Psychedelic Drug References in “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” In the song “Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds” by The Beatles, there are several references to hallucinogenic drugs such as LSD. There are multiple references to the colors and shapes often seen when one takes LSD, as shown in the line, “a girl with kaleidoscope eyes” and “cellophane flowers of yellow and green”. As well as the whimsical hallucinations seen on a trip when taking hallucinogenic substances as in “where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies”. The song also refers to the high feeling when taking psychedelic drugs as shown in, “climb in the back with your head in the clouds”. There are also references to when a psychedelic trip ends, “look for the girl with the sun
LSD has many effects on the body moreover the mind for example “An hour later Stanley thought he had gone insane. His head was filled with terrifying visions and his body seemed to tumble through time and space. Then his mind snapped and sent him into a frenzy of rage. According to Linda Hunt, "They told me the next day that I broke down the door and ran down the hall screaming," Stanley
She died in October 18, 1893, in Dorchester which is part of Boston. Lucy Stone had dedicated her life to trying to improve the rights for American Women. She had supported the Women’s National Loyal League, this association also were founded by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony. These ladies were also fighting with her and for the same things. Lucy was actually one of the most important ones just because she has broken new borders. Her occupation was a Women’s Rights, Activist and Journalist. She had her very first lecture on women’s rights movement. Then the following year she lectured at Anti- slavery societies every once in awhile. She had great eloquence and she was known for being able to engage even the most unruly and antagonistic audience. Which would because of the time and the causes she supported. In 1870 she founded the “Woman’s Journal”. Because of this for nearly 50 years the
It was argued that the song ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds ', was code for the hippy drug LSD. Though the band claimed it was based on a painting that Lennon 's son Julian had drawn. The fact that the group had admitted they 'd done the drug previously didn 't help their case, but they
"The zeitgeist of the time was the final collapse of a certain kind of thinking. The seeds were sown for feminism, for the whole notion of cyberspace, ecology, and the whole philosophy of Gaia." Suzy Hopkins, formerly Suzy Creamcheese, a dancer and inspirational figure on the underground scene in Los Angeles and London, remembers the visceral way psychedelic culture affected the senses. "There's a difference between a drug and a psychedelic. Drugs make you drugged and psychedelics enhance your ability to see the truth or reality," she says. For her, LSD and music created a kind of alchemy. "When I start to dance, at a certain point, the dance takes over and the music is dancing me. Dancing is this electric enhancement of your spine by sound." Many psychedelic bands explored this sense of abandonment in their music, moving away from standard rock rhythms and instrumentation. The Grateful Dead of San Francisco, for instance, created an improvisatory mix of country rock, blues, and acid R&B on albums like The Grateful Dead (1967) and Anthem of the Sun (1968), while another 'Frisco band, Jefferson Airplane (fronted by the striking vocalist Grace Slick), sang of the childlike hallucinatory delights of an acid trip in the 1967 Top Ten hit "White Rabbit." In Los Angeles the multiracial band Love played whimsical,
The goal of LSD, along with other psychedelic drugs, was to open the mind and “find a new light to look upon things” (Bacig). Many artists took this approach to their music and would drop acid before composing music. This gave the music of this era a distinct sound and without LSD, the world would not have psychedelic rock. During this time, many artists referenced LSD in their songs because of the profound effect it had on them. In order to produce the psychedelic feel, the artists would write “esoteric lyrics, often describing dreams, visions, or hallucinations” as well as use other techniques such as distorting and delaying the sound, and playing sections of the song backwards. Another important part of psychedelic rock is the influence of Indian music. Bands such as The Beatles popularized this technique of using ”exotic instruments like the sitar, the tambura, and the tabla” in their music (Psychedelic Rock).
Merry Pranksters were famous for using LSD and they used higher doses of LSD because they felt that they were in touch with the nature spiritually and it also gave them sensations that they never felt before. In reality, LSD is a
The tone of this song expresses an attitude of not caring what life presents to the artist, he'll be fine. He describes a virtual experience making life about getting intoxicated or high, and glamorizes the effects these substances have. The lyrics insist that these substances are necessary for this pursuit of happiness Kid Cudi is on. When someone is under the influence typically they feel at ease and this song is supposed to replicate that feeling.
During this period, mind-altering drugs were entering public awareness. LSD and magic mushrooms were used and their effects compounded with the mix of alcohol and marijuana lead musicians to have out of body experiences, the music that was made in this world of hallucinogenic drugs, came to be known as psychedelic rock. The two hits “White Rabbit” and “Somebody to Love” defined the hippie culture of San Francisco.
Drugs played a role in the recording of Sgt. Pepper's. The group was notoriously known to experiment with the drugs LSD and Marijuana. The entire album has debatable drug references, but the one thing that can not be argued is that the entire group was high on these drugs throughout the recording process. The record has many sounds that will be used later in the psychedelic
Psychedelics, and drugs in general became such an important part of life during the 60’s that it’s influence was inescapable. Nowhere can this fact be seen more clearly than in the music of the time. The most obvious influence drugs had on music can bee seen in the lyrics. Drug references abound, be it Jimi Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” of marijuana smoke, or the Beatles’ “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds”, obviously referring to LSD. Even the names of the bands were drug inspired, as Garofalo points out in reference to the Doors: “The group took it’s name from Aldous Huxley’s The Doors of Perception, a book about the liberating aspects of drug use.” Even the music itself was influenced by drugs. Take for example much of the music by the Doors. Their song “the End” is a psychedelic journey in to the world of LSD. The slow beat and “trippy” music in the song was probably created with the use of drugs and hence is better appreciated when heard while on drugs. This is also true of the music of the Grateful Dead, although this can be much more clearly seen in their live performances as opposed to their studio work. Much of their music is geared specifically toward those in the audience who are on drugs. Hearing one of their 30 minute jams is a much different experience on drugs, and that is the experience that they intended the audience to have. While drugs were very much connected to the music of the sixties,
Beatles tried to break away from the traditional aesthetics of rock music in the psychedelic period. They experimented with surrealistic lyrics and mixture of different genres of music. “Penny Lane” was released in double A-side single along with “Strawberry Field Forever”, which sang about John’s childhood memories. Similarly, “Penny Lane” sings about Paul’s memories surrounding the actual place in Liverpool, but in fact unrealistically. The line “beneath the suburban sky” seems to imply a sunny summer day, but followed by “the fireman rushes in from the pouring rain” implying rain and “selling poppies from a tray” implying winter.
Drugs affect people's mood but the overall effect to the body is horendous. Drugs damage organs in the body and can causes people to slowly die. Vincent Van Gogh used colors to literally make him feel a certain way, similarly to how the artist Halsey uses colors metaphorically in her song “Colors”. Halsey sings with the style of
After examining the whole song, one can guess that the song makes the claim that marijuana is a drug that allows easy passage to worse drugs. According to “a 1969 Gallup poll, only 4% of American adults said they had tried marijuana. Thirty-four percent said they didn't know the effects of marijuana, but 43% thought it was used by many or some high school kids” (Robison); therefore, many individuals might not understand that marijuana, as many claim today, leads to usage of more harmful substances. The speaker then sees a shimmering light as if he is about to die which signifies the death of an old life and the birth of a new one. The temptation of drugs becomes too strong, so the speaker has to stop at the Hotel California. The mission bell that sounds contrasts so with the topic of this song that the bell must symbolize the perversion of life by the drug-use in California and elsewhere. “This could be Heaven or this could be Hell,” furthers the idea of the death of an old life. Here, the speaker does not really know whether or not his or her new life is going to be enjoyable in the end. As it turns out, the speaker's new life is hell. Then she lights up a candle, or perhaps a joint since the place most likely has electricity in the seventies, and shows the speaker the way. Perhaps the woman is a drug-dealer or a prostitute; ether one could lead a person to a lifestyle full of drugs and alcohol.
In an interview hosted by CNN, author Ken Johnson stated: “I think any work of art encourages you to imagine your way into a state of consciousness that may not be your normal state, so you kind of suspend disbelief and allow yourself to be imaginatively seduced into a different way of relating to the world so that you study things more carefully, you think about how things are affecting you.” Johnson also stated, “but they start thinking about how our perceptions work and how interesting it is the way we think about the world, so we think about our thinking.” This proves that in the 60’s many people discovered that drugs, such as LSD, were a way to see the deeper meaning behind things because it rearranged the whole way your brain may have thought. Another reason that psychedelic art was so popular in the 60’s was because all of the art pieces, more specifically rock concert posters, they “tried to visually express the feeling of tripping out.” (visualartsdepartment.wordpress.com) An article on arthistory.net titled “Psychedelic Art,” says that many of these art pieces were also popular because of their “visually captivating styles.” Obviously, many people enjoyed these feelings because they could avoid mainstream thinking without having to actually use said drugs. The 60’s were a period of experimenting, not only with art, but with things like fashion to music