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
Papa can you hear me
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Papa, can you see me?
Papa, can you find me in the night?
Papa, are you near me?
Papa, can you hear me?
Papa, can you help me not be frightened?
Looking at the skies I see a million eyes
Where are you now
That yesterday has waved goodbye
And closed it's doors
The night is so much darker
The wind is so much colder
The world is so much bigger
Now that I am alone.
Papa, please forgive me
I know you understand me
Papa, don't you know I had no choice?
Oh, can you hear me prayin'?
Anything I'm sayin'?
Even though the night is filled with voices
I remember everything you ever taught me
Evey book I've ever read.
Can all the words,
All the music help me face what's ahead?
The trees are so much taller
I feel so much smaller
The moon is twice as lonely
And the stars are half as bright.
Daddy, how I love you
Daddy, how I need you
Daddy, how I miss you
Kissing me goodnight.
Nina Simone's song "Papa Can You Hear Me," released in 1970, explores the theme of loss and longing for a loved one, specifically a daughter's longing for her deceased father. The lyrics are heartfelt and poignant as the singer questions whether her father can hear and see her, and whether he is near her or not. The first verse establishes the singer's separation from her father and her fear of being alone in the dark. The second verse reflects on the vastness of the world and the singer's feelings of being small, lonely, and powerless without her father. The final verse is a tribute to her father's love and how much she still needs him to be with her.
The tone of the song is somber and haunting, which is enhanced by Simone's soulful voice, and the slow, pensive piano and cello instrumentation. The song's juxtaposition between the singer's vulnerability and assertiveness in her questioning of her father creates a sense of emotional turmoil and unresolved grief. The song's religious overtones suggest that the singer is seeking solace and comfort from her father in the afterlife.
Line by Line Meaning
Papa, can you hear me?
I'm calling out to you, hoping you can hear my voice, my pain, my fears.
Papa, can you see me?
I feel lost and alone. Can you still see me, or remember me, in your heart and mind?
Papa, can you find me in the night?
The darkness is overwhelming, and I need to know that you're still looking out for me, somehow.
Papa, are you near me?
I miss you so much, and I need to feel your presence, even if it's just in my dreams.
Papa, can you help me not be frightened?
I'm scared and vulnerable, and I need your guidance and strength to help me face my fears.
Looking at the skies I see a million eyes
The world is vast and mysterious, and it feels like everyone and everything is watching and judging me.
Which ones are yours?
In the midst of all this chaos, I still long to find a connection to you, to feel that you're still watching over me.
Where are you now
I wonder if you're still alive, still out there somewhere, or if you've left this world and left me behind.
That yesterday has waved goodbye
The past is gone, and I can never go back to the way things were when you were still here. I'm forced to move forward and face the world on my own.
And closed it's doors
The door to my childhood, to the safety and comfort of being with you, has been shut forever. I'm left to face the world as an adult.
The night is so much darker
Without you here, everything seems more challenging, more mysterious, and more frightening.
The wind is so much colder
The world feels harsh and unforgiving, like a cold wind blowing through my soul.
The world is so much bigger
I'm just one small person in a vast, overwhelming world, and it's hard to know where I belong, or how to make a difference.
Now that I am alone.
I feel isolated, cut off from the love and support that I used to rely on from you.
Papa, please forgive me
I still carry the guilt of past mistakes, and I wish I could make things right with you.
I know you understand me
You were always the one who saw me and knew me best, and I hope that understanding still exists, even though you're gone.
Papa, don't you know I had no choice?
I made some difficult decisions that I hope you can forgive me for making, even though they may not have been what you would have wanted for me.
Oh, can you hear me prayin'?
I'm still reaching out to you, seeking comfort and reassurance that you're still there, anywhere, listening.
Anything I'm sayin'?
I pour out my heart, my soul, and my deepest fears, hoping that somehow, someway, you can still hear and respond to me.
Even though the night is filled with voices
There's so much noise, so much confusion, so much chaos in the world, and it's hard to know what's true, what's real, and what's just noise.
I remember everything you ever taught me
Despite the challenges, I still hold onto the wisdom and love that you gave me, and it helps to anchor me as I navigate this life.
Evey book I've ever read.
The knowledge and inspiration that I've gained from reading still sustains me, even in the darkest times.
Can all the words,
Words are powerful, and I wonder if they can help to heal the pain and emptiness I feel without you.
All the music help me face what's ahead?
Music has always been a balm for my soul, and I hope that it can give me the courage and comfort to face whatever challenges come my way.
The trees are so much taller
The world seems more intimidating and overwhelming than ever before, and I feel so small and insignificant in the face of it all.
I feel so much smaller
Your absence has left a huge void in my life, and I feel diminished and incomplete without you here.
The moon is twice as lonely
The world is full of emptiness and loneliness now that you're gone, and even the moon seems to reflect my sadness and grief.
And the stars are half as bright.
The world seems less magical, less wonderous, less full of hopes and dreams, now that you're no longer here to share them with me.
Daddy, how I love you
Despite everything, my love for you is still strong and enduring, and nothing can ever change that.
Daddy, how I need you
The loss of you has left a huge hole in my life, and there are times when I still desperately long for your love and support.
Daddy, how I miss you
Every day, every hour, every moment, I feel the ache of your absence, the longing for your companionship and guidance.
Kissing me goodnight.
Even something as simple as a goodnight kiss from you still has the power to bring back memories of love and support that sustain me, even now.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALAN BERGMAN, MARILYN BERGMAN, MICHEL LEGRAND
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 !!!!!!!!