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Julian Lennon

Song by Julian Lennon, "Lucy".
Click on the below links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78M_oYsKNnQ



Learn the story about "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
Click on the below link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZXVbJ0jq7w

  alfredov90.deviantart.com

"Lucy" Who Inspired Beatles' "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" Dies

By Daniel Kreps September 28, 2009

Lucy Vodden, the subject of a Julian Lennon drawing that inspired his father, John, to write the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's classic "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," passed away last week after a long battle with lupus. Vodden, formerly Lucy O' Donnell, was 46. In a statement, Julian and his mother Cynthia Lennon said they were "shocked and saddened" by Vodden's death, the Associated Press reports.

As the story goes, in 1966, Julian Lennon brought home a drawing of his classmate Lucy, describing the image of the girl as "Lucy in the sky with diamonds." The rest is rock history. Inspired by the drawing, Lennon — and McCartney, who Lennon told Rolling Stone in 1968 contributed imagery like "newspaper taxis" — crafted one of their most famous and controversial songs. For decades, fans have debated the Lucy story and argued that the song's psychedelic lyrics are veiled references to the band's experimentation with LSD, hence the capitalizations.

However, Lennon himself was vocal about dispelling those rumors on numerous occasions, including a 1970 interview with RS when he said, "'Lucy In The Sky with Diamonds,' which I swear to God, or swear to Mao, or to anybody you like, I had no idea spelled L.S.D." (Get more Beatles history in our Essential Beatles Coverage.)

Vodden had battled lupus for five years at London's St. Thomas Hospital before succumbing last week. According to the AP, no exact date of death has been confirmed. Julian Lennon lost contact with his former classmate after his parents had divorced, but reconnected with Vodden in recent years after news of her illness emerged. Julian often sent Vodden flowers and supportive text messages during her hospital stay.

Ironically, Vodden reportedly wasn't even a fan of the Beatles song she helped inspire, telling the AP earlier this year, "I don't relate to the song, to that type of song. As a teenager, I made the mistake of telling a couple of friends at school that I was the Lucy in the song and they said, 'No, it's not you, my parents said it's about drugs.' And I didn't know what LSD was at the time, so I just kept it quiet, to myself."

Lupus Kills

When I was first diagnosed with lupus 18 years ago I had never heard of such an illness. What was lupus? The very first words I read were from a pamphlet handed to me by the nurse at my doctor’s office. It said: A disease with 1000 faces, the cause is unknown, there is no cure. It sent chills to my spine. I continued to read the list of some of the symptoms: excessive and profound fatigue or weakness; pain, stiffness, or swelling in the joints; a red rash over the cheeks and the bridge of the nose; unusual rashes on areas of the body exposed to the sun; prolonged flu-like symptoms of aching and fever; heart disease; kidney disease; forgetfulness, confusion; severe headaches. Many of the symptoms listed I had. It frightened me. Reading on: Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body’s own healthy cells causing tissue damage, organ failure and in some cases, death; if not treated, lupus can be fatal. Tears streamed down my cheek. I feared the worst. Slowly, day by day following many doctors’ recommendations I gradually started to have fewer symptoms, but it took years. I am extremely grateful to have such a wonderful, understanding general practitioner, Dr. J. P. Farrer along with his helpful staff and I consider myself a very fortunate survivor. Today I manage the severity of my lupus disease by maintaining a good nutritional diet, going for walks and resting when my body tells me to, but the most powerful tool that I utilize everyday is prayer. It helps to alleviate my pain while leaving me with a great peace of mind.
There is no cure for lupus, as yet, but there is treatment. Since the manifestations of lupus are so different from one person to another, each patient is unique. What is best for one patient at a given time may not be good for another. Lupus can affect women, men and children, but 8 out of 10 are women of child-bearing ages from 14 to 55. There are more than 50,000 Canadians affected by this disease. Lupus Canada has designated May 10th as World Lupus Day. In 2008 it was the 7th annual Walk-a-Block for Lupus and various awareness events was held worldwide. We held our first Walk-a-Block on the Sunshine Coast at Davis Bay Seawall. The aim was to help educate people about Lupus, while at the same time raising funds to help carry on the work that will one day bring a cure for this disease and save lives. You can find more information at www.lupuscanada.org or call Lupus Canada toll free at 1-800-661-1468. That year, we raised $3,665.00 for Lupus Canada. I would like to thank everyone who participated with this fundraising event but especially the Gibson’s Thrift Shoppe for donating a whopping $3,000.00.