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To be young, gifted and black!

Nina Simone

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Nina Simone
Age: 75 †
Born: 1933
Born: February 21
Died: 2008
Died: April 21
Composer
Jazz Pianist
Recording Artist
Singer
Singer-Songwriter
Tryon
North Carolina
Eunice Kathleen Waymon
High Priestess of Soul
Gifted
Black
Young

More quotes by Nina Simone

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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 And this old world is a new world And a bold world For me And I'm feeling good I'm feeling good
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I don't like to go to strange places.
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The Beatles are lucky, very lucky. But what has happened to them has nothing to do with them, in a sense. They came along at the right time. Attention was focused on them. They've had the chance to grow in almost any direction they wanted. Very lucky. They are not exceptionally talented.
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Since I was three I've been playing the piano. I've been onstage.
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I try to swim every damn day I can, and I've learned to scuba dive and snorkel.
Nina Simone
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Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.
Nina Simone
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I feel what they feel. And people who listen to me know that, and it makes them feel like they're not alone.
Nina Simone
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I believe in racial memory too. I'm sure I've got ancient African blood in me that has something to do with what I am.
Nina Simone
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You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.
Nina Simone
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I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I've done my whole life, without thought.
Nina Simone
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What is love but a prelude to sorrow...with heartache ahead for your goal.
Nina Simone
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There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.
Nina Simone
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Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.
Nina Simone
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I only knew classical music, which to me was the only true music. The only way I could survive at the bar was to mix the classical music with popular songs, and that meant I had to sing. What happened was that I discovered I had a voice plus the talent to mix classical music together with more popular songs, which at the time I detested.
Nina Simone
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I know I'm different, but I don't think about it.
Nina Simone
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I love to travel to hear different kinds of music.
Nina Simone
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You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.
Nina Simone
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From the beginning, it has been a no-no for a black man to touch a white woman.
Nina Simone
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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.
Nina Simone
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I believe the time will come when the whole definition of pop music will change. It will get to the point where a song will not be a good song until it has a high level of creativity in writing and performance. In other words, in order to be popular, songs will have to meet these high standards.
Nina Simone