It’s time to take a look at my failures and stop calling them successes. Now I can start working at something that can use me best.
NINA SIMONEJazz 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.
More Nina Simone Quotes
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If I get an idea I put it on tape and somebody else writes it out.
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I play piano, by ear. Yes, I write songs and good ones.
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I demand perfection in what I do, and I practice very hard before I give a concert-sometimes three to six hours a day.
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It is difficult to retain your standards with the pressure of trying to make money, which always has its rules. It’s hard to walk the tightrope of doing what you think is your best and making money at it.
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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.
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I made wine from the lilac tree/Put my heart in its recipe/It makes me see what I want to see/And be what I want to be.
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You don’t have to live next to me / Just give me my equality.
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Life is short. People are not easy to know. They’re not easy to know, so if you don’t tell them how you feel, you’re not going to get anywhere, I feel.
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Many times I feel different like a different person.
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I love the classics but there are many new ideas to be made into reality. I’d rather be concerned with my own thing. There are many masters of classical piano so I’ll leave it to them.
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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.
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I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.
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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.
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Through music you can become sad, joyful, loving, you can learn. You can learn mathematics, touch, pacing Oh my God! Ooh Wow You can see colors through music. Anything!
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What is love but a prelude to sorrow with heartache ahead for your goal.
NINA SIMONE