Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: Nina Simone

Sunday Diva/Three From The Hip: 

Nina Simone

In my own, personal, big gay church, there is a wing dedicated to Those of the Heart. These are the singers, songwriters and muses who have spent a lifetime capturing various aspects of the human condition. Frequently, due to the whims of the music industry, their lives were not always their own... but they persevered... ultimately remaining true to their roles as seers of the heart. One such soul?

Nina Simone.

The High Priestess of Soul.

Classical. African. But not jazz... she didn't care for the word.

Hers was a singular vision, a road shared by none.

Her hopes of being a classical pianist were dashed early, cleaved from her dreams due to discrimination.

Still, she persevered; the lady had to make a living. And, due to necessity, she found her voice. 

Raw, unscripted, undisciplined... wild as the wind.

Then she found her torch.

And not the one expected. She began to speak, unafraid - and some listened, while the music industry narrowed its greedy, cautious eyes.

But she found her place, one where she moved freely. 

Of course there were issues... men, taxes, booze, and a troubling condition of the mind.

Erratic? Unpredictable. Volatile. Prone to fits and starts.

Eventually, she found refuge. She found safety. She found those who would look out for her best interests.

All while remaining, forever, true to herself; her singular vision...

...a road shared by none.

The gospel according to her?

Well, here are three from the hip, dropping from her lips...

The topic? Racial and Economic Disparity

"At this crucial time in our lives, when everything is so desperate, when every day is a matter of survival, I don't think you can help but be involved. I think that the artists who don't get involved in preaching messages probably are happier - but you see, I have to live with Nina, and that is very difficult. As a political weapon, it has helped me for 30 years defend the rights of American blacks and third-world people all over the world, to defend them with protest songs. To move the audience to make them conscious of what has been done to my people around the world. I'm a real rebel with a cause."

"Desegregation is a joke. You get racism crossing the street; it's in the very fabric of American society. The worst thing about that kind of prejudice... is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough. You feel the shame, humiliation, and anger at being just another victim of prejudice, and at the same time, there's the nagging worry that maybe... you're just no good."

"Greed has driven the world crazy. Slavery has never been abolished from America's way of thinking. I think the rich are too rich and the poor are too poor. I don't think the black people are going to rise at all; I think most of them are going to die. 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."

Mississippi Goddamn - Nina Simone

To Be Young, Gifted and Black - Nina Simone

My Baby Just Cares For Me - Nina Simone

And one last parting shot...

"To me, we are the most beautiful creatures in the whole world. Black people. And I mean that in every sense."