No fear

A couple of times on stage I really felt free (…)

I’ll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.

Nina Simone

Nina Simone (1933 – 2003) fue una cantante, compositora, músico y activista por los derechos civiles. Su álbum Black Gold de 1969 incluye To Be Young, Gifted And Black, el que es considerado un himno de la identidad negra en una época marcada en EEUU por el racismo y la violencia a esta comunidad. Nina dijo sobre la canción que su intención era escribir algo que «hiciera que los niños negros de todo el mundo se sintieran bien consigo mismos, para siempre».

Nina Simone (1933 – 2003) was a singer, composer, musician and activist for the civil rights. Her 1969 album Black Gold features the song To Be Young, Gifted And Black, that is considered an anthem about black people’s identity, in a time that was marked in the USA by racism and violence against the black community. Nina said that she wanted to write something that «will make black children all over the world feel good about themselves, forever».

To be young, gifted and black
Oh, what a lovely precious dream

Hubo un par de veces en el escenario en que me sentí realmente libre (…)

La libertad para mí es no tener miedo.

Nina Simone

Ain’t Got No, I Got Life es otra canción fundamental que nos dejó Nina. Fue reescrita por Simone en 1968 (originalmente se trataba de dos canciones del musical rock Hair, sobre la cultura hippie y la revolución sexual de los 60). La letra es un canto a la libertad más absoluta: las injusticias sociales pueden quitarnos muchas cosas (el hogar, el dinero, la ropa, la cultura…) pero lo esencial no puede ser arrebatado nunca (nuestro cuerpo sigue siendo nuestro, nuestra sangre, nuestra alma… ) y se convierte en elemento de rebelión y esperanza. El desarraigo y el sentimiento de no pertenencia con el que comienza la canción da paso a un crescendo tan optimista como liberador.

I’ve got a life, I’ve got my freedom

Ain’t Got No, I Got Life is another important song of Nina’s legacy. It was rewritten by Simone in 1968 (originally were two different songs from the rock musical Hair, about the hippie counterculture and sexual revolution movement of the time). The lyrics are an ode to freedom: social injustice may take many things away from us (ain’t got no home, no money, no clothes…), but nobody can ever take away the most essential from us (our bodies still belong to us, our blood, our souls…) and that means a beacon for rebellion and hope. Also the uprooting and feeling of not belonging from the beginning of the song guides us to an optimistic and liberating final crescendo.

I ain’t got no home, ain’t got no shoes
Ain’t got no money, ain’t got no class
Ain’t got no skirts, ain’t got no sweaters
Ain’t got no perfume, ain’t got no love
Ain’t got no faith

Ain’t got no culture, ain’t got no mother
Ain’t got no father, ain’t got no brother
Ain’t got no children, ain’t got no aunts
Ain’t got no uncles, ain’t got no love
Ain’t got no mind

Ain’t got no country, ain’t got no schooling
Ain’t got no friends, no nothing
Ain’t got no water, ain’t got no air
Ain’t got no smokes, ain’t got no ticket

Ain’t got no water, ain’t got no love
Ain’t got no faith, ain’t got no god
Ain’t got no wine, ain’t got no money
Ain’t got no veil, ain’t got no god
Ain’t got no love

And what have I got?
Why am I alive anyway?
Yeah, what have I got? That nobody can take away…

I got my hair, got my head
I got my brains, I got my ears
I got my eyes, I got my nose
I got my mouth, I got my self

I got my tongue, I got my chin
I got my neck, I got my boobies
I got my heart, I got my soul
I got my back, I got my sex

I got my arms, I got my hands
I got my fingers, got my legs
I got my feet, I got my toes
I got my liver, got my blood

I’ve got the life, I’ve got my freedom

And I’m gonna keep it