Yoko Ono Reveals The Origins Of ‘Yes, I’m Your Angel’ From John Lennon’s Final Album
Words by Riley Fitzgerald
Graphic by Wikimedia
“One night,” Yoko Ono writes of Double Fantasy‘s ‘Yes I’m Your Angel’ via Twitter, “John was feeling like he was getting old and moaning about it.”
“We all have times like that,” she continues. “Especially in the middle of a rainy night! So I was inspired to write ‘Yes, I’m Your Angel’, full of love for him for his approaching birthday.”
John Lennon would live to see the birthday in question, his 40th, on October 9, 1980.
Shot dead on December 8th, 1980, he would not live to see another.
After a five-year hiatus from the world of music, John Lennon’s fifth solo album Double Fantasy itself would arrive on November 17th.
‘Yes I’m Your Angel’ is the second track from the second side of Double Fantasy, a record to which Yoko contributed half the songs.
The splitting of the album’s material between Lennon and Ono was not without controversy.
Lennon’s label originally pressed the former Beatle to focus solely on his own material, something he resisted this.
He had always believed that Yoko Ono’s talent as an artist rivaled his own and was adamant she be given an equal share of the spotlight.
“If I couldn’t have worked with her,” John Lennon shared of Yoko Ono in an interview shortly before his death, “I wouldn’t have bothered. I wouldn’t enjoy just putting an album out by myself, having to do this myself, having to go into the studio by myself. After all, we are presenting ourselves as a couple, and to work with your best friend is a joy and I don’t intend to stop it.”
Ono’s statement follows news that a copy of the album signed by John Lennon for killer Mark Chapman five hours before his murder is once again on sale.
2020 will mark the 40th anniversary of Lennon’s death.
One night, John was feeling like he was getting old and moaning about it. We all have times like that. Especially in the middle of a rainy night! So I was inspired to write 'Yes, I'm Your Angel', full of love for him for his approaching birthday.https://t.co/jE4CrNgXaR
— Yoko Ono (@yokoono) February 14, 2020
