Simone was born Eunice Kathleen Waymon on 21st February 1933 in Tryon, North Carolina, USA, one of eight children. Like a number of other black singers in the U.S., she was inspired as a child by Marian Anderson, and began singing at her local church, also showing great talent as a pianist. Her public debut, a piano recital, was made at the age of ten. Her parents, who had taken seats in the front row, were forced to move to the back of the hall to make way for white audience members. This incident contributed to her later involvement in the civil rights movement.
Simone's mother, Mary Kate Waymon (who lived into her late nineties) was a strict Methodist minister; her father, John Divine Waymon, was a handyman and sometime barber who suffered bouts of ill-health. Mrs Waymon worked as a maid, and her employer, hearing of Nina's talent, provided funds for piano lessons for the little girl. Subsequently, a local fund was set up to assist in Eunice's continued education.
At seventeen, Simone moved to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she taught piano and accompanied singers. She was able to begin studying piano at New York City's prestigious Juilliard School of Music but lack of funds meant that she was unable to fulfill her dream of becoming America's first Black classical pianist. She later had an interview to study piano at the Curtis Institute, but was rejected. Simone believed this rejection, which fueled her hatred of racism, was because she was black.
Simone turned to blues and jazz after getting her start at the Midtown Bar & Grill on Pacific Avenue in Atlantic City, taking the name Nina Simone in 1954; "Nina" was her boyfriend's nickname for her, and "Simone" was after the French actress Simone Signoret. She first came to public notice in 1959 with her wrenching rendition of George Gershwin's "I Loves You Porgy" (from Porgy and Bess), her only Top-Forty hit in the United States. This was soon followed by the single "My Baby Just Cares for Me" (this was also a hit in the 1980s in the United Kingdom when used for television advertisements for Chanel No 5 perfume).
Throughout the 1960s, Simone was involved in the civil rights movement and recorded a number of political songs, including "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" (later covered by Aretha Franklin and Donny Hathaway), "Backlash Blues", "Mississippi Goddam" (a response to the murder of Medgar Evers and the bombing of a church in Birmingham, Alabama killing four black children), "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free", and Kurt Weill's "Pirate Jenny", from The Threepenny Opera, re-cast in a southern town.
In 1961, Simone recorded a version of the traditional song "House of the Rising Sun", which was then covered by folk-blues artist, Dave Van Ronk, and later recorded by Bob Dylan, where it was picked up by The Animals and became their signature hit. Other songs she is famous for include "I Put a Spell on You" (originally by Screamin' Jay Hawkins), The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun", "Four Women", Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released", the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody", and "Ain't Got No (I Got Life)". The latter, from the musical Hair, was her debut in the UK charts, reaching number two in 1968, and a remixed version of the recording by Groovefinder was a UK Top Thirty hit in 2006.
Broadway musicals also supplied several hits for Simone: "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "Love Me or Leave Me", "Feeling Good", and "Ne Me Quitte Pas". Also "You Can Have Him" on the LP Live at Town Hall recorded when she was twenty-six years old; at the end of this operatic performance, which displays her great skill as an actress as well as a musician, she whoops with joy. This single recording encapsulates her extraordinary power, wit, flexibility, sensuality and occasional menace.
In 1987 Nina experienced a resurgence in popularity when "My Baby Just Cares for Me", a track from her first Bethlehem Records album (1958) became a huge hit in the UK and elsewhere. Nina's versatility as an artist was evident in all her music, which often had a folk-music simplicity.
In a single concert, she moved easily from gospel-inspired tunes to blues and jazz and, in numbers like "For All We Know", to numbers infused with European classical stylings, and counterpoint fugues.
Throughout most of her career she was accompanied by percussionist Leopoldo Flemming and guitarist and musical director Al Shackman.
In 1971, Simone left the United States following disagreements with her agents, record labels, and the tax authorities, citing racism as the reason. She returned in 1978 and was arrested for tax evasion (she had withheld several years of income tax as a protest against the Vietnam War). She lived in various countries in the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, continuing to perform into her 60s. In the 1980s, she performed regularly at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London. In 1995, Simone reportedly shot and wounded her neighbour's son with an air pistol after his laughing disturbed her concentration.
She had a reputation in the music industry for being volatile and sometimes difficult to deal with, a characterization with which Simone strenuously took issue.
Though her onstage style could be somewhat haughty and aloof, in later years, Simone particularly seemed to enjoy engaging her adoring audiences by recounting sometimes humorous anecdotes related to her career and music and soliciting requests. Simone's regal bearing and commanding stage presence earned her the title the "High Priestess of Soul."
In 1993, she settled near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France. She had been ill with cancer for several years before she died on 21st April 2003 in her sleep at her home in Carry-le-Rouet.
Simone was the recipient of a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2000 for her song "I Loves You Porgy." She has also received fifteen Grammy Award nominations. On Human Kindness Day 1974 in Washington, D.C., more than 10,000 people paid tribute to Simone. Simone received two honorary degrees in music and humanities, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Malcolm X College. She preferred to be called "Dr. Nina Simone" after these honors were bestowed upon her. Only two days before her death, Simone was awarded an honorary degree by the Curtis Institute, the music school that had refused to admit her as a student at the beginning of her career.
In 2002, the city of Nijmegen (The Netherlands) named a street after her, the Nina Simonestraat. Simone lived in Nijmegen between 1988 and 1990.
Simone was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 2010 a statue in her honor was erected in Trade Street, Tryon, North Carolina, her place of birth.
*Official site
Ain't No Use
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm leaving the scene
Ain't no use baby
You're too doggone mean
Yes I'm tired of paying dues
Having the blues
Hitting bad news
Ain't no use baby
I'm leaving town
Ain't no use daddy
I'm putting you down
I'm gonna change my name
Things won't be the same
'Cause I'm tired of playing your game
Ain't no use baby I tell you ain't no use
I tried all these years Lord knows I've tried
Yes and I cried deep down inside
But daddy why complain
It's all over and you're to blame yeah yeah
Ain't no use baby
Shed them tears
Ain't no use baby
I cried for years for too many years
You done had your fan
Ain't no use
Ain't no use
Ain't no use daddy
Ain't no use
The lyrics to Nina Simone's song Ain't No Use talks about a woman who is tired of being mistreated by a man and decides to leave him. The opening lines, "Ain't no use baby, I'm leaving the scene," indicate the woman's decision to end the relationship because it is no longer serving her emotional or physical needs. She is frustrated, and her partner is mean, so she decides to walk away. The repetition of "Ain't no use baby" throughout the song emphasizes her finality in her decision.
Simone sings about being tired of "paying dues, having the blues, and hitting bad news," all indicative of a life filled with difficulties brought on by the relationship. She is done with the partnership and is tired of playing his game, hence the line, "I'm gonna change my name, things won't be the same." She wants to start a new life and move on from this man who has caused her so much pain.
The refrain of "Ain't no use" repeats several times throughout the song, emphasizing the woman's decisiveness in her choice to leave the relationship. As the song ends, she sings, "You done had your fun, ain't no use, ain't no use, ain't no use daddy, ain't no use." She is letting him know that she is no longer going to put up with his mistreatment and that their relationship is over.
Overall, "Ain't No Use" is a powerful song about leaving a toxic relationship and moving on to a better life. Through her words, Nina Simone showcases the strength and resilience of women who refuse to be treated badly and stand tall in their decisions to leave.
Line by Line Meaning
Ain't no use baby
There is no point in staying together.
I'm leaving the scene
I am leaving this relationship behind.
You're too doggone mean
I cannot tolerate your unkind behavior any longer.
Yes I'm tired of paying dues
I am exhausted from constantly making sacrifices for you.
Having the blues
I am sad and unhappy with the way things are.
Hitting bad news
Terrible things keep happening to us.
Ain't no use baby
This relationship is hopeless and not worth saving.
I'm leaving town
I am leaving this place and starting over.
Ain't no use daddy
I cannot stay in this relationship with you anymore.
I'm putting you down
I am no longer in love with you and am ending this relationship.
I'm gonna change my name
I want to start afresh and leave all the bad memories behind.
Things won't be the same
Our relationship is over and things will never be the same again.
'Cause I'm tired of playing your game
I am tired of being manipulated and controlled by you.
It's all over and you're to blame yeah yeah
Our relationship has ended, and it is all your fault.
Shed them tears
You can cry if you want, but it won't change anything.
I cried for years for too many years
I have been unhappy for far too long.
You done had your fan
You had your chance, but it's over now.
Ain't no use
There is nothing left to fight for in this relationship.
Ain't no use
I have made up my mind and there is no going back.
Ain't no use daddy
I am done with this relationship and there is nothing you can do to change my mind.
Ain't no use
This relationship is hopeless and it's time to move on.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RUDY STEVENSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kym Potter
Ain't got no home, ain't got no shoes
Ain't got no money, ain't got no class
Ain't got no skirts, ain't got no sweaters
Ain't got no perfume, ain't got no love
Ain't got no faith.
I aint got no culture, ain't got no mother, Ain't got no father, ain't got no brother,
Ain't got no children, ain't got no aunts, Ain't got no uncles
Ain't got no love, ain't got no mind
Ain't got no country, ain't got no schooling
Ain't got no friends, ain't got no nothing
Ain't got no water, ain't got no air
Ain't got no smokes, Ain't got no ticket
Ain't got, Ain't got no water, Ain't got no love
Ain't got no head, Ain't got no God,
Ain't got no wine, Ain't got no money,
Ain't got no bed, Ain't got no God,
Ain't got no love
Aaand what have I got?
Why Am I Alive Anyway?
What have I got,
Nobody Can take away.
I got my hair on my head
I got my brains, I got my ears
I got my eyes, I got my nose
I got my mouth,
I got my smile, I got myself
I got my arms, I got my hands
I got my fingers, got my legs
I got my feet, I got my toes
I got my liver, got my blood
I've Got Life, I've Got Life
I've Got headache, I've Got toothache and bad minds too like you
I got my hair on my head
I got my brains, I got my ears
I got my eyes, I got my nose
I got my mouth,
I got my smile
I got my tongue, I got my chin
I got my neck, I got my boobies
I got my heart, I got my soul
I got my back, I got my sex
I got my arms, I got my hands
I got my fingers, got my legs
I got my feet, I got my toes
I got my liver, got my blood
Got life, I got my freedom
I got Life.
Snake Whitcher
I spent some time being homeless. This woman's music helped me get through it with some measure of dignity.
Cleop@tra
She's getting me through the situation now. 🙏🙏🙏🙏
E.
Thank Godness
New World Disorder
@Cleop@tra Prayers with you tricky
Steven Parks
Sending blessings your way!
Snake Whitcher
@Steven Parks Thanks. Likewise.
didtah
This song literally contains a spirit to live, and its hope gives me freedom. Thank you, Nina
YennyRegime
❤ I agree
Javier E
Having nothing is terrible but it's also a very reconforting feeling of meaningless and freedom
Bob the Poppop
I literally discovered Nina Simone today and I could not be more happy to hear this woman sing (and pretty bummed to discover her so late in my own life). She's absolutely amazing.