Video: 'Woman Is The Nigger Of The World (Remastered 2010)'
(Wednesday, March 18, 1972) — Former Beatle John Lennon and his wife, Yoko Ono, completed five tracks for their part-studio, part-live double album Some Time in New York City today at the Record Planet recording studio in New York City, overdubbing strings to “Woman is The Nigger of the World,” Ono’s “Sisters O Sisters,” “The Luck Of The Irish,” “Angela,” and Ono’s “Born in a Prison.”
“Woman Is the Nigger of the World” (a phrase Ono had coined in the late 1960s), was intended as a negation of sexism and was also issued as a single in the U.S. to a controversial reaction, and – as a consequence – little airplay. The Lennons went to great lengths (including a press conference attended by staff from Jet and Ebony magazines) to explain that the word “nigger” was not meant as an affront to black people.
Ono’s “Sisters O Sisters” encourages women to use their power to improve the world.
Video: 'Sisters, O Sisters (Remastered 2010)'
“The Luck of the Irish” was written in late 1971 and was performed by Lennon and Ono live at several protest rallies and television appearances before being released on the album. It had been slated to be the first single from Some Time in New York City backed by “Attica State” but the release was shelved in favor of “Woman Is the Nigger of the World.”
Video: 'The Luck Of The Irish (Remastered 2010)'
“Angela” was written in response to the jailing of political activist Angela Davis and the oppression of women. In 1970, guns belonging to Davis were used in an armed takeover of a courtroom in Marin County, California, in which four people were killed. Prosecuted for three capital felonies, including conspiracy to murder, she was held in jail for over a year before being acquitted of all charges in 1972.
Video: 'Angela (Remastered 2010)'
Ono’s “Born in a Prison” uses prison as a metaphor for the constraints society places on individuals.
Video: 'Born In A Prison (Remastered 2010)'
Released in June 1972 in the U.S. and in September 1972 in the UK, Some Time In New York City was the third studio album to bear Lennon’s name since he left The Beatles, and his fourth with Ono (the first three were experimental albums released in 1968-69). Lennon and Ono were backed by members of the American rock band Elephant’s Memory.
Like Lennon’s previous solo albums, it was co-produced by Lennon, Ono, and Phil Spector. Mixing sessions would continue through Monday, Mar. 20, 1972, the couple’s third wedding anniversary.
The album’s lyrics are very politically charged compared to its predecessors, discussing political and social issues and topics such as sexism, incarceration, colonialism, and racism.
