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Mississippi Goddam is a song written and performed by United States singer and
pianist Nina Simone. It was
first released on her album Nina Simone in Concert which was
based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall in 1964. The album was her first
release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more
political turn her (recorded) music took during this period. The song was
released as a single and boycotted in several Southern states, allegedly because
of the word 'goddam' in the title. Together with "Four Women" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black" it
is one of her most famous protest songs and self-written compositions.
[ Interpretation
The song is her response to the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi; and the bombing of a church in Birmingham,
Alabama, killing four black children. On the recording she cynically
announces the song as "a show
tune, but the show hasn't been written for it yet". The song begins
jauntily, with a show tune feel, but demonstrates its political focus early on
with its refrain "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee's made me lose my rest,
and everybody knows about Mississippi goddam". In the song she rails on
the common argument at the time that civil rights activists and African Americans should "go slow" and make
changes in the United States incrementally: "Keep on sayin' 'go slow'...to do
things gradually would bring more tragedy. Why don't you see it? Why don't you
feel it? I don't know, I don't know. You don't have to live next to me, just
give me my equality!"
She performed the song in front of 40,000 people at the end of one of the Selma to Montgomery marches when
she and other black activists, including Sammy Davis Jr., James
Baldwin and Harry
Belafonte crossed police lines.
Nina Simone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nina Simone | |
|---|---|
 Nina Simone in 1969. The photo by Jackie Robinson was used as the cover of Simone's posthumous compilation album Forever Young, Gifted & Black | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Eunice Kathleen Waymon |
| Born | February 21, 1933 Tryon, North Carolina United States |
| Died | April 21, 2003 (aged 70) Carry-le-Rouet, France |
| Genres | Jazz, blues, soul, R&B, folk, gospel |
| Occupations | Singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, activist |
| Years active | 1954—2003 |
| Labels | RCA Victor, Philips, Bethlehem, Colpix, Legacy Recordings |
| Website | www.ninasimone.com |
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933–April 21, 2003), better
known by her stage name Nina Simone (/ˈniËnÉ™
sɨˈmoʊn/), was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist. Although
she disliked being categorized, Simone is most associated with jazz music. Simone originally aspired to become a
classical pianist, but her work covers
an eclectic variety of musical styles that include classical, jazz, blues, soul, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. Her vocal style is characterized by intense
passion, a loose vibrato, and a slightly androgynous timbre, in part due to her
unusually low vocal range which veered between the alto and tenor ranges
(occasionally even reaching baritone lows). Also known as The High Priestess of
Soul, she paid great attention to the musical expression of emotions. Within one
album or concert she could fluctuate between exuberant happiness and tragic melancholy. These
fluctuations also characterized her own personality and personal life, amplified
by bipolar
disorder with which she was diagnosed in the mid-1960s, but kept secret
until after her death in 2003.[1] According to Nadine Cohodas, Simone's biographer, Ms. Simone was first diagnosed
with multiple personality disorder and
later with schizophrenia.[2]
Simone recorded over 40 live and studio albums, the greatest body of her work
released between 1958 (when she made her debut with Little Girl Blue) and
1974. Her most well known songs include "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I Put a Spell on
You", "Four
Women", "I Loves
You Porgy", "Feeling
Good", "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood",
"Sinnerman", "To Be Young, Gifted and Black",
"Mississippi
Goddam", "Ain't Got No, I Got Life" and "I
Want a Little Sugar in My Bowl".
Her music and message made a strong and lasting impact on culture,[3] illustrated by the numerous contemporary artists who cite her as an important
influence (see Legacy and influence). Several
hip hop musicians and
other modern artists sample and remix Simone's rhythms and beats on
their tracks. In particular, Talib Kweli and Mos Def routinely pay tribute to her outstanding and
soulful musical style. Many of her songs are featured on motion picture
soundtracks, as well as in video games, commercials, and TV series
Â
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(1963) Nina Simone
The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam
And I
mean every word of it
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me
lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
Alabama's
gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows
about Mississippi Goddam
Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's
all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a
prayer
Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my
rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam
This is a show
tune
But the show hasn't been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my
trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think
every day's gonna be my last
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We
all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong
there
I've even stopped believing in prayer
Don't tell me
I tell
you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep
on saying "Go slow!"
But that's just the trouble
"do it
slow"
Washing the windows
"do it slow"
Picking the cotton
"do it
slow"
You're just plain rotten
"do it slow"
You're too damn lazy
"do
it slow"
The thinking's crazy
"do it slow"
Where am I going
What am
I doing
I don't know
I don't know
Just try to do your very
best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about
Mississippi Goddam
I made you thought I was kiddin' didn't
we
Picket lines
School boycotts
They try to say it's a communist
plot
All I want is equality
for my sister my brother my people and
me
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my
ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister
Sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die
and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying "Go
slow!"
"Go slow!"
But that's just the trouble
"do it
slow"
Desegregation
"do it slow"
Mass participation
"do it
slow"
Reunification
"do it slow"
Do things gradually
"do it
slow"
But bring more tragedy
"do it slow"
Why don't you see it
Why
don't you feel it
I don't know
I don't know
You don't have to live
next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about
Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about
Mississippi Goddam
That's it for now! see ya' later
| Labels | RCA Victor, Philips, Bethlehem, Colpix, Legacy Recordings |
|---|---|
| Website | www.ninasimone.com |