Woman Is the Nigger of the World
| "Woman is the Nigger of the World" | ||||
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| Single by John Lennon | ||||
| from the album Some Time in New York City | ||||
| B-side | "Sisters O Sisters" (Yoko Ono) | |||
| Released | 24 April 1972 (US) | |||
| Format | 7" vinyl | |||
| Recorded | November 1971-March 1972 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 5:16 | |||
| Label | Apple | |||
| Writer(s) | John Lennon and Yoko Ono | |||
| Producer | Phil Spector, John Lennon & Yoko Ono | |||
| John Lennon singles chronology | ||||
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"Woman Is the Nigger of the World" is a song written by John Lennon & Yoko Ono and recorded by John Lennon. It was released as a single on Apple Records in the United States (Apple 1848) and in New Zealand and Japan, but was withdrawn from release in Britain. It peaked at #57 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the lowest charting single released in Lennon's lifetime. It is featured on the album Some Time in New York City.
[edit] Meaning
The phrase was originally coined by Yoko Ono during a magazine interview in 1969. Lennon was proud that it was the first women's rights song before "I Am Woman".[1] The song describes women's subservience to men and male chauvinism across all cultures. It was banned from radio and BBC airplay because of the word 'nigger'. Many prominent black people, including comedian Dick Gregory (whose own autobiography was titled Nigger) spoke out in defence of the song. Another supporter, Congressman Ron Dellums, stated, "If you define 'nigger' as someone whose lifestyle is defined by others, whose opportunities are defined by others, whose role in society is defined by others, the good news is that you don't have to be black to be a nigger in this society. Most of the people in America are niggers."[2]
In a 1972 interview on The Dick Cavett Show, John Lennon stated that Irish revolutionary James Connolly was an inspiration for the song. Lennon quoted Connolly's 'the female is the slave of the slave' in explaining the pro-feminist inspiration behind the song.[3]
[edit] Reissues and live performance
Lennon and Ono performed the song with the band Elephant's Memory on The Dick Cavett Show in May 1972. Because of the controversial title, ABC asked Dick Cavett to apologise to the audience in advance for the song's content, otherwise the performance would not have been shown. In 2005, the interview and performance were released on DVD as part of The Dick Cavett Show: John & Yoko Collection.[3]
An edited version of the song was included on the 1975 compilation album Shaved Fish. It was also included on Working Class Hero: The Definitive Lennon and the Gimme Some Truth box set.
[edit] References
- ^ Playboy Interview, 1980
- ^ Johnson, Rachel. "Revolutionary Man: John Lennon As Political Artist," PopMatters.com, Tuesday, 23 November 2010.
- ^ a b Television interview, 11 May 1972. The Dick Cavett Show: John and Yoko collection [videorecording] DVD 2005, ISBN 0738933570
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