NINA SIMONE: FOUR SONGS

Σαν σήμερα, 21 Φεβρουαρίου του 1933 γεννήθηκε μια απο τις κορυφαίες φυσιογνωμίες της μαύρης μουσικής, η τραγουδίστρια, πιανίστα, συνθέτις και ακτιβίστρια Nina Simone. Από την πληθώρα των ηχογραφήσεών της διαλέγουμε τέσσερα τραγούδια:
1. Little Girl Blue [Rodgers & Hart] από το ομώνυμο δισκογραφικό της ντεμπούτο του 1959
2. Give Me A Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer [Wesley Nilson] από το άλμπουμ Forbidden Fruit [1961]
3. Pirate Jenny των Kurt Weil – Bertolt Brecht, από το Live At Carnegie Hall, 1964
4. Four Women – η εμβληματική δική της σύνθεση, από το Wild Is The Wind του 1966

On this date, February 21, 1933, one of the leading figures in black music was born: the singer, pianist, composer and activist Nina Simone. From the plethora of her recordings we choose four songs:
1. Little Girl Blue [Rodgers & Hart] from her eponymous 1959 debut album
2. Give Me a Pigfoot And A Bottle Of Beer [Wesley Nilson] from the Forbidden Fruit album [1961]
3. Pirate Jenny by Kurt Weil – Bertolt Brecht, from Live At Carnegie Hall, 1964
4. Four Women – her own emblematic composition from the Wild Is The Wind album, 1966

FOUR WOMEN
My skin is black
My arms are long
My hair is woolly
My back is strong
Strong enough to take the pain
inflicted again and again
What do they call me
My name is AUNT SARAH
My name is Aunt Sarah
My skin is yellow
My hair is long
Between two worlds
I do belong
My father was rich and white
He forced my mother late one night
What do they call me
My name is SAFFRONIA
My name is Saffronia
My skin is tan
My hair is fine
My hips invite you
my mouth like wine
Whose little girl am I?
Anyone who has money to buy
What do they call me
My name is SWEET THING
My name is Sweet Thing
My skin is brown
my manner is tough
I’ll kill the first mother I see
my life has been too rough
I’m awfully bitter these days
because my parents were slaves
What do they call me
My name is PEACHES
4
(Visited 143 times, 1 visits today)

2 Comments

  1. Resa February 26, 2020 at 12:17 am

    Well…. give me a pig’s foot!… (I’m a veggie.. so a soya pigs foot)
    I’ve heard of Nina, but now I’ve heard her. Thank you!

    Reply
    1. Oannes February 26, 2020 at 11:06 pm

      I love the legacy this interpretation puts her in, the one of the classic female blues [Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey etc] so it’s one of my favorites also. Thanks a lot!

      Reply

Leave a Reply