John Lennon, Woman Is The N***** Of The World | Controversial Tunes 😈🎶

In the 1^st edition of Controversial Tunes (2023), we explore the controversy behind the song, “Woman Is The N***** Of The World” by John Lennon.

Bring on the controversy! Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 is a column that provides background information and insight into songs that raised eyebrows and totally stirred the pot.  The records that grace Controversial Tunes are old and new alike, with all genres of music welcome.  In the 1^st edition of Controversial Tunes (2022), we explore the controversy behind the song, 🎵 “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World” by 🎙 John Lennon. 

“Woman is the nigger of the world / Yes she is, think about it.” It doesn’t take much thought to see why the 🎙 John Lennon song, 🎵 “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World” (💿 Sometime In New York City) has earned its fair share of controversy. First and foremost, any time the hard n-word is used – the racial epithet of all racial epithets – controversy is sure to ensue.  Here, Lennon compares the plight of women to that of blacks, which conjures up a fair share of debate.  After all, for years, many blacks were enslaved, beaten, lynched, and treated as if they weren’t human.  Even after slavery ended, for a long time, it wasn’t smooth sailing in the least for people with more melanin in their skin.  At the same time, Lennon makes a good point about how woman have been treated unfairly compared to men worldwide.  That is very true, and Mr. Lennon makes it crystal clear he is very much a feminist.

“Woman is the nigger of the world,” he continues in the brief but powerful chorus, “Think about it, do something about it.” It is a controversial yet potent call to action. Lennon provides more evidence of how unfairly women have been treated on the verses.  “We make her paint her face and dance,” he sings in the first verse, “If she won’t be a slave, we say that she don’t love us.” Slave, again, is a controversial choice of word for Lennon, but, at the same time, it makes his point crystal clear.  Many men, even to this day, expect a degree of submission from their girlfriends and wives which is unfair and reduces them.  The second verse offers more: “We make her bear and raise our children /… We tell her home is the only place she should be.” As for the third, “We insult her every day on TV” and, “When she’s young, we kill her will to be free.”  It is easy to see why 🎵 “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World” raises eyebrows – the hard n-word is never an easy pill to swallow, speaking as a man of color.  That said, Lennon doesn’t come off as racist even if you wished he’d found a much less polarizing word.  It all about feminism on this thought-provoking, Controversial Tune 😈🎶.

🎙 John Lennon • 💿 Sometime In New York City • 🏷 EMI Records Ltd • 🗓 1972

John Lennon, “Woman Is The Nigger Of The World”: Controversial Tunes 😈🎶 No. 1 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner/ The Musical Hype; EMI Records Ltd; Tazz Vaughn via Pexels; Darkmoon_Art,  TheDigitalArtist via Pixabay]