"Jealous Guy" is a rock ballad written and sung by John Lennon, who wrote both its music and lyrics. It appeared on his 1971 album Imagine, recorded between 24 May and 5 July 1971 at Ascot Sound Studios, with string overdubs at the Record Plant in New York. Nicky Hopkins plays its distinctive piano part. The song began in 1968 as "Child of Nature", inspired by a lecture by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi during the Beatles' stay at Rishikesh, and was revisited in January 1969 as "On the Road to Marrakesh" before being rewritten as "Jealous Guy" for Imagine.
Released as a UK single only in 1985, backed by "Going Down on Love", it reached number 65 in Britain, and in the US it reached 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988. Roxy Music's 1981 cover was a UK number one for two weeks in March 1981 and topped the Australian chart. Later covers by Joe Cocker, Donny Hathaway, Belinda Carlisle, Elliott Smith and The Weeknd followed. Stereogum ranked it Lennon's second-best solo song, and Ultimate Classic Rock called it one of his most mature piano melodies.
