Nina Simone – See Line Woman
Miss Nina Simone
Listen/Download – Nina Simone – See Line Woman
Greetings all.
I return to you, post-Thanksgiving having enjoyed a delightful holiday weekend with the family, despite having thrown my back out the day before the turkey fest.
Fortunately, while I was unable to climb trees or bend down to pick up lucky pennies, I was able to indulge in turkey, stuffing and sweet potatoes, so I can’t very well complain.
I got some reading done and we took the little Corners to the symphony for the first time as well, which is always a good thing.
I hope everyone dug last week’s mix, as well as Friday night’s Funky16Corners Radio Show (archived and available for download as we speak).
I’m gonna get the week started with some heat from the mighty Nina Simone.
Though she certainly had funky and soulful numbers in her vast catalog, it’s neither accurate nor fair to refer to Nina Simone as a funk or soul artist.
She preferred to think of herself as a jazz singer (which she was at times) but it’s probably more accurate to see her as a cross between an old school chanteuse, i.e. interpreter of songs and what used to be called a singer-songwriter.
The breadth of her repertoire is both stunning and daunting. During her career, which spanned five decades, Simone recorded for a wide variety of labels, often re-interpreting material many times over. The fact that her records have been repackaged so many times, in so many configurations makes focusing on her art all the more difficult.
Earlier this year I read ‘Princess Noire: The Tumultuous Reign of Nina Simone’, Nadine Cohodas exhaustive, and exhausting biography of the musical giant.
Simone led a troubled life informed by her youth in the segregated south, racial injustice, a chronic inability to find an audience of long standing as well as a mounting struggle with mental illness.
Though Simone is best known for her interpretations of standards, as well as introducing songs like ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ (taken into the pop charts by the Animals), her most far reaching recording (for a few different reasons) is today’s selection ‘See Line Woman’.
A reinterpretation of a southern folk song/rhyme, first recorded in Mississippi in 1939 by a Library of Congress field researcher.
Nina Simone recorded it in 1964, and to say that her version could be described as epic is almost an understatement.
Featuring Simone’s powerful voice over a backing of percussion (and hand claps) and flute, with call and response backing by her band, ‘See Line Woman’ could be almost be described as funky.
I wouldn’t make any assumptions about the lyrics, since they seem to have changed over the decades*, and there appears to be some question as to what they originally were, including the possibility of coded messages from the Underground Railroad.
If you listen to the original field recording of sisters Christine and Katherine Shipp (you can hear a sample here) , it is immediately apparent that the basic framework of Simone’s version was present in 1939 (though much more explicitly as a kind of playground rhyme).
It is also obvious, once you listen to today’s selection that Simone, while reaching back into the warp and weft of southern culture, took the song into an entirely new place, building into it a sense of urgency, drama and perhaps even menace.
‘See Line Woman’ explodes with the power of an incantation.
It is without a doubt, some seriously deep stuff, not to be taken lightly, and a landmark in the long journey of Nina Simone.
Simone’s re-imagination of the song also launched it into the future.
It was covered (quite successfully) in 1967 by the Easybeats, and then again in the 90s (also very cool) by Feist, both versions (which can be heard on Youtube) borrowing heavily from Simone’s.
I hope you dig it.
See you on Wednesday.
Peace
Larry
*See this Wikipedia entry for a look at the variations the song has taken over the years.
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Themocracy
Fab! Thanks : )
This is great – serious flute as well as the always amazing Nina – thank you!
The field recording was used both in the original and as a remix in the movie The General’s Daughter
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Such a great tune but miles too short.Is there an album version?
Tony
As far as I know – remixes aside – the studio versions are all about this long. I don’t know about live versions.
– L
outstanding! cheers Larry.
Masters at work remixed this as part of a Verve remixed project and extended the record to about 10 minutes. Definitely worth a listen.