Nina Simone Quotes & Sayings

“The worst thing about that kind of prejudice... is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.”

“Jazz is a white term to define black people. My music is black classical music.”

“There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.”

“I'm a real rebel with a cause.”

“Once I understood Bach's music, I wanted to be a concert pianist. Bach made me dedicate my life to music, and it was that teacher who introduced me to his world.”

“I would like a man now who is rich, and who can give me a boat - a sailboat. I want to own it and let him pay for it. My first love is the sea and water, not music. Music is second.”

“Desegregation is a joke.”

“I think if I were over there in America, protest music would be more important. But I'm not going.”

“Greed has driven the world crazy. And I think I'm lucky that I have a place over here that I can call home.”

“This may be a dream, but I'll say it anyway: I was supposed to be married last year, and I bought a gown. When I meet Nelson Mandela, I shall put on this gown and have the train of it removed and put aside, and kiss the ground that he walks on and then kiss his feet.”