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
Night Song
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not a bit of breeze,
Neon signs are shining,
Through the tired trees,
Lovers,
Walking to and fro,
Everyone has someone,
And a place to go
Hear the cars go past,
They don't even see me,
Flying by so fast,
Moving,
Going who knows where,
Only thing I know is,
I'm not going there
Where do you go,
When you feel that your brain is on fire,
Where do you go when you don't even know
What it is you desire,
Listen
Laughter everywhere,
Hear it
Life is in the air,
As the night comes
And the town awaits,
Sound o' children calling
And the squeal of brakes,
Music
But a lonely sound
When you can't help wond'ring
Where do I belong
The song "Night Song" by Nina Simone paints a vivid picture of a summer night in the city. The lyrics convey a sense of loneliness and isolation as the singer observes lovers walking by, people going about their lives, and cars rushing past without noticing her. The refrain "where do you go" suggests a feeling of being lost and searching for a place to belong. The contrast between the joyous sounds of laughter, children playing, and music in the city and the singer's own sense of sadness emphasizes the theme of alienation.
The imagery in the song is powerful, with the neon signs shining through the tired trees and the squeal of brakes adding to the sense of urgency and dislocation. The repetition of the line "where do you go" creates a haunting refrain that lingers in the mind, echoing the singer's own sense of longing and confusion. The minor key and slow tempo emphasize the melancholic mood of the song, evoking a sense of sadness and yearning.
Overall, "Night Song" is a beautifully crafted reflection on the experience of loneliness and the search for belonging in a crowded, bustling city. It invites the listener to reflect on their own sense of place and purpose, and to consider the ways in which we all experience feelings of isolation and longing at times.
Line by Line Meaning
Summer,
The season of summer brings warmth and light to the world.
Not a bit of breeze,
The air is still and stagnant, with no movement or relief from the heat.
Neon signs are shining,
The bright, colorful lights of the city illuminate the night sky.
Through the tired trees,
The trees have lost their energy and are no longer lively or green.
Lovers,
Couples walk and share intimate moments together.
Walking to and fro,
The lovers move back and forth, without any particular destination or purpose.
Everyone has someone,
Most people have found someone to share their life with.
And a place to go
They also have somewhere to go, a sense of direction and purpose.
Now listen,
Pay attention and tune in to your surroundings.
Hear the cars go past,
The noisy cars rush by, with no regard for the people around them.
They don't even see me,
The cars don't acknowledge the presence of the singer or anyone else on the street.
Flying by so fast,
The cars are moving quickly and recklessly, with no regard for safety or caution.
Moving,
The world around the singer is constantly changing and moving forward.
Going who knows where,
The world is full of uncertainty and unpredictability, with no clear direction or destination.
Only thing I know is,
The only certainty is that the singer herself is not going in the same direction as the world around her.
I'm not going there
The singer is rejecting the fast-paced, directionless world around her, and instead chooses to forge her own path.
Where do you go,
The singer wonders where others turn to when they are lost and directionless.
When you feel that your brain is on fire,
The singer is referring to the intense feelings of confusion and uncertainty that can arise in human experience.
Where do you go when you don't even know
The singer questions the universal feeling of not knowing one's purpose or direction in life.
What it is you desire,
The singer wonders how humans can find what they want out of life when they are constantly pulled in different directions.
Listen
The singer urges her audience to pay close attention to the world around them.
Laughter everywhere,
The joyful sound of laughter fills the night air, representing the positive aspects of life.
Hear it
The singer urges her audience to listen and appreciate the beauty of the world.
Life is in the air,
The energy and vibrancy of life are palpable and tangible.
As the night comes
The darkness of night provides a canvas for the unique aspects of life to show through.
And the town awaits,
The city is full of opportunity and potential, waiting for people to explore and enjoy it.
Sound o' children calling
The sound of children playing represents the simplistic joy and innocence of youth.
And the squeal of brakes,
The brakes of cars represent the harsh realities and dangers of the world.
Music
The sound of music represents the beauty and artistry of the human experience.
But a lonely sound
The music is not enough to satisfy the singer's deep sense of loneliness and solitude.
When you can't help wond'ring
The singer is expressing the universal feeling of questioning one's purpose and meaning in life.
Where do I belong
The singer is struggling to find her place in the world and her sense of purpose and belonging within it.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IRVING MILLS, JUAN TIZOL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kenneth Jones
For the record: music by Charles Strouse, lyric by Lee Adams. This is Nina Simone's hypnotic cover of one of the best songs from the Broadway musical "Golden Boy."
Evelyn Coe
Thanks Ken. Adding your comment on my Facebook share.
Rahmaiya lewis
Not 1 dislike 😆💖💖 nina will always be a queen, i like this song it calms me sometimes
James Horne
Superb
Kourtenaye Monroe
Yes. Thank You.