Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles

The song that I chose to analyze is one made by The Beatles - Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. This song was made while psychedelic drugs such as LSD and acid were becoming very popular. If you notice the title of the song spells out LSD. This has made the title of a very controversial topic. The Beatles deny that there is no connection between LSD and the title. They claim that the song was named after a painting that one of their sons drew at school, and coincidentally enough he named it Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. The song is part of their album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band which was released in 1967. It was never denied that the song was made under the influence of acid however, it was explained that song’s title was a mere coincidence.  The video made for this song has a very psychedelic feeling to it. The first verse in itself has brings about images that would only make sense if you are having an acid trip. The line “A girl with a kaleidoscope eyes” in my opinion is talking about seeing things while on a high. Watching the video without being the under the influence of any sort of alcohol or drug is trippy enough, I can not begin to imagine how it looks while under the influence. The song goes into detail about a high feels. The verse “ climb in the back with your head in the clouds and you’re gone. Lucy in the sky with Diamonds…” It goes back to telling the listeners that a high will take you into the clouds and everything will mesmerize  just like diamonds do. The song provides the listener with vivid words that entice you into producing vivid imagery in your mind. The high pitched nature of the song is another thing that draws the attention of the audience. It has a catchy tune and the chorus is so easy to remember that you sing it without noticing. The song is clearly about being under the influence of acid, and I too believe that it was not a coincidence that the title spells out LSD.

Link to Song:
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles

Lyrics:

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she's gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds, ah

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high

Newspaper taxies appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you're gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds, ah

Picture yourself in a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds, ah

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds, ah

Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds

Iconic Images

The field of Medical Anthropology studies how culture affects the practice of medicine and also how medicine affects the practice of culture. In developing countries such as Guatemala symptoms for simple conditions such as stress, the flu or depression are seen as a curse. Guatemala is a country very true to its roots and beliefs of the super natural. They believe that the envy of others is strong enough to cause a curse to come upon a country. When a family member gets sick the people of Guatemala run to the local medicine man, church and practice their spiritual beliefs more than ever. The picture above is the best example of how Guatemalans think. This picture was taken from an I-phone and the most ironic part about it, is that is the center piece if a traumatologist’s desk. Not many people run to a clinic in Guatemala when they become ill and if they do the doctor does take into account their patients’ religion. Many time the doctor will prescribe home remedies because prescribed medicine can cost up to a whole month’s rent. Doctors themselves turn to religious and cultural practices when it comes to medicine. This picture shows me that religion and culture plays part in every aspect in the lives of the people living in  a “developing” country. The second picture is the picture of a Doctor in the United States prescribing medicine. The United States is a country of many diverse cultural and religious practices and beliefs. However, most of those practices and beliefs are only exercised on the days that one has a holiday to celebrate, church to attend to and or when one uses “religious purposes” to get out of an exam. We live in a modernized country where a small pill can take care of a fever, body ache and put you to sleep all at the same time. We forget to turn to our religious and cultural practices for strength to get through an illnesses. When one feels stressed, depressed or sick a doctor is immediately sought in hopes of being offered of a quick fix. This makes us a society dependent on prescribed drugs. Many times if a one type of medicine is not offered to us we are given an alternative. Although these medicines do help us fight off sicknesses how far do they drive us from our ancestors’ old cultural practices? How big is the separation between culture and medicine in the United States compared to a “developing” country. This is the gap that the study of Medical Anthropology studies and tries to understand.

Representing Others

    In Sontag’s book a quote that stuck to me the most is found in page sixty three, it states “ The camera brings the viewer close, too close; supplemented by a magnifying glass- for this is a double-lens story” This brought me back to the movie that was watched in class. In the movie we were able to view the war from a Japanese perspective. We were able to view Americans how they viewed Americans, we were able to feel what they felt, and sometimes it seemed as if we were in their shoes because of the images we saw. The film served as a reminder that there are always two sides two a story. In war movies and war pictures usually only one side is depicted. In Sontag’s book it is stated that “With subjects closer to home, the photographer is expected to be more discreet” For example an American photographer is going to publish pictures that will depict Americans as the heroes and the others as the villains. It is rare to find a picture or film that taken in the perspective of the other. No one wants to see the villain hidden within the hero. It makes you wonder how supporters of this current war in present time would feel to view  a movie in the perspective of Iraqis. Would America’s “heroic acts” then be seen as an act of terror?  Like the American soldiers that shot the Japanese soldiers because they didn’t feel like watching them. Would Americans then be classified as the enemy? As uncomfortable as it may be, when an image can put you in the shoes of the other it is then that we can cherish the value of the camera. Throughout history there have been many war images that have been seen as indecent because they have shown the other side. However, the camera was made to capture both sides at every angle.