"Death of Samantha" is a song written by

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

and first released on her 1973 album ''

Approximately Infinite Universe ''Approximately Infinite Universe'' is a double album by Yoko Ono, released in early 1973 on Apple Records. It represents a departure from the experimental avant garde rock of her first two albums towards a more conventional pop/rock sound, wh ...

''. It was also released as a single, backed by " Yang Yang". It has also been covered by a number of artists, including

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

Hermine Demoriane Hermine Demoriane is a French singer, writer and former tightrope walker. Daughter of an engineer and a journalist, she married the British poet Hugo Williams in 1965, with whom she has a daughter, Murphy Williams, also a writer and journalist. B ...

and

Porcupine Tree Porcupine Tree are an English rock band formed by musician Steven Wilson in 1987. During an initial career spanning more than twenty years, they earned critical acclaim from critics and fellow musicians, developed a cult following, and became ...

Description

"Death of Samantha" is sung by Ono, with her husband

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

playing rhythm guitar and

Elephant's Memory Elephant's Memory (also billed as Elephants Memory, without the apostrophe) was an American rock band formed in New York City in the late 1960s, known primarily for backing John Lennon and Yoko Ono from late 1971 to 1973. For live performance ...

providing additional musical backing. Author Gillian Gaar has called the song a "moving portrayal" of a woman who has "repressed all feelings for the sake of outward appearance". Steven Mirkin of the ''

Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digital Fiest/Media News subsidiaries. ...

'' describes the song as "slow twisty blues".

Jon Pareles Jon Pareles (born October 25, 1953) is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of ''The New York Times''.The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' calls the song "elegiac". Ono biographer Jerry Hopkins calls it "depressing". Author Bruce Pollock claims that in the song, Ono "sounds eerily like

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer and dancer. In 1978, at the age of 19, she topped the UK Singles Chart for four weeks with her debut single "Wuthering Heights (song), Wuthering Heights", ...

". Ono's son

Sean Lennon is an American–British musician, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, and half-brother to Julian Lennon. Over the course of his career, he has been a member of the bands Cibo Matto, The G ...

claims that the song was inspired by an incident that occurred on election night in 1972. That night,

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

, whose administration had Lennon under surveillance and wanted Lennon deported, was re-elected as

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

. Lennon got drunk at a party and fondled another woman's breasts. Sean has stated that the song "was all about dad having sex with some girl at a party where my mom was". Ono has said that the song flashed to her in the studio, remembering "something terribly upsetting" that had happened to her, and was feeling like she was "really sad". Ono has stated that when she wrote the song she "sort of saw this graveyard", explaining that it was not exactly a graveyard because there weren't many gravestones, but rather a gray day with "gray people standing around like somebody has died". After John Lennon's death, many fans found the lyrics of "Death of Samantha" descriptive of the

vigil A vigil, from the Latin ''vigilia'' meaning ''wakefulness'' (Greek: ''pannychis'', or ''agrypnia'' ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word ''vigilia'' has become genera ...

for Lennon. Ono has said that at the time "many fans sent me the 'Death of Samantha' lyrics saying that it was uncanny that the lyrics seemed to be describing the vigil. They said, 'You were talking about now.' It was very sad but in a way it was kind of spot-on."

Reception

''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Michael Gallucci rated it as Ono's 3rd best song, describing it as "a bluesy dirge that's part-feminist manifesto, part-lover's lament, and one of her best songs." In addition to its appearance on ''Approximately Infinite Universe'', "Death of Samantha" has appeared on a number of Ono's

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

s, including ''

Onobox ''Onobox'' is a 1992 comprehensive 6-disc collection of Yoko Ono's work from 1968 to 1985. The discs are grouped by era and theme. Disc one centers around the albums '' Fly'' and ''Yoko Ono/Plastic Ono Band'', while Disc two features nearly the e ...

'' and ''

Walking on Thin Ice "Walking on Thin Ice" is a song by Yoko Ono, released in 1981. She and John Lennon concluded the recording of the song on December 8, 1980. It was upon their return from the recording studio to The Dakota (their home in New York City) that Lenn ...

''.

Other versions

covered "Death of Samantha" on the 2007 collaboration album ''

Yes, I'm a Witch ''Yes, I'm a Witch'' is a remix album by Yoko Ono released on February 6, 2007 by Apple Records and Astralwerks. Artists invited to contribute were asked to select a song from Ono's back catalogue, and were then presented with all the necessary e ...

'', performing with Ono's vocals. James Hunter of ''

SPIN Magazine ''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012. Histor ...

'' describes their version as "gothlike." Robert Sandall of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' remarks on the contrast between Ono's "gravely tremulous vocal" and the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

backing, which he describes as "a stark approach which lends her the air of a Leonard Cohen impersonator". Amy Longsdorf of ''

The Spokesman-Review ''The Spokesman-Review'' is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Spokane, Washington, the city's sole remaining daily publication. It has the third-highest readership among daily newspapers in the state, with most of its readership base in ...

'' calls it one of the best songs on ''Yes, I'm a Witch'', claiming it has a "silvery spaciousness" to it, describing the song as "aching".

covered the song on her 1984 album ''Lonely at the Top''.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Ned Raggett calls this version "an inspired nod to an equally unique artist". A cover by

has been released on his 2013 album '' This Is What I Do''. A dub version, featuring Sinead O'Connor, can be found on the online-only release of "This Is What I Dub".

Other influences

The punk rock band

Death of Samantha Death of Samantha is an American underground post-punk band from Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1983, the quartet debuted at a Ground Round family restaurant in Parma Heights. Death of Samantha played a farewell show on December 15 ...

took its name from this song. The song also features on the soundtrack to the Australian 2016 film ''

Boys in the Trees ''Boys in the Trees'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Carly Simon, released by Elektra Records, in April 1978. The lead single, " You Belong to Me", reached No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Pop Singles chart, becoming Simon ...

''.

References

{{Authority control Yoko Ono songs Songs written by Yoko Ono Song recordings produced by Yoko Ono Song recordings produced by John Lennon 1973 songs 1973 singles Plastic Ono Band songs Songs about John Lennon Songs with feminist themes