John Lennon: Woman

[1980]
Lyrics & Music by John Ono Lennon (John Winston Lennon)
Album: Double Fantasy




"Woman" is a song written and performed by John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy.
Lennon wrote it as an ode to his wife Yoko 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.
"Woman" was the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and the first Lennon single issued after his death on 8 December 1980. The B-side of the single is Ono's song "Beautiful Boys". The single debuted at number 3 in the UK, then moving to number 2 and finally reaching number 1, where it spent two weeks, knocking off the top spot his own re-released Imagine. In the US the single spent three consecutive weeks at number 2. After its first week at number 2, "Woman" appeared ready to rise to number one for the week ending 28 March 1981; however, Rapture by Blondie unexpectedly leaped from number 6 to number 1 that week preventing Lennon from having his second chart topper from Double Fantasy. The single was also a commercial success in New Zealand where it spent five weeks at number 1.
In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine on 5 December 1980, Lennon said that "Woman" was a "grown-up version" of his song "Girl". In 1965, Lennon's then-songwriting partner and fellow Beatle band mate, Paul McCartney, had written a different song entitled "Woman" for Peter & Gordon using a pseudonym. Thus, both Lennon and McCartney have individual credit for writing different charting songs with the same title..