Mississippi Goddam

Nina Simone

About Mississippi Goddam

"Mississippi Goddam" is a song written and performed by American singer and pianist Nina Simone, who later announced the anthem to be her "first civil rights song". It was released on her album Nina Simone in Concert in 1964. The album was based on recordings of three concerts she gave at Carnegie Hall in 1964. The album was her first release for the Dutch label Philips Records and is indicative of the more political turn her recorded music took during this period. Simone composed "Mississippi Goddam" in less than an hour. Together with "Four Women" and "To Be Young, Gifted and Black", it is one of her most famous protest songs and self-written compositions. In 2019, "Mississippi Goddam" was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". 


Year:
1994
4:47
51 

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The name of this tune is Mississippi goddam
And I mean every word of it

Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

Can't you see it
Can't you feel it
It's all in the air
I can't stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer

Alabama's gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

This is a show tune
But the show hasn't been written for it, yet

Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every day's gonna be my last

Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I don't belong here
I don't belong there
I've even stopped believing in prayer

Don't tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
I've been there so I know
They keep on saying 'Go slow!'

But that's just the trouble
'Do it slow'
Washing the windows
'Do it slow'
Picking the cotton
'Do it slow'
You're just plain rotten
'Do it slow'
You're too damn lazy
'Do it slow'
The thinking's crazy
'Do it slow'
Where am I going
What am I doing
I don't know
I don't know

Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about Mississippi goddam

I made you thought I was kiddin'

Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say it's a communist plot
All I want is equality
For my sister my brother my people and me

Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
And you'd stop calling me Sister Sadie

Oh but this whole country is full of lies
You're all gonna die and die like flies
I don't trust you any more
You keep on saying 'Go slow!'
'Go slow!'

But that's just the trouble
'Do it slow'
Desegregation
'Do it slow'
Mass participation
'Do it slow'
Reunification
'Do it slow'
Do things gradually
'Do it slow'
But bring more tragedy
'Do it slow'
Why don't you see it
Why don't you feel it
I don't know
I don't know

You don't have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about Mississippi
Everybody knows about Alabama
Everybody knows about Mississippi goddam, that's it

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Nina Simone

Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), better known by her stage name Nina Simone /ˈniːnə sɨˈmoʊn/, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music. Simone aspired to become a classical pianist while working in a broad range of styles including classical, jazz, blues, folk, R&B, gospel, and pop. more »

4 fans

Written by: Nina Simone

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Song Origin
"Mississippi Goddam" was a song written and performed by American singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone, released in 1964.
Civil Rights Movement
The song was Simone's response to the murder of Medgar Evers in Mississippi and the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, both incidents took place in 1963 which escalated the Civil Rights Movement.
Song Genre
Unlike most of her other works, "Mississippi Goddam" is a civil rights protest song couched in a show tune style.
Bold Message
The song captured Simone's commitment to the civil rights movement and articulated her anger, pain, and frustration with the racial injustice Black people continued to face.
Use of Profanity
"Mississippi Goddam" was one of the first songs to use the racial swear word openly. It spoke volumes about the anger and despair felt by African-Americans during the civil rights struggle.
Live Performance
The song was first performed in front of a predominantly white audience at Carnegie Hall. The immediate reaction was shock which gave way to a standing ovation.
Song Reception
After the release of "Mississippi Goddam", Simone received a considerable amount of hate mail and the song was banned in several Southern states.
Powerful Lyrics
Simone didn't mince words in her lyrics, singing, "Alabama's got me so upset, Tennessee made me lose my rest, And everybody knows about Mississippi goddam."
Historical Impact
Despite the controversy, "Mississippi Goddam" became an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement, and is considered one of Simone's most notable songs.
Legacy
The song is preserved in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The protest song continues to be relevant and is often referenced by scholars and civil rights activists.

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