John Lennon on 'Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds' and LSD | The Dick Cavett Show

well we don't have much time left if anyone does anyone have any idea how much time we do have let me confirm quickly a couple rumors with you yes one of them has it ever been settled whether Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was a code for anything it never was and nobody believes me I even saw some famous star introducing I've forgotten who it was introducing a Lennon McCartney show and it was Mel Torme saying about how lucy in the sky with Donna's about LSD this is the truth my son came home with a drawing and set and showed me this strange-looking Woman flying around I said what is it he said it's Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds I thought that's beautiful I immediately wrote a song about it a song had gone out the whole album been published and somebody noticed that that the letters spelled out LSD and I had no idea about it and of course after that I was checking all the songs to see what the the letters spelled out they didn't spell out anything none of the others and it wasn't about that at all you know they could do that way Eleanor Rigby nobody believed the horse in a song I wrote called mr. kite the lyrics which I got most of it off was an old poster for an old-fashioned circus you know from the eighteen hundreds and it was all about Pablo Frankie's fair and the horse was there and they said Henry the horse was horse which I didn't know anything about them you know and happiness is a warm gun was another one they said which was banned on the radio they said it was about shooting up drugs and it was the there was the front of a gun magazine which said happiness is a warm gun you know they're advertising guns I thought it was so crazy but I made a song out of it you ever think of anything I don't know if you knew Janis Joplin well or Jimmy she sent me a birthday tape on my birthday last birthday he'll cast all different people to make a tape for me and she was one of them and we got it after she died he arrived in the post think that she was singing happy birthday to me in the studio what do you think could be done about drug overdosing in or out of the profession I think the basic thing nobody asked is why do people take drugs of any sort from alcohol tax Pro's to hard drugs and that question has to be resolved first before you think well what can we do for the poor drug addict why do we and you and anybody have to have these accessories to normal living to live that means there's something wrong with society that's making us so pressurized that we cannot live it without guarding ourselves against it so it's that basic the problem I think if people are allowed to be a bit more free and express themselves they wouldn't have to inhibit themselves by taking drugs to not be hurt people take drugs and drink so they don't feel what's going on around them everybody is that gold you know that way you know it would be a utopia people's freedom they think freedom all they'll be excesses of course there would be access to an extent and then it would settle down is the way that the porno films don't pull so many people in now so what it'll it'll level out and all forms of freedom will be the same as that if people allowed to be completely free it would let it will level out and people would be less inhibited not be frightened of each other and wouldn't have to take drugs to prevent being hurt by each other [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: The Dick Cavett Show

Views: 738,699

Keywords: 1960's, 1970's, 1980's, 1990's, United States, USA, 21st September 1971, lsd, lucy in the sky with diamonds, john lennon interview, the dick cavett show, dick cavett, john, lennon, john lennon and yoko ono, yoko ono interview, happiness is a warm gun, janis joplin, jimi hendrix, janis joplin death, drugs, drug overdose, john lennon dick cavett, yoko ono dick cavett, jimi hendrix death

Id: umF60jXiYBI

Length: 3min 21sec (201 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 05 2018