I think if I were over there in America, protest music would be more important. But I’m not going.
NINA SIMONEI’m sorry that I did not become the world’s first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.
More Nina Simone Quotes
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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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My job is not done. I address my songs now to the third world. I am popular all over Asia and Africa and the Middle East, not to speak of South Africa, where I’m trying to go to see Nelson Mandela.
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It doesn’t matter to me what is going on today because my music encompasses every kind of mood that exists in human beings. That’s my stick.
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What kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did.
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I don’t like to go to strange places. I was in Italy for about five hours on my way to Africa.
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Talent is a burden not a joy. I am not of this planet. I do not come from you. I am not like you.
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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 can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.
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Theory and harmony broadened my mind in music. I know what music is made of.
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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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Once I understood Bach’s music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me to his world.
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Jazz is not just music, it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking.
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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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You’ve got to learn to leave the table When love’s no longer being served”.
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The allusion was that I was actually naked. I loved that. It always, kind of shocked people enough that they became mine immediately.
NINA SIMONE