20 min

#6 - Jealous Guy / John Lennon The Secret Life of Songs

    • Music Commentary

The history of rock music is in large part a history of men writing condescending and degrading songs about women, so it's interesting when a songwriter like John Lennon - with a track record of some of rock's most notoriously misogynistic lyrics - performs a song that at first listen appears to be apologetic and self-critical. In this episode, I look closely at the songwriting in his 1971 song, 'Jealous Guy', in the context of rock's historic sexism, to see how convincing this gesture of apology really is.

All the songs discussed in this episode, including the original recording of 'Jealous Guy', can be heard here.

If you've enjoyed the episode please leave a review on Apple podcasts! Thank you :)

The history of rock music is in large part a history of men writing condescending and degrading songs about women, so it's interesting when a songwriter like John Lennon - with a track record of some of rock's most notoriously misogynistic lyrics - performs a song that at first listen appears to be apologetic and self-critical. In this episode, I look closely at the songwriting in his 1971 song, 'Jealous Guy', in the context of rock's historic sexism, to see how convincing this gesture of apology really is.

All the songs discussed in this episode, including the original recording of 'Jealous Guy', can be heard here.

If you've enjoyed the episode please leave a review on Apple podcasts! Thank you :)

20 min