Cultural revolutionaries wanted to overturn or transcend dominant American values and morals and develop a higher consciousness. They sought to do this through a process called “deconditioning,” which they thought would result in the jettisoning of the social conditioning received from the previous generations and in its place create a new, superior social order. (Braunsten and Doyle, p. 15.) The drug lysergic acid diethylamide, called LSD, was one of the primary agents of this deconditioning.
LSD was developed in 1943 by a Swiss chemist, who was trying to find a pharmaceutical that would treat migraine headaches. While testing this product, he found that it produced hallucinations. The drug came to the attention of American psychiatrists and clinical psychologists who began experimenting with the drug on their patients. (Braunstein and Doyle, Farber, The Intoxicated State/Illegal Nation, pp. 20-29.) The CIA and the United States Army subsidized LSD experiments in the 1950s. (Id. p. 39, note 16.) In the post-World War II years, Timothy Leary, a Harvard professor, engaged in legitimate academic research activities and was one of those who studied the effects of LSD on the human personality. (Perone, pp. 3-4, 125, 170; Farber, Id.)
Leary and other mental health professionals promoted what they believed to be the beneficial psychological impact of LSD use. Leary believed that LSD could expand the user’s mind, and it would allow doctors to better understand mental processes that lead to spiritual growth. Leary said that LSD should be used in tightly controlled circumstances, yet he became known as the “LSD prophet”, a “husker who lost his legitimacy.” His mantra became “Tune in, turn on and drop out.” (Farber, Id; Perone, pp. 3-4, 125, 170.) LSD use was legal in the United States until 1966. (Farber, Id., Perone, p. 3.)
“Legend of a Mind,” sung by The Moody Blues, written by R. Thomas (1967), is about Timothy Leary and his dealings with LSD: “He’ll fly his astral plane, Takes you trips around the bay / Brings you back the same day / Timothy Leary. / Timothy Leary.” (https://youtu.be/r_TbovyVOzs)
Timothy Leary’s dead.
No, no, no, no, He’s outside looking in.
Timothy Leary’s dead.
No, no, no, no, He’s outside looking in.
He’ll fly his astral plane,
Takes you trips around the bay,
Brings you back the same day,
Timothy Leary. Timothy Leary.Timothy Leary’s dead.
No, no, no, no, He’s outside looking in.
Timothy Leary’s dead.
No, no, no, no, He’s outside looking in.
He’ll fly his astral plane,
Takes you trips around the bay,
Brings you back the same day,
Timothy Leary. Timothy Leary.Along the coast you’ll hear them boast
About a light they say that shines so clear.
So raise your glass, we’ll drink a toast
To the little man who sells you thrills along the pier.He’ll take you up, he’ll bring you down,
He’ll plant your feet back firmly on the ground.
He flies so high, he swoops so low,
He knows exactly which way he’s gonna go.
Timothy Leary. Timothy Leary.He’ll take you up, he’ll bring you down,
He’ll plant your feet back on the ground.
He’ll fly so high, he’ll swoop so low.
Timothy Leary.He’ll fly his astral plane.
He’ll take you trips around the bay.
He’ll bring you back the same day.
Timothy Leary. Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary. Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Ken Kesey, author of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest, volunteered for some of the on-going LSD studies. (Farber, pp. 21, 24-26.) He and a group of followers known as the “Merry Pranksters” lived in the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco and promoted a radical version of Leary’s LSD philosophy. They established a lifestyle based on the use of the drug. Kesey and the Pranksters took “acid” as part of their social activities. They threw LSD parties known as “acid tests” that featured local San Francisco bands, such as the “Warlocks” (later known as the Grateful Dead). They traveled the country in a psychedelically decorated bus they named “Further,” preaching their “tripping” culture along the way. Eventually, due to media coverage, the Kesey/Prankster phenomenon gained a wide following. Tom Wolfe described the phenomenon in his book The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test. Leary “was dead set against” the kind of use of LSD endorsed by Kesey and his group. (Perone, pp. 170-171.)
Songs related to or about LSD trips include:“Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds,” sung by The Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney. The title contains the letters, LSD. Although John Lennon denies that it is about LSD, the reference and images are obvious. (https://youtu.be/3AVWJzHvhFE)
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 eyesCellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes and she’s goneLucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
OhFollow 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 highNewspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds and you’re goneLucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
OhPicture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking-glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with kaleidoscope eyesLucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
Lucy in the sky with diamonds
OhLucy in the sky with diamonds (Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
OhLucy in the sky with diamonds (Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
OhLucy in the sky with diamonds (Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
OhLucy in the sky with diamonds (hey, oh, Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
Lucy in the sky with diamonds (oh, Lucy)
“White Rabbit,” sung by Jefferson Airplane, written by Grace Slick (1967). The song isn’t strictly about LSD use; it’s about drugs in general. The ‘white rabbit’ is a reference to the book Alice in Wonderland and how Alice’s adventures there (with the talking rabbit and “hookah-smoking caterpillar”) were strange—like being under the influence of LSD. Also, “Alice” was a street name for LSD—it sounds like “Alice D.” Members of Jefferson Airplane were known to use psychedelic drugs, and the LSD theme of this song is hard to ignore. (https://youtu.be/XR8LFNUr3vw)
One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you, don’t do anything at allGo ask Alice, when she’s ten feet tall
And if you go chasing rabbits, and you know you’re going to fall
Tell ’em a hookah-smoking caterpillar has given you the callAnd call Alice, when she was just small
When the men on the chessboard get up and tell you where to go
And you’ve just had some kind of mushroom, and your mind is moving lowGo ask Alice, I think she’ll know
When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the red queen’s off with her head
Remember what the dormouse said
Feed your head, feed your head