Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I’m lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home.
NINA SIMONEBirds flying high you know how I feel Sun in the sky you know how I feel Breeze driftin’ on by you know how I feel And this old world is a new world And a bold world For me And I’m feeling good I’m feeling good.
More Nina Simone Quotes
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If I want to take a particular form of blues somewhere else I have the equipment to do it but I never even thought of it.
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From the beginning, it has been a no-no for a black man to touch a white woman.
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What is love but a prelude to sorrow with heartache ahead for your goal.
NINA SIMONE -
When a child is gifted, people try to help that child.
NINA SIMONE -
What kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did.
NINA SIMONE -
Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.
NINA SIMONE -
I would like a man now who is rich, and who can give me a boat – a sailboat. I want to own it and let him pay for it. My first love is the sea and water, not music. Music is second.
NINA SIMONE -
Many times I feel different like a different person.
NINA SIMONE -
I would like you to know, I am a doctor of music.
NINA SIMONE -
I had spent many years pursuing excellence, because that is what classical music is all about… Now it was dedicated to freedom, and that was far more important.
NINA SIMONE -
Theory and harmony broadened my mind in music. I know what music is made of.
NINA SIMONE -
Talent is a burden not a joy. I am not of this planet. I do not come from you. I am not like you.
NINA SIMONE -
My name sounds French but that’s just a stage name.
NINA SIMONE -
Jazz is not just music, it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking the new inventive phrases we make up to describe things – all that to me is jazz just as much as the music we play.
NINA SIMONE -
I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.
NINA SIMONE -
I’m sorry that I did not become the world’s first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.
NINA SIMONE -
I think the rich will eventually have to cave in too, because the economic situation around the world is not gonna tolerate the United States being on top forever.
NINA SIMONE -
Slavery has never been abolished from America’s way of thinking.
NINA SIMONE -
That’s a very high goal to have, study eight hours a day to be a concert pianist.
NINA SIMONE -
You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.
NINA SIMONE -
I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I’ve done my whole life, without thought.
NINA SIMONE -
I believe in racial memory too. I’m sure I’ve got ancient African blood in me that has something to do with what I am.
NINA SIMONE -
It’s logical that people from bad times will reflect their feelings in their communication. Music is part of the communication. If you lived it, you can do it.
NINA SIMONE -
You can’t be different if you look at it. Being gifted is different. I had that in my piano playing. I’m very thankful for that. I’m very aware of that. The style and what I fed is just me. I never worked at it. It just happened.
NINA SIMONE -
The worst thing about that kind of prejudice is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.
NINA SIMONE -
It’s a good time for black people to be alive.
NINA SIMONE