Who Is The John Lennon Song Woman Really About?
Over the years, John Lennon and the Beatles wrote many songs with women as the target audience for their lyrics. Many of these pop songs were about infatuation and love, like "Things We Said Today," "Any Time at All," "I've Just Seen a Face," and "Something," per Ultimate Classic Rock. This is one of the reasons why they were so popular and reached such high levels of superstardom.
While some of these songs were written by Paul McCartney, John Lennon also was capable of writing heartfelt lyrics as both a member of the Beatles and also when he went solo after the group's breakup. One of those songs was "Woman," which explains some of the things that women do for men and how women can be taken for granted. It appeared on his album "Double Fantasy," per Songfacts.
It turned out that the hit song, which was released after his death at the hand of Mark David Chapman, was far more than just an ordinary ballad. He had a specific person in mind. In a way, he was apologizing to her.
The one woman John Lennon had in mind
"Woman" was really written to be heard by an audience of one. According to Songfacts, the song was also an apology to Yoko Ono. They had encountered problems in their relationship, and Ono gave John Lennon permission to go see other women. He reportedly took up with his assistant, May Pang. The whole thing supposedly lasted about 18 months, which was considerably longer than the "lost weekend" that he called it. Some people give their wives or girlfriends flowers. Yet, as a way of apologizing to Ono for his bad behavior, Lennon gave her a song, so millions got to hear the apology.
When the tune came out, the world was still reeling from the news of his murder. It immediately topped the charts in the United Kingdom, bumping "Imagine" from the No. 1 spot. It was the first time in British music history that an artist had replaced themselves at No. 1. In a bit of irony, there was a Beatles connection of a sort. Per Songfacts, Paul McCartney had also written a song with the same title, but he did it under the name of Bernard Webb, so that the public would not think it was a McCartney song.
Lennon is still remembered by many, even though more than 40 years have passed since his death. Surely, Ono thinks of him whenever she hears "Woman."