[5][6][7] According to Peter Brown in his book The Love You Make, the song was written in a "creative outburst" following Lennon and Yoko Ono going "cold turkey" from their brief heroin addictions.

On 22 November, "Cold Turkey" dropped to number 15, and on 25 November Lennon returned his MBE to Buckingham Palace saying "I am returning this MBE in protest against Britain's involvement in the Nigeria-Biafra thing, against our support of America in Vietnam, and against 'Cold Turkey' slipping down the charts.

Stereogum contributors Timothy and Elizabeth Bracy rated "Cold Turkey" as Lennon's 10th best solo song, calling it a "tough but rewarding listen" that "stressfully gallops out the gate with a jittery ferociousness that is simultaneously cathartic and claustrophobic.

Lennon asked Nutter to make a positive print of an X-ray of his own head, taken apparently at Lawson Memorial Hospital in Golspie, Scotland, place where he was treated in July 1969.

This was after he was injured in a family car accident on a remote single-track road between Tongue and Durness, near Loch Eriboll.

Nutter created the image by superimposing Lennon's eyes with his round glasses, like a surreal skeletal cover, although this is not particularly clear in its reference to the song.

In fact, the image was created at a time when Lennon was eager to define his eccentric personality as a solo artist, even being a member of The Beatles.

He also performed this song on 15 December 1969, along with "Don't Worry Kyoko (Mummy's Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)", at the Lyceum Ballroom with more members of the Plastic Ono Band.