‘Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him’ was released on 16 Nov 1984 to promote ‘Every Man Has A Woman’, a tribute album made featuring covers Yoko Ono songs by various artists put together for her 50th birthday, Sean Ono Lennon performs the B-Side, ‘It’s Alright’.

Yoko: With my song ‘Every Man Has A Woman Who Loves Him’, I did the whole thing and John said, ‘OK, can I harmonize?’ He was nice about it but I wasn’t going to ask him.

He wanted to do a complete version for other reasons. It was out of kind- ness that he did it, or maybe because he wanted to have fun. There was always that. It wasn’t like an ‘OK, why don’t we build something together’ kind of thing. It wasn’t so much of that, except for some political songs which were important for both of us to do. It didn’t happen too often.

The song is just about love. Why, when we know something intuitively, do we have a tendency of wanting to escape from it, or fear it?

We can’t really express the emotions straight. Now John is pretty good at expressing his emotions well in a song. I tend to just use symbolism, ‘Dear Yoko’ is a real song, it says it right on – everything is set in naked words. Somehow I’m not like that.

John: Your mother loves you doesn’t she?

Yoko: Yes definitely. In the whole wide world, there will always be one person you know, and it’s a nice relief too. Also we laugh at our chance like it, escaping from it. You just have to face it.

In 2004, I created ‘Everyman’ – new versions and mixes of my song called ‘Every Man Has A Man Who Loves Him’ and ‘Every Woman Has A Wom- an Who Loves Her’, which went to Number Two on the US Dance Chart.

It was a victory not just for me but for all Americans who are against the administration’s decision to ban gay marriage. John would have been very pleased.

It was a real educational experience for me. After I recorded ‘Everyman’, I even had close friends say to me, ‘Did you really have to do that?’ They were very uncomfortable that I was making this statement. I was hearing, ‘Well, I’m a Catholic’ or whatever.

The truth is, I’m upset that gays can’t get married. It’s unfair. Plus, it’s an insult to women. Marriage is only for procreation? Really? What about the woman who wants to get married and not have kids? Should they not get married either?

As a feminist, John understood that the song was about equality. I wanted to show that women are one half of the equation. We’re not just the child- bearers. I think that’s what John liked about it. I have a lot of gay friends and now it’s like, ‘Why didn’t I think of this before?’

I should think that people would be more interested in politics and all that is happening, rather than two lovebirds who are looking to wed. I think it’s very nice that in an age when love is so scarce, that people are willing to gamble on getting married.