Some critics have suggested that the song was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, while other consider that it refers to Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez.

Bob Dylan released his fifth studio album Bringing It All Back Home in March 1965, followed by Highway 61 Revisited in August of that year.

[8] Two musicians from the New York sessions were retained; Dylan was accompanied by Al Kooper on his journey to Nashville and Robbie Robertson joined them there.

[11] The song features a lilting melody, backed by delicately picked nylon-string guitar and piano instrumentation, resulting in what Bill Janovitz wrote was arguably the most "radio-friendly" track on the album.

"[15] In the album notes of his 1985 compilation Biograph, Dylan related that he wrote the lyrics of "Just Like a Woman" in Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1965, while on tour.

The improvisational spirit extends to the band attempting, in their fourth take, a "weird, double-time version", somewhere between Jamaican ska and Bo Diddley.

[19] Kooper has explained that he would play piano for Dylan in his hotel room, to aid the song-writing process, and then would teach the tunes to the studio musicians at the recording sessions.

[20] Dylan's exploration of female wiles and feminine vulnerability was widely rumored—"not least by her acquaintances among Andy Warhol's Factory retinue"—to be about Edie Sedgwick.

[12] In particular, it has been suggested that the lines "Please don't let on that you knew me when/I was hungry and it was your world" may refer to the early days of their relationship, when Baez was more famous than Dylan.

[28] In 1971, Marion Meade wrote in The New York Times that "there's no more complete catalogue of sexist slurs", and went on to note that in the song Dylan "defines women's natural traits as greed, hypocrisy, whining and hysteria".

[30] He further comments on Dylan's singing by saying that "there's never a moment in the song, despite the little digs and the confessions of pain, when you can't hear the love in his voice".

[31] Williams also contends that a central theme of the song is the power that the woman described in the lyrics has over Dylan, as evidenced by the line "I was hungry and it was your world".

"[12] Similarly, literary critic Christopher Ricks asks, "could there ever be any challenging art about men and women where the accusation just didn't arise?

[21] David F. Wagner, in The Post-Crescent, found "Just Like a Woman" to be a "tender, melodic ballad with punch", that he felt would be the most-covered track from the album.

[37] A staff writer for Cash Box described the song as "a slow-shufflin' laconic ode which underscores just how much men need woman [sic]".

[38] The staff writer for Record World believed that Dylan went after a more relaxed "musical background than usual on this ditty", calling the lyrics "perceptive".

[41] "The Arizona Republic reviewer Troy Irvine described the single release version as "a bright mover with good folk appeal".

[4] Musicians Technical English beat group Manfred Mann formed in December 1962 (originally as the Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers), and signed to record label His Master's Voice in May 1964.

[56][57] After a car accident in early 1966, which left Jones unable to perform, Manfred Mann hired bassist Jack Bruce along with brass players and cut some instrumental songs.

[64] Additionally, Manfred Mann's previous manager Kenneth Pitt was Dylan's British publicist, giving them access to demos and otherwise unavailable material.

[66] The song features the signature steel guitar playing by Tom McGuinness,[67] though notably lacks any significant keyboard parts unlike much of their earlier material.

[70] Another coincidence is the fact that both these versions were released on the same day Dylan crashed his motorcycle, effectively putting him out of the spotlight for well over a year.

[55] King's version however, only reached number 56,[55] which, according to Bruce Eder of AllMusic, meant that Manfreds chart success "establish[ed] the new lineup's commercial credibility".

In Disc and Music Echo, Penny Valentine reviewed both Manfred Mann's and King's versions, but preferred the former, calling it more "subtle" and "far more pretty".

[83] A Cash Box staff writer described it as a "harsh, funk-filled reading", which the reviewer thought would generate sales for the single.