Songfacts®:

• From the liner notes of the Salisbury LP: "Lady in Black, written early in November in Bradford, was inspired by the vision of an unknown girl."
• In Cheltenham, England, about 20 people saw a mysterious "Lady In Black" in the years 1882 to 1889. In Texas a story is told that the lady in black was the wife of a rich man from Spain that was hung one day. Since that day, her ghost visits the area near Highway 281 in Alice, Texas. Many drivers reported that they have seen a mysterious woman, a lady in black. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  David - Berlin, Germany, for above 2
• In his interview with Songfacts, the song's writer, Ken Hensley, addressed the question about the real-life experience that inspired this song.
  
  "It's true, I did see this young lady and she was dressed in black and her hair was blowing around in the 'mid-winter wind,'" said Hensley. "But she wasn't 'coming to me,' she was just walking up the street outside of my hotel in northwest England during a tour.
  
  I just picked up my guitar and let my over-active imagination run with this vision and, as is often the case, let the lyric go wherever it wanted to go."
• David Byron usually sang Heep's songs, but Hensley sang this one. Hensley has stated that this was because Byron didn't like "Lady in Black" to such a degree that he refused to perform on it. After producer Gerry Bron suggested Hensley sing it himself, he did so. The song ended up being one of Heep's best and most loved.
• According to Sweden Rock Magazine #16, the guitar parts of the song were so simple, two of the recording's four acoustic guitars were played by roadies. >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Jon - Sweden