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I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I’ve done my whole life, without thought.

Nina Simone

How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and souls of people who are unable to express it.
NINA SIMONE

Explanation Expression Feeling Poetry Soul Stage Yourself
I feel more alive now than I ever have in my life. I have a chance to live, as I’ve dreamed.
NINA SIMONE

Alive Chance Dreams Feeling Myself
To be young, gifted and black!
NINA SIMONE

Black One Liner Young
I try to swim every damn day I can, and I’ve learned to scuba dive and snorkel.
NINA SIMONE

Day Learning Myself
Music is the center of my life.
NINA SIMONE

Life Music One Liner
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
What is love but a prelude to sorrow with heartache ahead for your goal.
NINA SIMONE

Goal Love Sorrow Yourself
It was always Marx, Lenin, and revolution – real girl’s talk.
NINA SIMONE

Reality Revolution Talk
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
Music has been a burden and a joy for as long as I can remember.
NINA SIMONE

Burden Joy Music Myself Remember
You don’t have to live next to me / Just give me my equality.
NINA SIMONE

Equality Live Yourself
Birds 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.
NINA SIMONE

Fly Myself Old Sun World
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

Love Man Myself Pay Rich Sea Water
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day and I’m feeling good.
NINA SIMONE

Day Feeling Good Morning Myself
Slavery has never been abolished from America’s way of thinking.
NINA SIMONE

Abolish Slave 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
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

Bad Communication Live Logic People Reflection Time Yourself
How can you be an artist and not reflect the times?
NINA SIMONE

Artist Reflection Time
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
You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.
NINA SIMONE

Learning Love Serve Table Yourself
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
I know I’m different, but I don’t think about it.
NINA SIMONE

Different Myself Thinking
This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it.
NINA SIMONE

Live World Yourself
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
It’s a good time for black people to be alive.
NINA SIMONE

Alive Black People Time
I do love to sing Jacques Brel songs, intensely. I get terribly excited, just by reading a couple of lines in any one of his songs.
NINA SIMONE

Couple Excitement Intense Love Myself Reading
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.
NINA SIMONE

Address Job Myself Popular See Song

I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I’ve done my whole life, without thought.

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I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I’ve done my whole life, without thought.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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