Verse 1:
Eunice Waymon, February 21, 1935 was her date of birth
North Carolina was the state
She was the sixth of the seven kids that her poor parents raised
Was a child prodigy played piano at age four
Thanks to her music teacher lessons were paid for
With that support she really studied y'all
Went to Juilliard, a school in New York
She gave the family financial support
Working hard as a pianist until fifty-four
Took a job at the bar, playing of course
The owner told her she could play but she had to sing along
Changed her name to The Little One
Nina that is, Simone like the French actress
In the late ‘50s she did tracks with Bethlehem Records
Where she had that hit “I Love You, Porgy” from ‘Porgy And Bess'
Nina was a star before she could rest
And boy she was blessed playing Carnegie Hall
Town Hall and the jazz festival at Newport
She would include all kinds of music
Blues, folk and even opera fusions
A bomb that k**ed four kids in Birmingham
Nina replied with “Mississippi Goddam,” angry with all the k**ings
‘Nina Simone In Concert' was released on Philips
Even the critics felt Nina Simone, a.k.a. The High Priestess of Soul
In '66 Nina had wrote
The song for women some deemed offensive to black folks
Next she signed with RCA
The first album with them blues was all she sang
It included a song called “Backlash Blues”
Based on the poem to her about Langston Hughes
Her repertoire includes
Music of protest, peace and of course the truth
And a few would surprise her fans though
With some heart to heart songs just her and piano
She had folks shook from the words she performed
Next album out was ‘Emergency Ward'
Around '74 problems with the label
That and racism sent Nina to Barbados
Liberia, Switzerland, Netherlands
Finally in France she became a resident
In '78 she released ‘Baltimore'
Containing a rendition of a Judy Garland[?] song
Then in '82 came ‘Fodder On My Wings'
Then in '88 an album rerelease
But she would keep working as a writer and
In '89 worked on ‘The Iron Man'
Both in '90 and '91 did features, Maria Bethania and Miriam Makeba
She would see her life story in a book
‘I Put A Spell On You' - the title that it took
They translated it in mad languages
There are folks throughout the world that pay for it
1993 another album is published
Now from a single woman ‘A Single Woman'
Nina Simone still a renowned act now has songs on movie soundtracks
Found that she even touched the kids
In [?] '98 she had another hit
“Ain't Got No, I Got Life” was the track
Same song that was large thirty years back
Festivals she did several
Headlined Nice Jazz in France, '97 too
July 24, '98 was her day to chill with Mandela on his eightieth birthday
'9-9 Lifetime Achievement Award
In Dublin where her and Lisa performed
Her daughter, now in 2000 they award her
Some more for the music of wisdom she brought us
Sure was a genius as by now you can see
So the next thing was a honorary degree
Now Dr. Nina Simone is the name
We honor her forever and a day
4-21-03 our mother pa**ed away
And music will never be the same
Nina was one of the last griots in our day
And she was the keeper of the flame
Verse 2:
I'm in an exclusive side street club
In Baltimore before Nina Simone and her friends pull up
She was wearing black gold, silk and soul
Sister was so fine brothers had no real control
Word had it she was a single woman
I saw her once in Village Gate
But pretty much she wasn't too deep in clubbin'
I heard I missed the show at Carnegie Hall
Heard she did a set at Newport I had already saw
Turns out the show at Town Hall didn't get canceled
At one point it was just Nina Simone and piano
A fan so I'm about to fall out
This folksy[?] Nina yo, I'm ‘bout to let it all out
She at the bar now ordering forbidden fruit drinks
I wait 'til it's finished, oh now she ordered wings
She said, “I'd like fodder on my wings”
Let it be me, I would've gotten something hotter on my wings
But that is the same thing that hurt me before
All them wings had me up in the emergency ward
Nina finishes the bowl of wings
The chef has the album Nina Simone With Strings
He wants a autograph
She sort of laughs as she signs her name
Then I see Nina Simone In Concert tapes
How many t-shirts she gotta sign first?
Y'all said enough ‘nuff said
I've been waiting all this time for her
I wanna meet the amazing Nina Simone
Move, ain't you just talk to her? Leave her alone
It's alright to love somebody while they live and kickin'
But y'all leanin' on Nina's back, man y'all guys is trippin'
Boy I'm wild as the wind and I'll put a spell on you
Don't make me have to yell on you
I ain't the selfish one
I got ‘Nina Simone Sings Ellington'
I want her to tell me some', now here comes the sun
So now she's gotta run ‘cause it's five o'clock
She's supposed to be performing live at Ronnie Scott's
From ‘The Rising Sun Collection,' maybe one selection
And ‘Broadway-Blues-Ballads' that's without a question
That's when Nina yells, “let me speak to the O”
Speak to the O? The High Priestess of Soul?
Nina Simone, who sings the blues
Well excuse me a little if I seem confused
She said, “I like the ‘Rapademics' and ‘Inner City Soul'
And that song about the piano you did is really dope”
I said, “dope?” I'm really confused now
But if Nina like it that means that I'ma be huge now
Then it's like she disappeared into the huge crowd
All I heard was ‘wake up, O, turn that ‘Pastel Blues' down'
Just follow me through Nina Simone's discography, elder savant, child prodigy, I said follow me through this discography, nobody can do it hot as me, hot as me? hot as she
Just follow me through Nina Simone's discography, elder savant, child prodigy, I said follow me through this discography, nobody can do it hot as me, hot as me? hot as she