The “murder” behind Yoko Ono song ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko’
Following The Beatles’ dissolution in 1970, it became fashionable among fans to throw shade on Yoko Ono as the straw that broke the camel’s back. In reality, myriad factors were at play, and disbandment appeared inevitable and necessary, allowing each member to proceed with dignity and artistic integrity.
Therefore, whether Ono was a factor is trivial; fans would have done better to support Lennon as an artist and respect his personal life. While it was sad to see Lennon and his first wife, Cynthia, come to an adulterous end, Ono appeared a better fit for Lennon’s constantly evolving personality. Notably, the late Beatle warmed to Ono’s maternal nature and artistic inclinations.
Additionally, Ono and Lennon found harmony in their pursuit of world peace in response to US involvement in the Vietnam War over the late ’60s and early ’70s. As Lennon began his solo career, nearing The Beatles’ curtain call, some of his output music became politically motivated in tandem with his and Ono’s activism.
Although she was an established visual and conceptual artist long before her liaisons with The Beatles, Ono began to try her hand as a recording artist under Lennon’s support and as a member of the Plastic Ono Band. Generally, she took an avant-garde approach, screaming shrilly through several memorable performances. Still, occasionally, Ono came up with delightfully accessible gems, such as the ‘Happy Xmas (Was Is Over)’ B-side, ‘Listen, the Snow Is Falling’.
In one of the Plastic Ono Band’s less overt examples of political activism, Ono contributed ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand in the Snow)’ to serve as the B-side of Lennon’s 1969 single ‘Cold Turkey’. The A-side, Lennon’s second solo single, had been rejected by The Beatles and referenced his and Ono’s concurrent struggle with heroin addiction.
The title ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko’ reassures Ono’s daughter, Kyoko, while the parenthetic addition, ‘Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand In The Snow’, hints at a desperate search for answers in a cold and hostile setting. Ono’s characteristically screaming refrain, “Don’t worry,” betrays very little of the song’s thematic orientation, but the live version heard on the Live Jam album reveals a clue.
At the beginning of the live version, Ono can be heard shouting, “Britain, you killed Hanratty, you murderer!” This was a reference to James Hanratty, the alleged rapist and murderer famed as one of the last eight convicts to be hanged in the UK before the suspension of the death penalty in 1965.
Hanratty was hanged at Bedford Jail following his conviction for the 1961 murder of 36-year-old scientist Michael Gregsten. Gregsten was found with fatal gunshot wounds in a car on the A6 at Deadman’s Hill, near Clophill, Bedfordshire. Hanratty was also charged with raping Valerie Storie, Gregsten’s girlfriend, whom he shot five times. Remarkably, she survived the ordeal but was left paralysed.
Mounting evidence pointed towards Hanratty as the man responsible for the so-called A6 Murders, but Ono and Lennon famously bought into conspiracies surrounding the notorious murders in the late 1960s. Such theories were motivated by a falsified confession from the first suspect, Peter Alphron, following the execution. This was allegedly the unprincipled meddling of the failed lawyer Jean Justice and the researcher Paul Foot.
Fooled by the conspiracy, Lennon financed the 35-minute documentary Did Britain Murder Hanratty? as a 1969 Apple Films production. Watch the documentary and hear the live version of Yoko Ono’s ‘Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking For A Hand in the Snow)’ below.
