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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.

Nina Simone

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.
NINA SIMONE

Easy Feeling Life Myself People
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.
NINA SIMONE

Myself See Tree Wine
You’ve got to learn to leave the table When love’s no longer being served”.
NINA SIMONE

Learning Serve Yourself
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

Description Invention Music Myself Play Thinking Way
I’m sorry that I did not become the world’s first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.
NINA SIMONE

Happiness Musician Myself Sorry World
To most white people, jazz means black and jazz means dirt, and that’s not what I play. I play black classical music.
NINA SIMONE

Music Myself People Play
Many times I feel different like a different person.
NINA SIMONE

Different Feeling Person Time
There’s no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.
NINA SIMONE

Excuse Hero Known People Young
Jazz is not just music, it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking.
NINA SIMONE

Life Music Thinking Way
I look forward to doing my own show, not someone else’s. That’s always been my dream.
NINA SIMONE

Dreams Myself Show
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

Awareness Different Gift Myself Thankful Work
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.
NINA SIMONE

Classics Love Master Myself
When a child is gifted, people try to help that child.
NINA SIMONE

Children Gift Help People
Theory and harmony broadened my mind in music. I know what music is made of.
NINA SIMONE

Mindset Music Myself Theory
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

Kind Love Myself Naked People
If I get an idea I put it on tape and somebody else writes it out.
NINA SIMONE

Ideas Myself Writing
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.
NINA SIMONE

Dedication Introduction Music Myself Teacher World
I don’t like rap music at all. I don’t think it’s music. It’s just a beat and rapping.
NINA SIMONE

Music Myself
I don’t like drug addicts and she sounds like a cat.
NINA SIMONE

Addiction Cat Drugs Myself Sound
You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.
NINA SIMONE

Learning Love Serve Table Yourself
You don’t have to live next to me / Just give me my equality.
NINA SIMONE

Equality Live Yourself
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

Economics Forever Myself Rich Thinking
I have a cultured manner of speaking.
NINA SIMONE

Culture Myself Speak
You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.
NINA SIMONE

Artist Help Reflection Time
It was always Marx, Lenin, and revolution – real girl’s talk.
NINA SIMONE

Reality Revolution Talk
I was always a politician from the day the civil rights people chose me as their protest singer.
NINA SIMONE

Day Myself People Politics Singer
I’m a real rebel with a cause.
NINA SIMONE

Reality Reason Rebel

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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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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Popular Authors

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