“Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)” (also known as “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for a Hand in the Snow)” or “Don’t Worry Kyoko”) is a song by Yoko Ono that was originally released by Plastic Ono Band in October 1969 as the B-side of John Lennon’s single “Cold Turkey” and was later released on Ono’s 1971 album Fly. Several live versions have been released, including on Live Peace in Toronto 1969 and Some Time in New York City in 1972. An early version was titled “Mum’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow.” It was covered by several other artists.
“Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)” was inspired by Lennon’s and Ono’s custody fight with Ono’s ex-husband Anthony Cox over Cox’s and Ono’s daughter Kyoko, representing Ono’s attempt to communicate with her daughter. Ono and Kyoko were finally reunited in the 1990’s when Kyoko was in her thirties.
Music critic Johnny Rogan considers “Don’t Worry Kyoko (Mummy’s Only Looking for Her Hand in the Snow)” to be “arguably Yoko Ono’s finest recorded moment.” Lennon claimed that the song was “one of the fuckin’ best rock ‘n’ roll records ever made.” Of the live version issued on Some Time in New York City, Lennon claimed that the musicians were “inspired out of their skulls” and that it was “the most fantastic music [he’d] ever heard.”Authors Ken Bielen and Ben Urish call that version “a stunning masterwork.” Of the studio version, Bielen and Urish praise it as “the standout inclusion on Fly,” calling it “an amazing achievement,” particularly the guitar work of Lennon and Clapton, Starr’s “slowly varying drum work” and Ono’s vocal, which they call “one of her most effective.” The New York Times’ Kozinn calls the song a “searing rocker.”The Los Angeles Times’ Hochman describes the song as “a raw, anguished cry from the soul.” Author Bruce Pollock describes it has having “frenzied glory.”
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