33 T H E S T 0 R Y 、 AS before, these t , 0 scripts are by no means exact COPies Of each other or ofthe scripts Dr. SiegeI and I each wrote for カ〃ワ切 訪ど Sky 訪の 0 〃法 . For instance, whereas the script for カ〃ワ / 〃ーんど S, んツル″ん . D 0 〃イ contains no notable unpleasant feel- ings, the scripts for both ofthese early songs express distress about the singer's failure tO be close tO the desired person. Yet it is alSO clear that C01 れ mon tO all Of these scripts is a story about a person " hO wants to be united with someone whO is not available: Lucy appears and is gone; the "little girl" entices but ignores the singer; and the object of the singer's desire in / ″れど has le 丘 and does not reply to the singer's pleas. S ummary The scripting analysis undertaken here suggests that when he was writing カ〃ワ切ど Sky の 0 〃 , Lennon was occupied with thoughts about connection to and separation 丘 01 れ an incred- ible female figure. This theme does not seem to have been just a momentary concern Of Lennon S, as the scripts derived hiS t " 0 earliest songs tell a similar story about a person , hO wants tO be near someone " hO remains far away.. 、 AS such, カ〃 ( ア / 〃どんッ ル″ん . D / 47 〃 0 〃イゞ seems [ 0 have tapped intO a concern about union and separation that had long been central tO Lennon's identity.

5 T H E P RO B L E M also wrote that JuIian painted "endless pictures for Daddy. " As far as we know, none Ofthose Other pictures inspired tO write a song. What was special about this picture of Lucy? And while examination ofJulian's picture confirms that it is Of a girl floating in a sky among shapes thatlook like diamonds, there is little visible in the picture that suggests a direct association [ 0 carroll's writings or tO the plOt line, specific images, and musical themes that eventu- ally constituted the song Lennon 、 vrote. Compared to these rather superficial explanations of the song, Lennons own 1980 explanation is certainly more complex and psychologically deep. However, one must keep ⅲ mind Lennons well-known antagonism toward the clue hunters who searched for meaning ⅲ his lyrics. Consider, for example, his quote that opens this bOOk, as ℃Ⅱ as Lennon's efforts in songs like G / 0 〃ル〃 tO inten- tionally mislead listeners about the meanings of earlier songs (e ・ g ・ , "The WaIrus was PauI"). Had Lennon's attitude changed by 1980 so that he was now willing to reveal himself? so problematic is that Lennon twice claimed ⅲ this same explanation that he had not yet met Yoko Ono before he wroteLucy 切ど Sky の 0 〃ム when, ⅲ fact, Lennon first met 崘 ko at an art gallery about three months before ( ⅲ early November 。日 966 ) , had seen her again at an art open- ing ⅲ la 記 November, received a copy of her book G ア ( ⅲ the closing months of 1966 , and even seems to have invited ) 6k0 to lunch at his Kenwood home ⅲ January of 1967. WhiIe Lennons memory for the chronology ofevents is unreliable for many other aspects ofhis 1 飛 , one still must wonder why he would say that the song was about ko , but deny (twice) that he knew her when he wrote it. And then we have lan MacDonaId's explanation. WhiIe it is an appropriate application of Sigmund Freud's theories about a boy's

104 Lucy in the Mind of Lennon interviews while inside large bags, and the famous bed-ins for peace that 、 occupy them over the next several months and capture enormous media attention. Throughout, the [ , 0 lovers were almost inseparable, with S01 e claiming YOkO even regularly followed Lennon into the bathroom. During the summer and 信Ⅱ of 1968 , 崘 ko sat by Lennon's side as the Beatles recorded the songs they wrote in lndia that would form the basis for their next album, 乃どおな (). k. a. , 乃ど曻加 ノル〃丿 . Yoko's influence went far beyond her physical presence, however. On the avant-garde 火印 0 ん〃 9 , she both helped in the mixing of the semi-random pastiche 0f sounds and spoke, "You become naked. " Hers is also the female voice that speaks the part ofthe mother in 乃ど Co 〃 & 0 ワイお〃〃んル窺〃 , and she provided S01 れ e Ofthe inspiration for / 42 ア / 〃おゞなー多 2 〃〃 G 〃〃 , as, according to Lennon, ko was the "Mother Superior" who would jump the gun ・ ko also seems [ 0 have helpedwith revisions ofJi 〃厖 , a songthat Lennon said sort Of a combination Of YOkO and 1 れ y mother blended intO one. '' ThiS merging Ofthe [ , 0 women is recognizable, for example, in Lennon's ChOice tO refer tO Julia as ocean child," the transliteration ofYoko's name intO EngliSh. Lennon S use Ofthe images of"cloud" and "sky" might have referred on a subconscious level not only to Lucy/Julia, but also to ko , who had sent him a card while he was in lndia saying that she was a cloud who could be found in the sky. Perhaps the merging ofYoko andJulia allowed Lennon tO express more explicitly hiS POSitive emotions about mother; after all, while Lucy "calls you," Julia"calls me. AS these examples attest, Lennon [ 00k multiple opportuni- ties to psychologically identify Y0k0 with, or perhaps even his

148 Notes on the Methods iS no definite time point that I can know for certain corresponds tO 、、 When he was writing ・ Except for songs that may have sprung fully formed 伝 om Lennons mind on the first draft, most ofhis songs would have undergone a process ofrevision; clearly that was the case for & Ⅲ厖アリ月どゞア・翩既 During the revision process, it is highly likely that Lennon's ideas about what he was trying to express and how best [ 0 express it would have shifted and evolved, with corresponding changes in the words and music that he might have used. As such, it may be that if a word was added or a key was changed rather late in his revision process, then the themes that I suggest were on Lennons mind might nothave al 、 been SO prevalent throughout his composition 0f the song. On the other hand' the fact that Lennon ultimately decided on the word or musicalexpression he did suggests that something impelled him [0 、 that ne 、、 or musical and that "something" may have been whatl have proposed was on his mind. second weakness Of thiS strategy concerns the influence Of Others Lennon s songwriting. McCartney and Lennon collabo rated deeply on many 0fLennon's early songs, truly writing them together (). g. , She カ 02 ぉ 〃 , 石なん C ん / の . Other songs were a melding ofeach oftheir individual efforts ( e. g. , ノの切どカ ). ln ⅵⅡ others, the contribution 0fMcCartney iS limited tO a few images or words, but nonetheless present; such seems [ 0 be the case 応 r カ〃ヮ切ど Sky ル勗の (see Spignesi & Lewis, p. 50 ). Later in Lennons career,Yoko ono aISO contributed tO S01 れ e OfhiS songs, includingJulia. And as the songs were rehearsed, recorded, and mixed in the studio, the other Beatles and their producer George Martin certainly made suggestions about hOW tO improve bOth the lyrics and the music. For these reasons, I have omitted lyrical passages or images 、 information exists suggesting that passages 、 primarily ideas.No doubt, hO 、 vever, the scientist's bane oferror will have led tO some mistakes in thiS process. CHAPTER 2 I am particularly indebted t0 CindY Chung for suggesting the comparison samples used ⅲ this chapter, as they are far more appropriate than what I was initially using in 1 y earlier analyses. even more representative

74 Lucy in the Mind of Lennon the anger and sadness most people would naturally feel upon hear- ing the news thata loved one had been killed. After that first night, however, Lennon seems tO have Shut OffhiS expression and experi- ence of pain. ln large part, this was probably due to the interper- sonal and cultural environments in which Lennon found himself, environments that clearly discouraged him 丘 01 れ continuing [ 0 express how he felt. Not only was he surrounded by the famous stoicism Of British culture, but the people in his immediate social environmentlargely held back their tears and actively stifled fur- ther discussion about Julia, going so far as to hide her death from her daughters for weeks. Lennon had little choice but to 応Ⅱ ow the pattern set by his family. 、 [OSt theorists, going back at least [ 0 Freud, agree that experi- encing and expressing one s painful and unpleasant feelings are necessary tO successfully and C01 れ e [ 0 a satisfactory sense Of closure with regard to one's relationship with the deceased. lndeed, some researchers suggest that the opportunity [ 0 talk through one's feelings about the deceased is particularly important when a death is sudden and unpredicted; such events can be quite diffcult tO make sense Ofon one S 0 rn. What'S 1 れ ore , males in particular benefit 丘 0n1 having the chance [ 0 talk about their emotions after a death, because otherwise they tend tO focus on getting back tO normal." Between the choice ofhis family to close offall discussion aboutJulia and his tough-guy image in a culture that encouraged stereotypical mas- culine behavior, Lennon was not likely [ 0 continue crying about hiS mother's death for long. lnstead, it was much more acceptable for him to avoid his feelings by getting drunk and into fights. These dynamics were likely complicated further by Lennon s early experiences With hiS mother. RecaII that an initial impetus

THE STORY 27 main character Of this story, and then derived a script for this paragraph by abstracting the fundamental meaning behind the specific images and arranging them in sequential order. Here iS the result: I leave origins meet barrier tO progress return tO hOSPi- table origins retackle barrier at a more vulnerable point succeed in overcoming the barrier pick up support successfully achieve freedom Next, Demorest and Siegel considered Skinner's description of the first psychologicalexperiment he ever conducted: lt iS not surprising that 1 れ y first gadget was a silent release bOX, operated by compressed air and designed tO eliminate disturbances when introducing a rat intO an apparatus. I used thiS first in studying the way a rat adapted tO a novel stimu- lus. I built a soundproofbox containing a specially structured space. rat 、 released, pneumatically, at the far end Of a darkened tunnel from which it emerged in exploratory fash- ion intO a well-lighted area. TO accentuate its progress and tO facilitate recording, the tunnel was placed at the top Of a flight of steps, something like a functional Parthenon. rat would peek out from the tunnel, perhaps glancing suspi- ciously at the one-way window through which I was watch- ing it, then stretch itself cautiously down the steps. A so 丘 click (carefully calibrated, of course) would cause itto pull back intO the tunnel and remain there for some [ ⅱれ e. But

Preface Corrina Cordon, Paul Doughty, Shara Drew, David Gould, Mark Lerner, Maryjo McAndrew, Austin M0bley, and two anonymous revlewe rs. I also especially thank Todd Schultz, the editor ofthis series on psychobiography, and Abby Gross, my editor at Oxford University Press, for their belief ⅲ this pr0Ject and their very useful feedback. And, as always, I am gratefulto my wife Virginia for providing a patient sounding board for my ideas, a はれ ear for my frustrations, clear editing of my writing, and allthe happiness she brings me ・ X11

THE MAN, HIS RECENT PAST, AND HIS SON'S 円 CTURE 75 for BowIby's studies ofattachment was to understand how people, especially children, react tO separation and IOSS. Researchers have examined these connections, conducting dozens ofstudies h() 、 grief and attachment styles relate. psychologists R. Chris Fraley and PhiIIip R. Shaver summarized this literature: [%ere] is considerable empirical support for BowIby's idea that ChroniC mourning stems れ an anxious-ambivalent attachment organization. He believed that lack Of respon- siveness on the part ofattachment figures ()n both childhood and adulthood) heightens an individual's vigilance and sen- sitivity [ 0 cues regarding separation, rgection, and IOSS. AS a result, When irretrievable losses occur, anxious-ambivalent or preoccupied individuals have diffculty resolving these losses because their attachment systems are primed tO con- tinue yearning and searching for the missing attachment figures. problems associated with "irretrievable losses" for anxious-ambivalent individuals are even 1 れ ore acute When they attempt tO suppress their thoughts about separation, as Lennon seems tO have done. ln one research project, for example, study participants were asked tO imagine that an important relationship had ended, and some Of the participants were encouraged to try to suppress their resulting thoughts and feelings. All study par- ticipants then wrote in a stream-of-consciousness style, and the researchers lOOked for themes Of IOSS in the prose that subjects had generated. Suppression seemed to work for individuals with an avoidant attachment style, as their prose revealed 、 ver themes

56 Lucy in the Mind of Lennon Lennon wrote 〃どゆ / approximately two years before カ〃ヮ切坊ど 4 , 勗の 0 〃法 when he was asked [ 0 compose a song with this title for the Beatles' second feature-length movie. As Lennon recalled ⅲ his final major interview before his death, the song came out Ofhim "bam ! bam!, like that... " TWO dominant themes are present in the song's lyrics, both ofwhich are expressed along- side some of the musical features of 〃どゆ / that overlap with カ〃ワ 切ど Sky のゐ A sense ofdepression is the firsttheme clearly present in どゆ . ′ For example, Lennon sings about his lack of confidence and his insecurity during the repetitive, single note melodic theme that is characteristic of both 孖どゆ . ′ and カ〃ヮ切ど Sky 坊の 0 〃 . Later, he vocalizes the word in the same descending, step- wise, three-note melOdiC sequence that was repeated SO frequently in カ〃ワ切功ど Sky 功 D 0 〃 . Lennon's reflections fifteen years after he wrote 孖どゆ . ′ also explicitly mention how depressed he had been at the time : lt was my fat Elvis period. You see the movie: He—I—is very 信 [ , very insecure, and he's completely lost himself (sic). And I am singing about when I was so much younger and all the rest, looking back at how easy it was... I was fat and depressed and I 小 crying out for help (emphasis in original). The strong need for a relationship is the second theme in the song's IyriCS that coincides with the musical elements shared between 〃どゆ / and カ〃切坊ど Sky 4 ツ坊の 0 〃 . For instance, Lennon's pleas for 〃どゆ . ′ occur both during the frequent repetition

149 Notes on the Methods sample of popular songs atthe time would have been obtained ifl had randomly selected om [ op -40 hits during the period, rather than just used no. 1 songs. S01 れ e modifications were made [ 0 the lyriCS of the no. 1 songs [ 0 enhance the likelihood that their words would be recognized by the LIWC dictionary. Specifically, contracted 、 were sometimes modified. For example, "'cuz was changed tO "because" and words like "hangin t0 "hanging ・ Careful readers of TabIe 2.1 might note that scores for some LIV ℃ characteristics are 1 れ ore extreme for the comparisons 0f. ん〃ツ / 〃ーあど s, をア ル / D / 4 0 〃 to no. 1 songs ()n the third column) than [ 0 Lennon's other recentsongs ()n the second column). Examination ofappendices B and C suggest that thiS iS aJOint function Of 工・ uc. ツ / 〃ーあどんツル″。 D / 4 〃 20 〃イ ' scores on those characteristics 1 れ tO Lennons average style than [ 0 the average style of no. 1 songs (not surprising) and of Lennon being more variable on those characteristics in hiS recent songs (). e. , havinghigher standard deviations) than 、 vere composers Of no. 1 songs during the time periOd in question (somewhat surprising given the range Of song 、 vriters involved in thatlatter sample). summary immediacy score mentioned in the text was calculated by summing the z-scores for first person singular pronouns, present tense verbs, and discrepancies, and then subtracting the z-scores for articles and long words. A high score therefore represents 1 れ ore immediacy,. CHAPTER 3 〃ツんカ″ル Girl is not included in Lowry ( 1988 ) , so I obtained its lyrics from lnternet sites, cross-checking them with those heard on the ノ加笳ん繦 / album; lyrics for / Ca ″ 4 ど are 丘 om Lowry ( 1988 ). scripting results reported here are clearly subject t0 interpretive biases I may have had or unconscious attempts on my part [ 0 make the resulting scripts from the earliest songs similar [ 0 the script I 、 vrote for カ uc. ツノ〃ーんど Sky の . While the inclusion of Dr. Siegel's script is a step in the right direction, an even better approach would have followed the very sophisticated method used by Demorest & Siegel ( 1996 ) in their study of