Nina Simone
“You’ve got to learn to leave the table
When love’s no longer being served”.”
― Nina Simone
“You can’t help it. An artist’s duty, as far as I’m concerned, is to reflect the times.”
― 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
“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
“I’ll tell you what Freedom is to me. No fear.”
― Nina Simone
“There’s no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.”
― Nina Simone
“It was always Marx, Lenin, and revolution – real girl’s talk.”
― Nina Simone
“This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it.”
― Nina Simone
“You don’t have to live next to me / Just give me my equality.”
― Nina Simone
“I am just one of the people who is sick of the social order, sick of the establishment, sick to my soul of it all. To me, America’s society is nothing but a cancer, and it must be exposed before it can be cured. I am not the doctor to cure it. All I can do is expose the sickness.”
― Nina Simone
“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
“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 Simone
“It is an artist’s duty to reflect the times.”
― Nina Simone
“Having as little to do with human beings as possible – in some weird way, I’m at peace.”
― Nina Simone
“Sometimes I sound like gravel and sometimes I sound like coffee and cream.”
― Nina Simone
“Cause your mama’s name was lonely, and your daddy’s name was pain. And they called you little sorrow, cus you’ll never love again. You ain’t got no one to hold you. You ain’t got no one to care. if you’d only understand it. nobody wants you anywhere.”
― Nina Simone
“Nina Simone Feeling Good
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
It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life
For me
And I’m feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don’t you know
Butterflies all havin’ fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done
That’s what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel”
“I came to expect despair every time I set foot in my own country, and I was never disappointed.”
― Nina Simone