Woman (John Lennon song)

1981 single by John Lennon

"Woman" is a song written and performed by English singer John Lennon from his 1980 album Double Fantasy. The track was chosen by Lennon to be the second single released from the Double Fantasy album, and it was the first Lennon single issued after his murder on 8 December 1980. The B side of the single is Ono's song "Beautiful Boys". The track begins with Lennon whispering, "For the other half of the sky", a paraphrase of a Chinese proverb, once used by Mao Zedong.

In an interview for Rolling Stone magazine on 5 December 1980, three days before his murder, John Lennon said that the song "came about because, one sunny afternoon in Bermuda, it suddenly hit me what women do for us. Not just what my Yoko does for me, although I was thinking in those personal terms but any truth is universal. What dawned on me was everything I was taking for granted. Women really are the other half of the sky, as I whisper at the beginning of the song. It's a 'we' or it ain't anything." In that same interview, Lennon said that "Woman" was his most Beatlesque song on Double Fantasy and that the track is a "grown up version" of his Beatles song "Girl". On 5 June 1981, Geffen re released "Woman" as a single as part of their "Back to Back Hits" series, with the B side "(Just Like) Starting Over". Other footage of Ono alone, along with photos and newspaper coverage of Lennon's murder, were also included.

Record World described it as a "simple, introspective love song" and said that the power its last line − "I love you now and forever" − magnifies the song's impact. Ultimate Classic Rock critic Stephen Lewis rated it as Lennon's greatest solo love song.

The single debuted at number three in Lennon's native UK, then moving to number two and finally reaching number one, where it spent two weeks, knocking off the top spot his own re released "Imagine". In the US the single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 (kept out of the top spot by REO Speedwagon's hit "Keep On Loving You" and Blondie's hit "Rapture") while reaching number one on the Cashbox Top 100.