John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 Decem… Read Full Bio ↴John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 1940 – 8 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame as the founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. His work included music, writing, drawings and film. His songwriting partnership with Paul McCartney remains the most successful in history.

Born in Liverpool, Lennon became involved in the skiffle craze as a teenager. In 1956, he formed The Quarrymen, which evolved into the Beatles in 1960. Sometimes called "the smart Beatle", Lennon initially was the group's de facto leader, a role he gradually ceded to McCartney. Through his songwriting in the Beatles, he embraced myriad musical influences, initially writing and co-writing rock and pop-oriented hit songs in the band's early years, then later incorporating experimental elements into his compositions in the latter half of the Beatles' career as his songs became known for their increasing innovation. Lennon soon expanded his work into other media by participating in numerous films, including How I Won the War, and authoring In His Own Write and A Spaniard in the Works, both collections of nonsense writings and line drawings. Starting with "All You Need Is Love", his songs were adopted as anthems by the anti-war movement and the larger counterculture of the 1960s. In 1969, he started the Plastic Ono Band with his second wife, multimedia artist Yoko Ono, held the two-week-long anti-war demonstration Bed-ins for Peace and left the Beatles to embark on a solo career.

Between 1968 and 1972, Lennon and Ono collaborated on many works, including a trilogy of avant-garde albums, several more films, his solo debut John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band and the international top-10 singles "Give Peace a Chance", "Instant Karma!", "Imagine", and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)". Moving to New York City in 1971, his criticism of the Vietnam War resulted in a three-year deportation attempt by the Nixon administration. Lennon and Ono separated from 1973 to 1975, during which time he produced Harry Nilsson's album Pussy Cats. He also had chart-topping collaborations with Elton John ("Whatever Gets You thru the Night") and David Bowie ("Fame"). Following a five-year hiatus, Lennon returned to music in 1980 with the Ono collaboration Double Fantasy. He was murdered by a Beatles fan, Mark David Chapman, three weeks after the album's release.

As a performer, writer or co-writer, Lennon had 25 number-one singles in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Double Fantasy, his best-selling album, won the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. That year, he won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. In 2002, Lennon was voted eighth in a BBC history poll of the 100 Greatest Britons. Rolling Stone ranked him the fifth-greatest singer and 38th greatest artist of all time. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame (in 1997) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice, as a member of the Beatles in 1988 and as a solo artist in 1994).

Studio albums
John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band (1970)
Imagine (1971)
Some Time in New York City (with Yoko Ono, 1972)
Mind Games (1973)
Walls and Bridges (1974)
Rock 'n' Roll (1975)
Double Fantasy (with Yoko Ono, 1980)
Milk and Honey (Posthumous with Yoko Ono, 1984)

Experimental studio albums with Yoko Ono
Unfinished Music No. 1: Two Virgins (1968)
Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions (1969)
Wedding Album (1969)

Woman is the N..... of the World
John Lennon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Woman is the nigger of the world
Yes she is, think about it
Woman is the nigger of the world
Think about it, do something about it

We make her paint her face and dance
If she won't be aslave, we say that she don't love us
If she's real, we say she's trying to be a man

While putting her down we pretend that she is above us
Woman is the nigger of the world, yes she is
If you don't believe me take a look to the one you're with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Ah yeah, better scream about it
We make her bear and raise our children
And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
We tell her home is the only place she should be
Then we complain that she's too unworldly to be our friend
Woman is the nigger of the world, yes she is
If you don't believe me take a look to the one you're with
Oh woman is the slave to the slaves
Yeah, alright

We insult her everyday on TV
And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
When she's young we kill her will to be free
While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb
Woman is the nigger of the world, yes she is
If you don't believe me take a look to the one you're with
Woman is the slave to the slaves
Yes she is, if you believe me, you better scream about it

We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance

We make her paint her face and dance
We make her paint her face and dance

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of John Lennon & Yoko Ono & Plastic Ono Band's song Woman Is The Nigger Of The World is a powerful commentary on the oppression and subjugation of women in society. The song draws parallels between the treatment of women and the treatment of African-Americans, particularly the use of the racial slur 'nigger' to refer to both groups.

The lyrics highlight the ways in which women are controlled and confined by men, particularly in their appearance and behavior. Men demand that women 'paint her face and dance' in order to please them, and berate women who refuse to conform to their expectations. Women are also forced into the role of caretaker, responsible for raising children and running households, while being told that they should not aspire to anything beyond this domestic sphere.

The lyrics are a call to action, urging listeners to recognize the dehumanization and marginalization of women and to do something about it. The repeated refrain of 'if you don't believe me, take a look to the one you're with' is a challenge to men to examine their own relationships and the ways in which they may be complicit in the oppression of women.

Line by Line Meaning

Woman is the nigger of the world
The mistreatment of women in society is similar to the oppression of African Americans during slavery and segregation.

Yes she is, think about it
This statement is meant to challenge the listener to consider the harsh reality of women's oppression.

Think about it, do something about it
The song is not just meant to raise awareness, but also to inspire action to end the oppression of women.

We make her paint her face and dance If she won't be aslave, we say that she don't love us
Women are expected to conform to societal expectations of beauty and submission, and face criticism and punishment if they resist.

If she's real, we say she's trying to be a man While putting her down we pretend that she is above us
Men feel threatened by women who challenge traditional gender roles, and use derogatory language and false compliments to maintain their dominance.

Woman is the slave to the slaves
Even slaves had someone below them to oppress, and in this case, women occupy this lowest possible stratum in society.

Ah yeah, better scream about it
The song urges people to be vocal and confrontational about the oppression of women, rather than silently accepting it as the norm.

We make her bear and raise our children And then we leave her flat for being a fat old mother hen
Women are expected to take on the role of caregiver, but are then criticized and penalized for aging and becoming less desirable to men.

We tell her home is the only place she should be Then we complain that she's too unworldly to be our friend
Society imposes traditional gender roles on women, requiring them to prioritize domesticity, but then criticizes them for being uninteresting and unsophisticated.

We insult her everyday on TV And wonder why she has no guts or confidence
Society perpetuates negative and harmful stereotypes of women in the media, and then expects them to have the same level of confidence and assertiveness as men.

When she's young, we kill her will to be free While telling her not to be so smart we put her down for being so dumb
Girls are often discouraged from being independent and ambitious, and criticized for their intelligence, while boys are encouraged to pursue their passions and intellect.

We make her paint her face and dance
This line is repeated multiple times to emphasize the ongoing, pervasive nature of the oppression of women in society.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON, YOKO ONO

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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