music I would love to see your reaction to a fitting rock song with classical structure. ELO 10538 Overture ✌😊
The intro always reminded me of some of the piano in Schubert's wintereisse
This is perfect Amy. I'm going to listen to Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds... full volume. You are awesome
Greetings from an old Beatlemaniac from the 60s. This was wonderful. Are you aware of and or heard/seen Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio? Non of The Beatles has ever been able to read or write music so when the city fathers asked if Paul wanted to contribute a little piece he teamed up with Carl Davis and wrote a whole Oratorio. It won many awards though Paul did not perform. It and the making of video have been here on YT. Paul did one other classical record that was equally acclaimed. He really is a musical genius. Carl wrote the sheet music in coordination with Paul and was the conductor. Really special stuff I think you would appreciate as much or more than I did. Keep it up. The Beatles and their solo work is truly and profoundly magical. Brian
Several other "classical" pieces, in fact: Standing Stone, Ecce Cor Meum, Ocean's Kingdom, Spiral, Tuesday, A Leaf... Lots to admire and enjoy in there.
I recall John or Paul saying "rocking horse people" referred to people always on the move but never going anywhere.
Legends
Especially John loved to play with words, and play with the public. So, its LSD, no doubt about that. Which made John wax childishly eloquent, so incredibly high.
The Beatles are an inexhaustible source of artistic genius. Nobody compares to them!
Another influence on this song was 'Alice in Wonderland', that type of child-like nonsense verse.
I prefer William Shatner's version.
Or in other words John uses a descending linear chord progression for the beginning of the song including the intro: A, A7/G, D/F#, Dm/F. He used it again for 'Dear Prudence'.
7:01That dissonant moment is basically an F major chord, but with its fifth missing, and the vocal line ("river", in the first verse) replacing the missing fifth with first a sharpened fifth (AKA minor sixth), followed by a flattened fifth (AKA tritone), turning the chord into first an augmented chord and then a flat 5 chord.
Ironcally I've heard 7 Seas by Queen several times in the past couple of days and have been doing a deep dive on the lyrics, so perfect timing.
Thanks for reposting Vlad. Unfortunately everyone who commented previously had their comments wiped out. Hopefully they notice and repost.
That should say it always has reminded me of a child's lullaby
Acid is wild, man.
You can google Julian Lennon's wax crayon or oil pastel drawing online, as well as photographs and biographical details of little Lucy McDonnell, his friend from pre-school. As many people have pointed out, it looks a little too advanced for a pre-school child, and the title was hand-written in neat childish handwriting, also unlikely for a three-year-old. But numerous people who have no reason to lie confirm that Julian did bring home a drawing he'd done of someone flying amongst the stars, which he showed his Dad, and that when John asked what it was he replied that 'It's Lucy in the sky with diamonds', immediately sparking John's imagination to write a song.
I did find one statement that may explain the anomalies. It claimed that Julian said the version you can see online (that's now owned by David Gilmore of Pink Floyd, and ended up being reproduced on one of Julian's own album covers as an adult) was actually a later version he drew since the original, simpler version seemed to have been lost.
Here's a link to some fascinating quotes from multiple witnesses (including Ringo, Pete Shotton, Cynthia, Paul, and George Martin) to the creation of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds, from Beatles Wiki:
www.beatleswiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Lucy_in_the_Sky_with_Diamonds
Naturally John's song was inspired in part by the perceptual experiences of LSD and marijuana. But there is also clear imagery from Lewis Carroll's 'Alice' duology, which John, like many of us us children of the mid 20th century, was immersed in as a child. Ideas include the newspaper taxis (from the newspaper man on the train) and the boat on the river (from the shopkeeper from whom Alice tried to buy an egg, but who turned into a sheep and ended up in a boat on a river with Alice) and the general dreamlike quality of the whole thing. John also told Spike Milligan that he got the 'plasticine porters with looking glass ties' from the Goon's radio show that he loved, that referred to plasticine ties; the looking glass was from the second Alice book. John was always adamant he never intended to drop a 'clue' to the 'hidden meaning' of the song in the initials 'LSD', but Paul admitted it was all obviously very much acid-inspired. Truly creative people get their inspiration from everything they hear, see and feel. Only conspiracy theorists who are usually habitual circular thinkers believe everything that's slightly mysterious must have a specific, possibly darker, secret meaning.
George Martin recalls it was Paul who worked out that opening organ line, on a Lowry organ, by playing lots and lots of arpeggios until that magical line appeared. The rest of the instrumentals for the song were hammered out by all four Beatles with George Martin in support. A witness was told by Martin that after four hours of concentrated work it was still sounding terrible, and he thought it might never come to anything but by 2.00am it was beginning to take on its final, magical form.
It'll take you an hour to cover 'Day in a life'.
And a very well spent hour it will be.
"Looking glass ties" also connects the lyric to Lewis Carroll.
Hi Amy, take a listen to Pauls baseline through- out the song, its very melodic, amost plays a seperate melody on its own, !
You can't always reminding me of a children's lullaby
"Who would thinķ of that ?!" ( off: " John Lennon!") Haha! Nice.
Shout out to author of extraordinary imagination: Lewis Carroll! Certainly one of the writers who had a great influence on John Lennon and quite possibly even this song. Go ask Alice...
Brilliant reference
You're right. It's no secret. Both Lennon abnd McCartney have independently said it had nothing to do with drugs (they didn't even notice the LSD coincidence until others started mentioning it) and *everything* to do with Carrol and Alice.
I think it's worth mentiong that although this was John's inspiration it was developed jointly by John and Paul, although the extent of Paul's actual contribution is not really known with certainty.
Paul says is that it was John's inspiration from Julian's painting, that John already had the idea, and the title, and some musical shape for it, in particular some "very John" lyrics that set an Alice-In-Wonderland vibe, and that they finished it off together based on John's idea.
According to John, talking to Hit Parader in 1972, Paul "helped with the last verse", but this isn't quite coherent because the one line he specifically credited to Paul is not in the last verse, but in the second.
It's quite well known that when Jan Wenner for Rolling Stone asked John about his new journalistic writing ethos in 1970 and teased "So, no more newspaper taxis, then?" John replied, dismissively, well that was Paul's line anyway. So we know he contributed to the lyric. Consistently, Paul recalls the writing session as "swapping psychedelic suggestions as we went. I remember coming up with 'cellophane flowers' and 'newspaper taxis.'" (Anthology) Note, too, that the Abbey Road tapes show Paul coaching John how to sing the line 'cellophane flowers of yellow and green,' John saying 'Ok' and doing it as suggested.
If Paul had any input to the verse or chorus melodies is not really known, but he did work out the underpinning Lowrey organ figure which George Martin very specifically and in detail credited to Paul - "a marvellous piece of composition, crucial to the staying power of the song" (Summer Of Love).
I'd be wary of what George Martin said. He was at times very biased towards Paul. He also totally contradicts himself in 'Summer Of Love'. Re Lucy he writes John had the introduction written before he got to the studio and then he came up with the line "picture yourself in a boat on a river". Yet when recounting what Paul had told him it's "We then went up to the music room at the top of the house and he (John) played me (Paul) the idea he had for it beginning with 'Picture yourself...' Elsewhere he points out the intro played by Paul are simply arpeggios (notes separated) of John's chords and that it evolved rather than being composed. So George M is a bit all over the place like a Shostakovich symphony.
The only definitive credit John gave was that Paul contributed the "newspaper taxis" line. Paul has never claimed to have written any of the music for 'Lucy In The Sky'.
John in Playboy said, "Paul suddenly called me to go into the studio, said it was time to write some songs. On Pepper under the pressure of ten days I managed to come up with 'Lucy In The Sky' and 'Day In The Life'.
Paul has included Lucy in a list of John songs he never performs live.
@@gettinhungrig8806 Yes, it can be confusing. But it's somewhat clear to me that when GM says "John already had the intro" he is referring to the falling chord sequence, not to the melody (persisting as countermelody though the verse), which, as you point out, he then goes on to describe separately as having "evolved" from these chords in the studio. He says McCartney found that melody, but he doesn't disparage that process as "simply arpeggios of John's chords" as you put it; rather, he says "Paul improvised in his favourite arpeggio style until the magic phrase arrived", describing that as "a marvellous piece of composition . . . crucial to the staying power of the song." Of course GM could be misremembering all this but i don't see evidence for that here.
It's true that John said in 1980 "On Pepper under the pressure of ten days I managed to come up with 'Lucy In The Sky' and 'Day In The Life'" but that doesn't mean Lucy and A Day In The Life were John's completely, whatever he may have wanted to believe in 1980. Re the latter he had previously had this to say:
"A Day in the Life - that was something. I dug it. It was a good piece of work between Paul and me. Paul and I were definitely working together... we were doing it in his room with the piano. He said 'Should we do this?' 'Yeah, let's do that.' I had the "I read the news today" bit, and it turned Paul on, because now and then we really turn each other on with a bit of song, and he just said "yeah" - bang bang, like that. It just sort of happened beautifully... He had that beautiful little lick in the song 'I'd love to turn you on' floating around in his head, he couldn't use it for anything, so he stuck it on, and instead of going on and developing that lick into the middle eight which we would normally do we got into 'How about putting [in] a whole different song', which he already had... which is a precursor to Abbey Road style later on"
I think it's an acid song. I would be disappointed if it wasn't. It makes the imagined psychdelic drug experience so vivid.
It is.
@@noelstafford7266 But according to both composers... it isn't.
@@strathman7501 lol, and you believe them? Just listen to it. If you can't hear it, then I assume you've never tried psychedelics.
Ooooo, I'm gonna learn something here.
I always thought "newspaper taxies" was a visual of the advertising posters and placards all over the cabs. From dull, flat, black taxies, now we have newsprint taxies, full of ads and fonts and even pictures and logos.
are we ever getting the rest of The Wall? It's been like 5 months.
I have always wondered why the high harmony comes on on the third line of the first chorus and then on the first of the second chorus then on the second line of the third chorus... curious... Beatles....
18:00 in early run-throughs of this song the melody did not swing; McCartney suggested the lilt.
Elton John did a cover of this song, worth a listen.
You showed me things that I had never noticed, thank you
The Beatles are fabulous of course, but I'm very surprised Amy had reacted only 1 time to *The Who* so far and already more than two years ago! 😳
Prokofiev? Kabalevsky? George Martin cited Beethoven - for the opening figure, anyway: “Beethoven wouldn’t have minded one of those..” - when reviewing the track in 1992 for a documentary titled The Making Of Sgt Pepper (about 20 minutes in).
He did say that, and regarded it as the lynchpin of the whole song, contributed and played by Paul as a matter iof fact.
for about 25 years they did interviews where they said it had nothing to do with drugs. then Paul (and i think John in a different interview around the same time) said, of course it was about drugs but we couldn't say so
The picture actually exists and has been reproduced in publications.
John Lennon was writing like that _AS A KID_ -- BEFORE drugs. See his books _In His Own Write_ (1964) and _A Spaniard in the Works_ (1965). That stuff was written years before.
Perhaps we should go back and look at what impact the drug caffeine had on their songwriting. And then nicotine. And then alcohol.
That’s more like it. Good catch on the error.
Does that opening remind you of Satie, by any chance?
Think everyone should try acid at least just once in their life just for the mind -blowing experience. 'Across the Universe' sort of related to this.
It just occurred to me that the melody in the opening is similar to Frère Jacques.
I can understand someone automatically thinking the lyric is drug related but remember Lennon also wrote songs like "I Am the Walrus, "Come Together," "I'm So Tired," et al, with some very colorful, abstract, psychedelic, nonsensical lines it. Just one of his many writing styles.
John had no hesitation about admitting if a song was about drugs. He freely claimed that She Said, She Said came from a moment when He and Peter Fonda were tripping and Fonda kept saying, "I know what it's like to be dead." If Lucy was about LSD, he wouldn't have hesitated to say so.
यो मामेवमसम्मूढो जानाति पुरुषोत्तमम् ।
स सर्वविद्भजति मां सर्वभावेन भारत ॥ १९ ॥
yo mām evam asammūḍho
jānāti puruṣottamam
sa sarva-vid bhajati māṁ
sarva-bhāvena bhārata
Whoever knows Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, without doubting, is the knower of everything. He therefore engages himself in full devotional service to Me, O son of Bharata.
Bhagavad Gita 15.19 ( by Lord Krishna )
David Gilmore of Pink Floyd has the actual drawing at his home.
It’s a little bit of both for sure .
What does LSD do to a composer's or a performer's mind during the trip? How does that affect the product?
It was about drugs using "Alice in Wonderland" for inspiration (a book full of drug use) but "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" wasn't an acronym for LSD.
Was originally titled LACIE in the Sky With Diamonds. (Anagram of Alice)
who is the classical composer I can't find? kopalefsky? something like that? help, I want to find this.
Dimitry Kabalevsky
I've always liked the YELLOW SUBMARINE video.
John Lennon's middle name would have been "Dissonance" if it wasn't "Winston".
I met a girl with kaledoscope eyes once. Her eyes had so many colours. like a they had been marbled in multiple colours. She was trying to sell me a banking product. I have no idea what it was I was too busy staring into her eyes like a lovesick puppy.
Wait til you get to Abbey Road
Would love to see your review and opinions on Jethro Tull's Thick as a Brick
The live version would take days to review, great music.
Timothy Leary made of himself an acid casualty.
I always liked Elton's and John's version of this song better for some reason.
It is about tea. Bob Dylan introduced them to tea in the crazy days of psychdelia in San Francisco
It's not often that covers can measure up to the original. But Elton John's take on this song from 1974 (?) is a much better version imho.
The intro is like a Madrigal
I think you would enjoy listening to Aphrodite's Child's song 'Rain and Tears', it was a major hit in Europe in the 60's, and is heavily influenced by baroque music (Pachelbel specifically).
I'm not going to rewrite everything, because I have already repeatedly suggested the Elton John version with facts.
I'll just request again from the deleted video to listen to the 7 minute version "Blue Monday" by New Order.
And since I'm on an 80s music roll I'll also toss out:
- "Poison Arrow" and "The Look Of Love" by ABC
- "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" and "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League
- "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners
satie
2:55 ish. Don’t knock it till you try it. You are intelligent enough to profit cognitively from tripping. ✌🏼
You look my age, what rock were you under? We are second or third generations from these songs. Crazy to think anyone who is a trained musician never heard Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds is absurd. I am a nobody and have enjoyed this song for decades. Well welcome to the world of great transitionary rock. Hey I have enjoyed your breakdowns but don’t like the “never heard” angle. Even if you did hear LSD, I would have listened to your breakdown. Love you but don’t want to be lied to.
I get the feeling Amy probably grew up with a conservative/religious background and might not have been exposed to any rock music, while also focusing in her adult life on classical music. It’s not far fetched to believe
I believe I read somewhere that Amy was brought up in an Amish household, so that would explain it.
@@garyleelarson It is not within the bounds of reality that someone brought up in a closed community with no access to TV or radio would not hear 1960’s Pop/Rock music including The Fab 4.
@@jsw0278 fair but just saying.
@@strathman7501 fair but just saying.
Is this fake?
Wow. Fantastic channel.
Watching you listen to these classics and analyze the music, has made me see these in an entirely new light.
Thank you.
Prokofiev, Rachmaninov....... or Sangah Noona
ua-cam.com/video/8YMzgDHqBM0/v-deo.html