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Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds - The Beatles (1 Viewer)

CVHS08.KLE

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Oct 28, 2007
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2008
Zzz im doin the song too.. did this first time round.. so bare with me if u dnt get it LOL :p
  • - the use of second person - "yourself" involves the audience into the song thus allowing them to become part of the imaginative journey - with this being said, it also allows the composer to use an imperative tone - "picture yourself". it reinfoces the fact that ij can be fascilitated by external factors.. as composers of text try to do.. Also the selection of word "picture" can be said to be a synonym for imagine, thus implying an imaginative journey as the composer tells u to "imagine" > duh! LOL. again it suggests taht imaginative journeys can helped be shaped by others or with the help of external factors..
  • The description "tangerine trees and marmalade skies" - uses alliteration thus allowing the description to stand out and create imagery.. with the description in mind, this song takes us on and imaginative journey of our own creation through creating our own imagery - it can be of our own creation and does not have to be tangible in reality.. it does have to actually exist.. we can say that imagination is limitless (if dats a word) LOL
and whateva else has already been mentioned.. LOL hope it helpd sumhow..
goodluck
 

cazgirl123

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Nov 14, 2007
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Batemans Bay
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Hi everyone! This is my first post on this site so I hope it proves helpful. I just finished this scaffold on Lucy. I haven't submitted it for feedback yet so I'm not sure if it's any good, but I kinda had fun doing it, I found this text interesting to study. I've listened to the song so many times but never really looked at it in kind of analytical way before. Anyway here it is!

Related Text Overview: Song Lyric
Title of Song
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Songwriter
Lennon/McCartney

Date published and Album name
1967
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Brief Overview: what is the composer’s purpose? How does the lyric link to the concept of journeys?
The lyrics of the song follow the kind of journey that one embarks on upon the consumption of the hallucinogenic drug LSD which projects the wildest of imaginings. At least, that is the most popular interpretation of the song. The title is even said to be a reference to the drug, with the first letters of the main three words spelling LSD (Lucy Sky Diamonds). Another interpretation, the explanation provided by author/composer John Lennon, states that the song lyrics are based on a drawing created by Lennon’s son Julian of a school friend named Lucy. From this it can be deducted that the song is a representation of the kind of journey that a child’s imagination might conjure.
The journey begins “in a boat on a river” then moves “to a bridge by a fountain” after which “newspaper taxis…take you away”. The journey ends “on a train in a station”, however, if the subject is on a train, a mode of travel and transportation, then it is suggested that the journey has only really just begun, or perhaps that it never ends.
Who would the audience for the song lyric be and why?
General public (America, UK)
Does the lyric explore a physical, inner or imagined journey or a combination of these? Explain briefly – two or three sentences.
The lyrics explore an imagined journey, whether interpreted as one created by an imagination heightened by hallucinogenic drugs or the boundless imagination of a small child. The two types of imagination, indeed, would be quite similar – both devoid of any elements of realism or rationality, with different kinds of logic, as well as both viewing the world as new and different.
The very first words of the song heard are, “picture yourself”, establishing immediately that the following scenario is to be imaginary, as the words ‘picture’ and ‘imagine’ are in this case interchangeable.
What contexts does the song lyric engage with; provide a brief explanation of each that is relevant (at least three from social, cultural political, historical, religious, gender or intellectual).
The song was composed in 1967 and thus engages with the cultural and social contexts of the 1960’s.
The drug scene reached a high point during the 1960’s – as sexual liberation and political freedom grew, so did the popularity of illegal drugs such as LSD, in which The Beatles are known to have taken part. These drugs are said to expand the mind, the mind being the tool of imagination. That the song’s composers may have written about and/or under the influence of drugs is a reflection of their social/cultural context.
How does the song lyric argue or explore ideas about the journey? What language techniques including repetition, rhetorical questions metaphors, similes etc are used to explore or highlight the concept of a journey?
The use of 2nd person, for example “picture yourself”, “you answer quite slowly” and “towering over your head”, places the responder in the center of the imaginary world that the composer has created – suddenly the journey being explored belongs to the responder. The 2nd person perspective technique is utilised in conjunction with imagery, which the composer creates through his use of obscure adjectives such as “newspaper taxis” and “plasticine porters”. Together, the techniques enable the responder to experience the text more completely; to take part in the imagined journey it presents.
Eyes and sight act as motifs throughout the text. To “picture yourself”, used twice in the song, may also be read as to see yourself. The responder is instructed to “look for the girl”, who is said to have “the sun” in her “kaleidoscope eyes”. The motif explores the concept of perception, important in any text that deals with the imagination.
Also, the “plasticine porters” at the end of the song are said to have “looking glass ties”, which may be interpreted as an intertextual reference or allusion to Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Saw There. Carrol’s sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is itself an imaginative journey text that deals with perception and questionable reality.
What themes, issues or ideas does the song lyric engage with that explore or provide insight into the significance, necessity or demands of a journey? Provide every detail that you can; include any techniques that are used to convey the ideas.
The text explores the concept of a journey as a means of searching for something. Throughout the imagined journey, the responder is told to “look for the girl with the sun in her eyes”, who appears elusive and must be followed, searched for. Not until the end of the song, the end of the journey, does the subject seem to find “the girl with kaleidoscope eyes” without immediately losing her again. The girl, who may or may not be Lucy, seems to be the purpose of the journey.
 

emilybradstreet

New Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2007
Messages
19
Gender
Female
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2008
cazgirl123 said:
Hi everyone! This is my first post on this site so I hope it proves helpful. I just finished this scaffold on Lucy. I haven't submitted it for feedback yet so I'm not sure if it's any good, but I kinda had fun doing it, I found this text interesting to study. I've listened to the song so many times but never really looked at it in kind of analytical way before. Anyway here it is!

Related Text Overview: Song Lyric
Title of Song
Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds

Songwriter
Lennon/McCartney

Date published and Album name
1967
Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band

Brief Overview: what is the composer’s purpose? How does the lyric link to the concept of journeys?
The lyrics of the song follow the kind of journey that one embarks on upon the consumption of the hallucinogenic drug LSD which projects the wildest of imaginings. At least, that is the most popular interpretation of the song. The title is even said to be a reference to the drug, with the first letters of the main three words spelling LSD (Lucy Sky Diamonds). Another interpretation, the explanation provided by author/composer John Lennon, states that the song lyrics are based on a drawing created by Lennon’s son Julian of a school friend named Lucy. From this it can be deducted that the song is a representation of the kind of journey that a child’s imagination might conjure.
The journey begins “in a boat on a river” then moves “to a bridge by a fountain” after which “newspaper taxis…take you away”. The journey ends “on a train in a station”, however, if the subject is on a train, a mode of travel and transportation, then it is suggested that the journey has only really just begun, or perhaps that it never ends.
Who would the audience for the song lyric be and why?
General public (America, UK)
Does the lyric explore a physical, inner or imagined journey or a combination of these? Explain briefly – two or three sentences.
The lyrics explore an imagined journey, whether interpreted as one created by an imagination heightened by hallucinogenic drugs or the boundless imagination of a small child. The two types of imagination, indeed, would be quite similar – both devoid of any elements of realism or rationality, with different kinds of logic, as well as both viewing the world as new and different.
The very first words of the song heard are, “picture yourself”, establishing immediately that the following scenario is to be imaginary, as the words ‘picture’ and ‘imagine’ are in this case interchangeable.
What contexts does the song lyric engage with; provide a brief explanation of each that is relevant (at least three from social, cultural political, historical, religious, gender or intellectual).
The song was composed in 1967 and thus engages with the cultural and social contexts of the 1960’s.
The drug scene reached a high point during the 1960’s – as sexual liberation and political freedom grew, so did the popularity of illegal drugs such as LSD, in which The Beatles are known to have taken part. These drugs are said to expand the mind, the mind being the tool of imagination. That the song’s composers may have written about and/or under the influence of drugs is a reflection of their social/cultural context.
How does the song lyric argue or explore ideas about the journey? What language techniques including repetition, rhetorical questions metaphors, similes etc are used to explore or highlight the concept of a journey?
The use of 2nd person, for example “picture yourself”, “you answer quite slowly” and “towering over your head”, places the responder in the center of the imaginary world that the composer has created – suddenly the journey being explored belongs to the responder. The 2nd person perspective technique is utilised in conjunction with imagery, which the composer creates through his use of obscure adjectives such as “newspaper taxis” and “plasticine porters”. Together, the techniques enable the responder to experience the text more completely; to take part in the imagined journey it presents.
Eyes and sight act as motifs throughout the text. To “picture yourself”, used twice in the song, may also be read as to see yourself. The responder is instructed to “look for the girl”, who is said to have “the sun” in her “kaleidoscope eyes”. The motif explores the concept of perception, important in any text that deals with the imagination.
Also, the “plasticine porters” at the end of the song are said to have “looking glass ties”, which may be interpreted as an intertextual reference or allusion to Lewis Carrol’s Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Saw There. Carrol’s sequel to Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is itself an imaginative journey text that deals with perception and questionable reality.
What themes, issues or ideas does the song lyric engage with that explore or provide insight into the significance, necessity or demands of a journey? Provide every detail that you can; include any techniques that are used to convey the ideas.
The text explores the concept of a journey as a means of searching for something. Throughout the imagined journey, the responder is told to “look for the girl with the sun in her eyes”, who appears elusive and must be followed, searched for. Not until the end of the song, the end of the journey, does the subject seem to find “the girl with kaleidoscope eyes” without immediately losing her again. The girl, who may or may not be Lucy, seems to be the purpose of the journey.
THANK YOU !!!
 

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