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
Go Limp
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take warning from me
And don't you go marching
With the N-A-A-C-P.
For they'll rock you and roll you
And shove you into bed.
And if they steal your nuclear secret
[Chorus]
Singin' too roo la, too roo la, too roo li ay.
Singin' too roo la, too roo la, too roo li ay.
Oh Mother, dear Mother,
No, I'm not afraid.
For I'll go on that march
And I'll return a virgin maid.
With a brick in my handbag
And a smile on my face
And barbed wire in my underwear
To shed off disgrace.
[Chorus]
One day they were marching.
A young man came by
With a beard on his cheek
And a gleam in his eye.
And before she had time
To remember her brick...
They were holding a sit-down
On a nearby hay rig.
[Chorus]
For meeting is pleasure
And parting is pain.
And if I have a great concert
Maybe I won't have to sing those folk songs again.
Oh Mother, dear Mother
I'm stiff and I'm sore
From sleeping three nights
On a hard classroom floor.
[Chorus]
One day at the briefing
She'd heard a man say,
"Go perfectly limp,
And be carried away."
So when this young man suggested
It was time she was kissed,
She remembered her brief
And did not resist.
[Chorus]
Oh Mother, dear Mother,
No need for distress,
For the young man has left me
His name and address.
And if we win
Tho' a baby there be,
He won't have to march
Like his da-da and me.
Nina Simone's song "Go Limp" is a powerful and provocative commentary on the Civil Rights Movement and the role of women in the struggle for justice. The song tells the story of a mother warning her daughter not to join the NAACP and go marching with them. The mother fears that her daughter will be taken advantage of and be put in danger. However, the daughter is not afraid and is determined to join the march. She packs a brick in her handbag, barbed wire in her underwear, and plans to return a virgin maid. Ironically, the daughter's plan fails when a young man with a gleam in his eye leads her to a sit-in protest where she decides to "go limp" and be carried away. In the end, she ends up carrying the young man's child and hopes that he will not have to march like his dad and her.
The song highlights several themes that were critical during the Civil Rights Movement, including non-violent resistance, sit-ins, and interracial relationships. The mother's warning reflects the fear and anxiety many individuals had about joining the movement and the consequences that they could face. The daughter's determination to march illustrates the strength and courage of the individuals who risked their lives for a better future. The song also touches on the role of women in the movement, who were often marginalized and relegated to supportive roles. However, the daughter's decision to "go limp" and be carried away reflects the power of non-violent resistance and the critical role women played in the protests.
Overall, "Go Limp" is a powerful reminder of the sacrifices that individuals and families made during the Civil Rights Movement. It captures the fear, courage, and determination of individuals who were fighting for fundamental rights and social justice. The song is a timeless classic that continues to resonate with audiences today.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Daughter, dear Daughter,
Take warning from me
And don't you go marching
With the N-A-A-C-P.
The mother tells her daughter not to join the N-A-A-C-P as they might hurt her and steal her secrets.
For they'll rock you and roll you
And shove you into bed.
And if they steal your nuclear secret
You'll wish you were dead.
If the N-A-A-C-P gets hold of the daughter, they will put her in trouble and get her secrets. She will regret it.
[Chorus]
Singin' too roo la, too roo la, too roo li ay.
Singin' too roo la, too roo la, too roo li ay.
Chorus where the song title is repeated multiple times.
Oh Mother, dear Mother,
No, I'm not afraid.
For I'll go on that march
And I'll return a virgin maid.
The daughter wants to join the march, but she assures her mother that she will come back safe and untouched.
With a brick in my handbag
And a smile on my face
And barbed wire in my underwear
To shed off disgrace.
The daughter carries a brick, hides wire in her underwear, and carries a smile as she is prepared to fight and protect herself if need be.
[Chorus]
Chorus where the song title is repeated multiple times.
One day they were marching.
A young man came by
With a beard on his cheek
And a gleam in his eye.
During the march, a young man joins them, impressing the daughter with his beard and confidence.
And before she had time
To remember her brick...
They were holding a sit-down
On a nearby hay rig.
The daughter forgets about her brick and joins the sit-in with the young man, forgetting the fear of the N-A-A-C-P.
[Chorus]
Chorus where the song title is repeated multiple times.
For meeting is pleasure
And parting is pain.
And if I have a great concert
Maybe I won't have to sing those folk songs again.
The daughter does not like singing folk songs, so if she gets a big gig, she might never have to do it again.
Oh Mother, dear Mother
I'm stiff and I'm sore
From sleeping three nights
On a hard classroom floor.
The daughter is tired and hurt from sleeping on the classroom's hard floor after the march.
[Chorus]
Chorus where the song title is repeated multiple times.
One day at the briefing
She'd heard a man say,
"Go perfectly limp,
And be carried away."
The daughter was told how to behave during a protest by going limp and letting the police carry her away.
So when this young man suggested
It was time she was kissed,
She remembered her brief
And did not resist.
When the young man wanted to kiss her, she remembered her instructions and did not fight back.
[Chorus]
Chorus where the song title is repeated multiple times.
Oh Mother, dear Mother,
No need for distress,
For the young man has left me
His name and address.
The daughter reveals to her mother that the young man gave her his name and address before leaving.
And if we win
Tho' a baby there be,
He won't have to march
Like his da-da and me.
If they win the fight, the daughter and the young man will have a baby who will not have to experience the struggle they went through.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALEX COMFORT, NINA SIMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Harry strings
on Blackbird
This is one of the inspired song have ever heard, it's touches my soul..
Daniel
on Feeling Good
Just unbelievable, I dig it. Great music & artists.
Nikolaos Souroufis
on Sinnerman
amazing !!!!!!!!