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
The Long and Winding Road
Nina Simone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leads to your door will never disappear
I've seen that road before
It always leads me here lead me to your door
The wild and windy night that
The rain washed away
Has left a pool of tears, crying for the day
Let me know the way
Many times I've been alone
And many times I've cried
Anyway, you'll never know the
Many ways I've tried
And still they lead me back to
Thе long and winding road
You left me standing herе a long
Long time ago don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door
But still they lead me back to
The long and winding road
You left me standing here a long
Long time ago don't keep me waiting here
(Don't keep me waiting) lead me to your door
In Nina Simone's rendition of "The Long And Winding Road," she brings an emotional depth to the lyrics originally written by Paul McCartney and performed by The Beatles. The song explores the journey of love, the longing to be reunited with a lost love, and the pain of being left standing alone. Simone emphasizes the cyclical nature of love and life, where the road that leads to someone's door never truly disappears.
The opening line, "The long and winding road that leads to your door will never disappear," conveys a sense of inevitability and permanence. The road symbolizes the path to a beloved's heart or the journey of love itself. Simone implies that this road has been traversed before, as she states, "I've seen that road before, it always leads me here, lead me to your door." This repetition suggests a pattern of seeking love, always finding herself in the same place, yearning for reunion.
Simone delves into the emotional toll caused by the absence of a loved one. She describes a "wild and windy night that the rain washed away," which has left her crying tears of longing for the day. Through these vivid lyrics, she expresses her sorrow and vulnerability, pleading, "Why leave me standing here? Let me know the way." Her desolation is intensified by being left alone, unsure of how to reach her destination.
The song continues with Simone emphasizing her resilience and determination, despite the heartache she has endured. She expresses the depth of her solitude, sharing how she has been alone and cried many times. The line "Anyway, you'll never know the many ways I've tried" suggests her futile attempts to find solace or rekindle the relationship. Although her efforts seem to be in vain, as she sings, "And still they lead me back to the long and winding road," the listener realizes that the bond she once shared with her loved one continues to draw her back to this path, unable to move forward.
Simone concludes the song by pleading for resolution and closure. The repetition of "don't leave me waiting here, lead me to your door" shows her yearning to be guided back and reunited with her lost love, urging them to end her prolonged wait. Through her powerful interpretation, Nina Simone evokes an overwhelming sense of emotional longing and resilience, bringing out the depth and complexity of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
The long and winding road that
The complicated and uncertain journey that
Leads to your door will never disappear
Will always remain and exist
I've seen that road before
I've experienced this path in the past
It always leads me here lead me to your door
It consistently brings me to you, guiding me towards your presence
The wild and windy night that
The turbulent and unpredictable night that
The rain washed away
Where the rainstorm washed away
Has left a pool of tears, crying for the day
Left behind a reservoir of sorrow, yearning for a brighter future
Why leave me standing here?
Why abandon me in this position?
Let me know the way
Please inform me of the path to take
Many times I've been alone
Numerous occasions I've been by myself
And many times I've cried
And on numerous occasions I've shed tears
Anyway, you'll never know the
Regardless, you will never comprehend the
Many ways I've tried
Various approaches I've attempted
And still they lead me back to
Yet, they continue to guide me back to
The long and winding road
That complicated and uncertain journey
You left me standing here a long
You abandoned me in this place for a lengthy
Long time ago don't leave me waiting here
Time don't leave me waiting here
Lead me to your door
Guide me to your presence
But still they lead me back to
Yet, they continue to guide me back to
The long and winding road
That complicated and uncertain journey
You left me standing here a long
You abandoned me in this place for a lengthy
Long time ago don't keep me waiting here
Time don't prolong my anticipation here
(Don't keep me waiting) lead me to your door
(Do not prolong my waiting) guide me to your presence
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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 !!!!!!!!