Good evening. Im sitting in my room, sipping on juice (with no gin) and listening to Nina Simone. It has been a long day, and I am exhausted. The sun was shining today, but it was still ice cold. It made me happy for those 20 minutes I was sitting on the bus, but then as the day dragged on, and my headache became more and more unbearable, I just felt like screaming.
Nobody can quite sing the blues like Nina… There’s just something about her voice, it gives me the chills. I can sit in the dark, with only a candle burning, and listen to her voice for hours. Especially when she sings:
“You ain’t never been blue, no, no, no child. You ain’t never been blue, ’til you’ve had that mood indigo. That feeling goes stealing right down to my shoes. While I just sit here and sigh, go along blues. I always get that mood indigo, since my baby said goodbye. And in the evening when the lights are low, I’m so lonely I could cry. For there’s nobody who cares about me, I’m just a poor fool that’s bluer than blue can be. When I get that mood indigo, I could lay me down and die.”
If you can be bothered, and I really hope you can, watch the videos below. She is fucking incredible. The first one might look/sound simple, but when the drums come in, and then the vocals (not to mention the lyrics and the way she rhymes, and no I don’t mean how the words match, but the way she sings) I don’t care if you like hip-hop, or if you like rock, she is more ‘gangsta’ and more ‘rock & roll’ than many (if not ALL) of those pathetic excuses for artists that dominate the mainstream charts.
But if you’re feeling like I am feeling tonight, as in a bit down and blue, then this classic below might be more suitable. I love it approx. 2,45 into the video, when the bass comes in, at the sound of it kind of weighs down your heart a little more. And her voice, that feels like it is on the verge of breaking/crying. With the beautiful harmonies on the piano…
Oh well, I guess it is just one of those evenings. I shall leave you with something more upbeat, an American folk song if you didn’t know. My favourite version of the oh so many that exist. I hope you’re all well. Sorry for being a bit ‘off’.
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