Prior
to reading, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”, I had never heard of Nina Simone
before, or all of the powerful music she had produced. I found it very
interesting, and smart, how Nina Simone had not only used her music for
entertainment, but also to raise awareness to her listeners about many issues
that were going on at the time. I found this very powerful of her, because she
made music to express her feelings about political issues and also her
psychological issues. She didn’t just write songs about nothing, every single
song that she wrote had a special meaning to her.
One
of the quotes that I had come across, really stuck out to me. This quote was
noted by Stephen Duncombe (2002), and it states, “it is one thing to read
lyrics on a page, quite another to hear them sung with emotion or laid over a
danceable beat” (248). This quote stuck out to me so much not only because of
the significance relating to Nina Simone’s music, but also my personal thoughts
on music. If someone handed me a paper full of lyrics to a song, I could read
them and not feel a single thing, but if someone handed me a pair of headphones
and told me to listen to a song, I would feel all kinds of emotions. This same
thing is true with Nina Simone’s music. When I had read her lyrics, it didn’t
really make me feel the power within the song, but her strong voice and how she
sang the words, could really get the attention of a crowd. Through her voice,
Nina Simone had gotten many important messages out to the public, and raised
awareness to many different movements, and Africana womanism members. She had
made African women feel comfortable enough to be proud of who they were and to
represent their culture, values, and experiences. She had given them the power
to love themselves and be comfortable in their own skin. Nina Simone’s songs
and political ideas stayed very consistent and gained the interest of African
Americans from all over the country. I find it amazing that one woman had given
so much powerful words through music alone.
i liked your comment about how when you read lyrics, they don't have much of an effect on you, but as soon as you actually hear the song it is completely different, and listening to Nina sing her songs were so much more powerful than just reading the lyrics on a paper
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