Classic John Lennon lyrics for sale

John Lennon's hand-written lyrics to the final song on the Beatles Sergeant Pepper's album are to go up for auction.

The words to the classic A Day in the Life are on a double-sided sheet of paper featuring Lennon's edits and corrections in his own hand – in black felt marker and blue ball point pen, with a few annotations in red ink.

It is expected to fetch up to 460,000 when it is sold in New York on June 18.

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Rolling Stone magazine listed A Day in the Life at No. 26 in its compilation of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The lyrics stirred controversy when the Beatles released the album in 1967. The song was banned by the BBC because it features the line, "I'd love to turn you on," which was interpreted as supporting illegal drug use.

The album's Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds was alleged to have glorified the use of the hallucinogenic LSD, a claim that band members denied.

In addition, A Day in the Life features the line, "he blew his mind out in a car" – claimed to be is a reference to the accidental death of Tara Browne, the Guinness heir and friend of both Lennon and Paul McCartney.