‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ Inspiration Lucy Vodden Dies

Lucy Vodden, the inspiration behind The Beatles‘ classic hit song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” died last Tuesday at age 46 from the autoimmune disease Lupus. Vodden, whose maiden name was Lucy O’Donnell, was a friend of John Lennon‘s son, Julian Lennon, when they were children.

The inspiration for the song “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” came from a painting Julian Lennon made of his friend Lucy Vodden in school. The painting showed Vodden with diamond-shaped eyes and young Julian told his father John Lennon the picture was of “Lucy in the sky with diamonds.” The song appeared on the 1967 Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Lucy Vodden revealed she was the inspiration behind the hit Beatles song in an interview with BBC radio several years ago. “I remember Julian and I both doing pictures on a double-sided easel, throwing paint at each other, much to the horror of the classroom attendant,” Vodden said.

The announcement of Vodden’s death was made Monday by the St. Thomas’ Lupus Trust Charity. According to a press statement released by the organization, Julian Lennon and his mother Cynthia Lennon are “shocked and saddened by the loss of Lucy and their thoughts are with her husband and family today and always.”