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
See Line Woman
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alright yeah, alright
Sea lion woman, she drink coffee
She drink tea and then go home
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman, dressed in green
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman, dressed in red
Make a man lose his head
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman, black dress on
For a thousand dollars, she wail and she moan
Sea lion woman
Wiggle, wiggle, turn like a cat
Wink at a man and he wink back
Now child, sea lion woman
Empty his pockets and wreck his days
Make him love her
And she'll fly away, yeah yeah
Sea lion woman, take it on out now
Empty his pockets and she wreck his days
And she make him love her
Then she sure fly away
She got a black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan
Nina Simone's "Sea Lion Woman" is a lively and spirited song that tells the story of a confident and seductive woman who flirts with men and takes them for all they're worth. The repeated refrain of "Sea Lion Woman" acts as a call and response between Simone and her audience, creating an atmosphere of shared energy and excitement.
The song's lyrics paint a vivid picture of this mysterious and elusive woman who is able to capture the attention of any man who crosses her path. She is described as wearing different colors of dresses at different times, each one adding to her allure and enchantment. She is also said to be skilled at wiggling and catlike movements, making it clear that she is aware of her own power over men.
As the song progresses, the lyrics reveal that this woman is not to be trifled with, as she is able to empty a man's pockets and wreck his days with ease. Despite this, men are still drawn to her and cannot help but fall under her spell. The final verse of the song suggests that, in spite of her apparent flightiness and lack of commitment, this woman will always have the ability to leave men wanting more.
Overall, "Sea Lion Woman" is a celebration of female empowerment and the ability of women to take control of their own lives and desires. It is also a testament to the power of music and performance to bring people together and create a shared experience of joy and excitement.
Line by Line Meaning
Sea lion woman, she drink coffee
Sea lion woman drinks coffee.
She drink tea and then go home
After drinking tea, she goes home.
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman is a recurring character.
Sea lion woman, dressed in green
Sea lion woman wears a green dress.
Wears silk stockings with golden seams
Her stockings have golden seams and are made of silk.
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman is a recurring character.
Sea lion woman, dressed in red
Sea lion woman wears a red dress.
Make a man lose his head
Her beauty makes a man go crazy.
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman is a recurring character.
Sea lion woman, black dress on
Sea lion woman wears a black dress.
For a thousand dollars, she wail and she moan
She charges a thousand dollars for her services and pleases her clients.
Sea lion woman
Sea lion woman is a recurring character.
Wiggle, wiggle, turn like a cat
She moves gracefully like a cat.
Wink at a man and he wink back
She flirts with men.
Now child, sea lion woman
Sea lion woman is addressed as a child.
Empty his pockets and wreck his days
She takes all his money and ruins his life.
Make him love her
She manipulates the man into falling in love with her.
And she'll fly away, yeah yeah
After achieving her goals, she leaves.
Sea lion woman, take it on out now
Sea lion woman is told to leave.
Empty his pockets and she wreck his days
She takes all his money and ruins his life.
And she make him love her
She manipulates the man into falling in love with her.
Then she sure fly away
After achieving her goals, she leaves.
She got a black dress on
Sea lion woman is still wearing the black dress.
For a thousand dollars
She charges a thousand dollars for her services.
She wail and she moan
She pleases her clients.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEORGE BASS, NINA SIMONE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jordanreynolds4688
Yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Alright now
Du-du-du
Alright
See-line woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And then go home
See-line woman
See-line woman
Dressed in green
Wears silk stockings
With golden seams
See-line woman
See-line woman
Dressed in red
Make a man
Lose his head
See-line woman
See-line woman
Black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan
See-line woman
Wiggle wiggle
Purr like a cat
Wink at a man
And he wink back
Now, child
See-line woman
Empty his pockets
And wreck his days
Make him love her
And she'll fly away
Woman, yeah
See-line woman
Take it on out now
Empty his pockets
And she wreck his days
And she make him love her
Then she sure fly away
She got a black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan
@sassamadootwo
Yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah
Alright ye
See-line woman
She drink coffee
She drink tea
And then go home
See-line woman
See-line woman
Dressed in green
Wears silk stockings
With golden seams
See-line woman
See-line woman
Dressed in red
Make a man lose his head
See-line woman
See-line woman
Black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan
See-line woman
Wiggle wiggle
Turn like a cat
Wink at a man
And he wink back
Now child
See-line woman
Empty his pockets
And wreck his days
Make him love her
And she'll fly away
See-line woman
Take it on out now
Empty his pockets
And she wreck his days
And she make him love her
Then she sure fly away
She got a black dress on
For a thousand dollars
She wail and she moan...
@ivybennett818
The incomparable Nina Simone 🔥🔥
@kevaredmond3569
Never heard this song before and now I can't get enough ❤
@stambomuc
Get it for.. Nina one legend🎉
@paradox_Alpha470
Anton Castillo had some good music taste
@clowntown4
Honestly didn't expect a Nina Simone in that game, thanks Anton
@xenorzy9331
lmao
@katiepotatie1980
His car is awesome it only plays that song
@TPDManiacXC626
@mrtoxic toxic
Technically it was a cover done by Yolanda Castillo-maiden name Rodriguez and sung in Spanish. I still would love to know the name of the real-life person who sung that cover even though she was credited under the Yolanda Castillo alias.
@zhonlino
His car had its own playlist with multiple song, hope someone can make playlist from it and upload it on youtube
@Sdragnasty
Happy Birthday, 👑Queen Nina👑! - and thanks to my sister for playing that orange LP so much that I knew all the words at age 4! &;o*