This is yet another one of those John Lennon classics which I listened to so much as a kid, but it inexplicably went into the music hinterland. It was only recently, when I was researching John’s other songs, that I was reunited with it. Phew, because this is an out-and-out gem. I think I even appreciate it more than I did back then.
Woman originally appeared on his 1980 album Double Fantasy, and was later included on his posthumous compilation The John Lennon Collection, which our family owned. I don’t know how many times I put the needle down on this record, but it was an obscene amount. We had one of those old wooden turntables which looked like a dresser, and I remember sitting nestled in front of the fireplace listening to it. It was the only post-Beatle record we had.
If I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, I would have pleaded with my parents to buy George’s 1970 masterpiece, All Things Must Pass, until I was blue in the face. But oh well.
John’s voice in Woman is so warm and intimate and contrasts sharply with the aggressive, rebellious tones of some of his earlier work. There is a real vulnerability in his delivery, with his soft, sincere tone and careful phrasing adding to the intimacy of the song. Lennon described the song just three days prior to his death as a “grown-up version” of the Beatles’ “Girl.”
My favourite part of the song is when he sings ‘Ooh-ooh, well, well‘ and then, in the outro, it morphs into the utterly romantic send-off when he declares ‘I love you, yeah, yeah‘. It really is stunning songwriting. Woman really stands on its own, like it’s its own template for a ‘love song’.
You have other love songs, spectacular in their own right – like Chicago’s If You leave Me Now and the Bee Gees’ How Deep Is Your Love, both released a few years before Lennon’s Woman (1980), but there is a commonality in their sound, tone and feeling. Woman, on the other hand, feels utterly distinct – a stand-alone, if you will, in its musical structure, sound and delivery. Its unusual phrasing, the pauses and the way the arrangement leaves space around Lennon’s voice. It’s genius.
The following was abridged from the Wikipedia reference below:
Woman was the second single released from Lennon’s 1980 album Double Fantasy. It was the first Lennon single issued after his murder on 8 December 1980.
Lennon wrote it as an ode to Ono and to all women. The track begins with Lennon whispering, “For the other half of the sky“, a paraphrase of a Chinese proverb, once used by Mao Zedong.
John Lennon said that the song “came about because, one sunny afternoon in Bermuda, it suddenly hit me what women do for us. Not just what my Yoko does for me, although I was thinking in those personal terms … but any truth is universal. What dawned on me was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It’s a ‘we’ or it ain’t anything.”
The single debuted at number three in Lennon’s native UK, then moving to number two and finally reaching number one, where it spent two weeks, knocking off the top spot his own re-released “Imagine“. In the US the single peaked at number two on the Billboard.
[Intro]
(For the other half of the sky)
[Verse 1]
Woman, I can hardly express
My mixed emotions at my thoughtlessness
After all, I’m forever in your debt
And woman, I will try to express
My inner feelings and thankfulness
For showing me the meaning of success
[Chorus]
Ooh-ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Ooh-ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
[Verse 2]
Woman, I know you understand
The little child inside the man
Please remember my life is in your hands
And woman, hold me close to your heart
However distant, don’t keep us apart
After all, it is written in the stars
[Chorus]
Ooh-ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
Ooh-ooh, well, well
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, well
[Verse 3]
Woman, please let me explain
I never meant to cause you sorrow or pain
So let me tell you again and again and again
[Outro]
I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
I love you, yeah, yeah
Now and forever
References:
1. Woman (John Lennon song) – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
You’ve knocked it out of the park with this one, Matt, both with the song choice and the write-up with personal history of the music (I can imagine the scene, listening by the fire!). This is perhaps the most intimate I’ve heard of Lennon’s singing, a truly beautiful tribute to women. Lovely instrumentation and production as well.
And it’s funny how songs which we played the grooves off 40, 50 years ago come back to us like they are brand new, as we look at and listen to them with the maturity of life experience in us. Cheers, mate.
I couldn’t wipe the cheesy smile off my face with your ‘knocking it out of the park’ metaphor. Coming from you, it means a lot, given the quality of your articles.
I think I have to agree on the intimacy aspect of this song. Few songs sound more ‘woman’ in song than ‘Woman’. He got the archetype of the feminine in contemporary form down pat, didn’t he?
Cheers, mate, and thanks a bunch!
I LOVE John Lennon & always have. I have a picture of John & Yoko from 1972, standing on a bridge in NYC, over my desk ~ I’ve ALWAYS hung this picture by my work station.
“Woman” is my least favorite song on this album. IMHO, this song reeks of “gee, I fucked up hanging out with those other babes & being an inconsiderate ass, here’s my apology.” There’s a whole bunch of songs by a whole bunch of artists what fall into this category.
I’ll say something else. “Double Fantasy” is a great album but I have to wonder if it would have charted so well if John hadn’t been murdered right after its release. I know that sounds wicked cynical but I remember hearing this same thing AT THE TIME. In print. I was 20 when this album came out. It was album of the year & international album of the year. But honestly ~ album of the year in 1980? Only because John was dead. I’m sorry. But look at what other albums were released in 1980 & this one doesn’t even begin to compare. It’s good, it’s John (& Yoko) but I truly think sentiment ruled those awards.
(BTW, this was said about other albums that were deemed “Great” after the artist died. “Pearl” by Janis Joplin is a good example. Not that “Pearl” isn’t a great album, but the very fact of the artist’s recent demise tends to change people’s attitudes over what they’re hearing & make them less critical than they would normally be ~ that whole “don’t speak ill of the dead” thing ~ which has no place in literary or artistic criticism).
“(Just Like) Starting Over”, “Watching the Wheels”, & “Beautiful Boy” are my favorites from this album. Also Yoko’s “Kiss Kiss Kiss”. But if I’m listening to it, I’ll skip over “Woman” & most of Yoko’s songs.
BTW, I remember that night when John was murdered. I wore white to work the next day & a black armband. I went to numerous gatherings of people, where we all cried & sang “Give Peace a Chance”. My sisters & I were actually on local news, singing ~ it was a major gathering at a public park in downtown Rochester, NY.
It felt like someone murdered my own brother.
It’s not a bad song. The production is better than the song, again IMHO. It’s just not a great song. Not like some of John’s other artistic output.
But hey, if you like it, that’s cool. 🙂
If I remember correctly, you’ve got some great memorabilia and art around your desk, including Bukowski’s ‘Bluebird’ and now the Lennon and Yoko photo. Speaking of which, Christina Perri’s ‘Bluebird’ and Kasey Chambers’ own ‘Bluebird’ are two of the sweetest songs. I’m getting sidetracked.
I was stunned to read how much you dislike ‘Woman’. I would have thought it would have been one of your favourites, as it is mine. I didn’t know or sense that it was an apology song of sorts, but hey, you are probably across more of his personal life than I am. I knew he had a muse in May Pang during his 1973–1975 separation from Yoko.
I haven’t heard Double Fantasy as a standalone record, since we only had The John Lennon Collection, so I can’t really weigh in on whether it was overwhelmingly well received because of his sudden, tragic death. But it’s intriguing to get your take on all that, and I appreciate your candour despite it being a sensitive topic and a somewhat polemical opinion. I also enjoyed your highlighting of other albums deemed ‘great’ — Janis in this case — in light of her early passing.
Your mentioning of your favourites — ‘(Just Like) Starting Over’, ‘Watching the Wheels’ and ‘Beautiful Boy’ — are in line with mine having looked at the track listing, but I would have ‘Woman’ at the apex of that list.
Also, your vivid recollection of the day of Lennon’s death, right down to what you were wearing, is illuminating. I’ve watched many a documentary about that fateful day, and if I remember rightly, they included the gathering of people singing ‘Give Peace a Chance’. I, just seven years old on the other side of the world, don’t remember anything about the news, but your recollection certainly magnifies the gravity of the loss. I can only ‘imagine’ — of all words — how grief-stricken people like yourself would have been.
Great as always to read your thoughts on all this, Polly, despite our mammoth difference over the significance and weight of the song ‘Woman’.
Well, “Woman” got PLAYED TO DEATH almost all through the 80s, so there’s that. LOL
I don’t blame them belting this baby out lol
This really is a great song. One of my favorites of his post Beatles music.
Same here Trace. Cheers.
Great song. I remember when he was killed. It was a great loss to music.