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This is a cross-university blog project between Clemson University and the University of South Carolina - Upstate for the Spring 2008 semester. In this forum, our collaborative efforts will discuss the arguments found in popular war-based music from the 1960s.
Contributors
- Joey Schumacher - Clemson University
- Erin McCoy - USC Upstate
- Chase Hart - Clemson University
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23 comments:
Nina Simone – “Mississippi Goddamn” (1964)
The name of this tune is mississippi goddamn
And I mean every word of it
Alabamas gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddamn
Alabamas gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddamn
Cant you see it
Cant you feel it
Its all in the air
I cant stand the pressure much longer
Somebody say a prayer
Alabamas gotten me so upset
Tennessee made me lose my rest
And everybody knows about mississippi goddamn
This is a show tune
But the show hasnt been written for it, yet
Hound dogs on my trail
School children sitting in jail
Black cat cross my path
I think every days gonna be my last
Lord have mercy on this land of mine
We all gonna get it in due time
I dont belong here
I dont belong there
Ive even stopped believing in prayer
Dont tell me
I tell you
Me and my people just about due
Ive been there so I know
They keep on saying go slow!
But thats just the trouble
Do it slow
Washing the windows
Do it slow
Picking the cotton
Do it slow
Youre just plain rotten
Do it slow
Youre too damn lazy
Do it slow
The thinkings crazy
Do it slow
Where am I going
What am I doing
I dont know
I dont know
Just try to do your very best
Stand up be counted with all the rest
For everybody knows about mississippi goddamn
I made you thought I was kiddin didnt we
Picket lines
School boy cots
They try to say its 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 youd stop calling me sister sadie
Oh but this whole country is full of lies
Youre all gonna die and die like flies
I dont trust you any more
You keep on saying go slow!
Go slow!
But thats 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 dont you see it
Why dont you feel it
I dont know
I dont know
You dont have to live next to me
Just give me my equality
Everybody knows about mississippi
Everybody knows about alabama
Everybody knows about mississippi goddamn
Hey Hey!
My name is Shana Stephens and I am a freshman at USC Upstate. I'm studying Learning Disabilities (Special Education). The lyrics to “Mississippi Goddamn” seem to be referring to the emotions and feelings that the people of war deal with on a daily basis. They all hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. They are in a state of despair and all hope is lost. She speaks of how everywhere she turns there are negative vibes. She speaks of how bad things have become when referring to the school aged children sitting in jail cells, how dogs are tracing the steps & are not far behind, and how a black cat may cross the path that she walks... It is almost as if there is no way around it. She also refers to equal rights in a few of the lines and shows that not everyone is recieving them. She feels as if there is nothing that she can do to get away and live the life that she feels that she deserves.
-Sincerely,
Shana Stephens (4)
Hello everyone,
I really don't know what to make of this song, but I can tell you that I hate the way she uses the "GD" word so much. A lot of things that she said were probably out of anger and I understand that she's also hurt at the same time but shouldn't there be a limit??? I think she could have gone about it in a different manner.
Thanks for the time,
Kishanda T.
Hey everyone!
My name is Brittany Youngblood and I am a freshman at USC Upstate. I am studying to be a lawyer. The lyrics to this song seem to speak about the problems of the war, but what stood out more to me were the issues of racism. Equal rights were a big problem in the '60s and Nina Simone highlights it very well in this song. She points out how everyone is saying to go slow and everything will be okay, but obviously not. She also brings up the point of inequality of the genders, where she states, "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 youd stop calling me sister sadie." This showed me that she had gotten very tired of the standard of living for women, that we are people too. The racism stands out more and more throughout the song with the constant mentioning of Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi. As you all may or may not know, these were big states with racist problems and she is ready for a change in all aspects. Although it is obvious that she speaks about the problems with the war, equality issues stand out much more.
Thanks!
Brittany Youngblood(4)
Hello everyone,
My name is Daniel Smith and I am a freshman at Clemson majoring in Graphic Communications. I am a huge fan of older music especially the sixties era so this project excited me greatly. Something about this time period is very interesting and inspiring. There was something in the air and everyone could feel it. People were tired of conforming to what past generations wanted and they all became involved to do something about it. Nina Simone was a black singer from the sixties and although I had never heard this song before I could tell it was about civil rights and the unjust racism of the time. I don't exactly know what the race situation in Mississippi and Tennessee was at the time but as southern states I imagine it was bad. I know Alabama is known as one of the most violent race relation states in our country's history so that is why these places are mentioned. This song is definitely a civil movement song and I was interested to read it. Sorry I ran a little overboard but have a good week.
Take it easy,
Daniel Smith (50)
Hey everyone!
My name is Chrissy and I am a Freshman at Clemson. The first time I read this song I wasn’t exactly sure what it was saying but after the second time I realized it was about equality for African Americans in the South. There were strong feelings of anger in this song but I feel like it was necessary to really show the message behind it. People had been fighting for years for equality with no success and so I believe the anger is well deserved. I feel like the repetition used was very important because the message was almost drilled into our heads. It explains how it really was for Blacks during that time, and how truly unfair their lives were. Nina Simone was not asking for the white people in the South to like her but she wanted them to see her and other African Americans as equal. I believe she did a great job of stating this in the line: “You dont have to live next to me Just give me my equality.” I found this song very inspiring and meaningful and I hope you all did as well.
Have a great week!
Chrissy Tanner (26)
Hi Group!
My name is Lakeyia McCrea and I am a freshman biology major at Clemson University. I actually listened to the song while I read the lyrics to actually hear the anger and frustration of the late Ms. Nina Simone while she performed the song. She begins the song by stating the title of the song, which is “Mississippi Goddamn,” and then she states that she means every word of it. Ms. Simone is basically addressing the common argument in that period of time of civil rights and the idea that African Americans should go slow and change will come gradually. Personally, it was kind of contradicting that they wanted slaves to do their work fast, however, they stated that change would have to come slowly. Our people were made to believe that if they did what they were told change would come, when in reality they were all lies to blindfold us into believing that a change would come. She talks about how school children were being put in jail, and how people were hunt down by hound dogs and sometimes murdered for stealing something such as cotton. She talks about how many feared every day would be their last. Many actually believed that the Communists sought to use the Supreme Court to destroy the public school system and destroy white civilization. Finally, she ended the song with stating that they don’t have to live next to us, but we do deserve to be treated equally, which was absolutely true.
Sincerely,
Lakeyia McCrea (60)
Hey guys,
My name is Brooks Johnson and I am a freshman at Clemson majoring in Architecture. I just listened to the song and I do not feel that it quite qualifies as an example of war-based propaganda; however through the song it is apparent that the singer is creating awareness of the constant struggle blacks continue to face in southern states such as Mississippi and Alabama. She introduces the song by mentioning the resentment she feels towards the southern states. Then she addresses harsh acts of oppression that the black community faces on a regular basis such as the police having dogs set on them and throwing them in jail probably for minor incidents such as peaceful protests or refusing to abide by segregation laws of that time.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is lost in a world where she does not belong. In a world where blacks are not meant to feel welcome and the government gives them false hope for equality and desegregation. Officials promise them that they will soon receive equal rights; however they are in no hurry to make this change. It is just as the lyrics say, “Desegregation…Do it slow.” It is definitely an inspirational song. You guys have a good week.
Sincerely,
Brooks Johnson (60)
Hey guys!
It's me, Brittany, again. I agree with what everyone has said about this song. Daniel, yes Tennesse and Mississippi were both very bad states in the sixties for racial inequality. They were almost, but not quite, as bad as Alambama. I also agree with what Brooks said about this song not exactly being about the war, but more about equal rights. I still feel that along the lines of racial inequality, there is still a matter of the inequality of the genders. With Nina being African American and a woman, she had it bad from all directions. A black man during this time may not have had very many rights because of his skin color, but with being a man he still had more rights than a black woman or any other woman for that matter.
Thanks everyone!
Brittany Youngblood(4)
Hi Group!
It is me, Lakeyia, and I have thoroughly read every individuals comments. First of all, I would like to address Brook’s statement of this song not being an example of war-based propaganda. Ms. Nina Simone addressed the issue of civil rights and racism which was a war whether many realize it or not. It was a war within our own country, with African Americans fighting for equality and just treatment. Chrissy’s views and comments of the song mirrored mines. She addressed how she felt the anger pouring from the song, and how the anger that Ms. Simone felt was actually justifiable. One thing she addressed that I did not point out was the use of the repetition, which was genius of Ms. Simone to get the message heard. The interpretation that I found to differ from my own greatly was that of Kishanda T, who believed the use of the word goddamn was too harsh and pushed the limit a little too far. The actual definition of the word “goddamn” is an expression of anger or frustration. Didn’t the African Americans have the right to be angry and frustrated? All in all I found the readings to be very interesting and informative and I enjoyed everyone interpretations of the song even though I sometimes disagreed.
Till Next Time,
Lakeyia McCrea (60)
Hello Again Everybody,
Hope everyone had a good week and has a good weekend. After reading through everyones post i was enlightened on a few different ways of looking at the song. Brittany brought up the fight for the rights of not just blacks, but of women as well. when i first read the song, i thought strictly of race, but Brittany is right i believe, this was also a cry for women's rights as well. Women had absolutely no say and no influence during this time and people like Nina Simone were tired of it. Lakeyia also talks about something very important in the song and central to its meaning. Blacks at the time were told to go about getting their rights very slowly or else they would "disrupt" the system and things would be worse. Well they were tired of going slowly and wanted equality now, which cannot be blamed at all. I enjoyed reading your comments even though there was not much interpretation to be done for this song. It is pretty clear what she is singing about.
Have a great weekend,
Daniel Smith (50)
Hey group,
Sorry I didn’t introduce myself correctly the first time but I’m a freshman at USC Upstate. I am majoring nursing. So about this song “Mississippi Goddamn,” I have to agree with Daniel S. that this time period (the sixties) was very interesting, BUT racism was still in the northern and southern states. I understand that she’s upset, frustrated, and wants to express herself and what she feels but again I think she could have used a better choice of words. I also agree with Lakeyia about African Americans had the right to be angry and frustrated as hell and yes I understand the meaning of the word “goddamn” but I still think went overboard. In a way I agree with Brittany too about this not only being a cry for African American , but all females too because back then everyone knows that women had no say so and we were expected to be seen and not heard. Well, look how many changes African Americans and women have gone through and accomplished now.
Once again thanks for your time,
Kishanda T.
Hey Hey!
I really enjoyed being able to set down and read everyone's responses to the song lyrics. When I first read the title of the song, I didn't prefer to read any further into the song, but now that I have looked deeper into the actual meanings to the lyrics, this song says so much about how things were in the Sixties for the African Americans, the female gender, and for many others.
I enjoyed reading the section in Brittany Youngblood's writing about the inequalities of the genders. I believe that this was a major pin point to her meaning in the meaning of the song. She only wanted every other woman to have the chance to live a life of fairness and equal opportunity, just as she wanted for herself. I for one believe that the words that she chose were brilliant and very courageous. I respect her greatly for the stand she took in order to make here beliefs known to all.
Another piece that grabbed my attention was the selection in Lakeyia's response that referred to the pace at which African Americans were told that they had to go about getting their rights. I must have skimmed over this line or read it wrong the first time I read the lyrics. I completely agree with the point that she made about the expectation of fast hard, hard work from the slaves, but in return think that they will stand aside and wait for an ongoing slow process, that is likely to never actually come about.
All in all I am enjoying the process of having to pick apart the lyrics and having the option to learn their meanings through other people's opinions and insights.
-Sincerely,
Shana Stephens
Hey everyone! Sorry this is a little late but I got myself all confused and I figured writing this late was better than not at all. After reading through all the posts, it is pretty clear that we all agree that this song is regarding Civil Rights. After reading the post from Brittany, I looked back at the song to notice the war sentiments figuring that I not noticed them the first time but after reading it again I still didn’t see it. I am sure that this song is also about the war but can someone explain to me how? I also really enjoyed reading Brooks’ post because it lead me to think of Nina actually writing this song and the feelings and meaning she really had behind all of her words. I am going to try and find this song online so that I can hear the way she performs it because I really think that might help better explain her true feelings about the issue. Sorry again for this being a little late but have a good weekend!
Chrissy Tanner (26)
Hey everyone,
I apologize for responding so late, but after reading everyone’s comments, I feel that we all have grasped the message Nina Simone is trying to convey through her song fairly well. As we all agree, for the African-American community, the south was not a great place to call home. They were living in an extremely segregated region of the US where the law basically told them that they were the less important half of a white and black population and where a very racist population of white Americans made sure they knew it. I definitely agree with Brittany’s statement regarding African-American women. They especially had the lower end of everything because they not only had to deal with the oppression that blacks in general faced, but also the fact that women at the time were still receiving less rights than men. Also as Nina described in her song, the majority of the nation at this time was in no hurry to neither deal with these issues nor make necessary changes. Well I hope everyone had a great weekend.
Thanks for the time,
Brooks Johnson (60)
Hey Hey! I hope that everyone had a great weekend, I just hate that it is already over. After reading Chrissy's post, the thought of dowloading the song and actually listening to the words seemed to be the best idea, but this decision only left me confused. When you read the lyrics you recieve the impression that the artist is in a down hearted state of mind and is greatly depressed. But when you actually listen to the song and read along, you get a totally different outlook. You find this woman who speaks of having to do things that way that others feel it should be done, having to live by the "white-man's" rules, and having to deal with this terrible period in life, but she is singing it to a happy and bouncy beat. At first I felt as is I would have heard this sing at the beginning of this project, I would have taken a totally different approach to the way that I reacted to the lyrics, but after actually thinking about it, I believe that I would have understood it better. In the song you can hear the audience that she is performing in front of and to my surprise they are laughing, not at her, but with her. She has a large amount of sarcasm in her voice, but I believe that she uses that effect only to hide her hurt and anger. She wants people to see what she is going through, but she wants to portray herself as though she is a strong-willed person and that she resfuses to give up on this hope that she has. And strong she is by all means, but she is also frustrated with life in general. In return she takes these lyrics that have so many emotions of hurt, anger, and confusion and she places them with a happy beat in order to make you listen, but mainly to make the words stand out.
After reading Brooks last post, I realized that I have made myself blind to one of the large reasonings behind this song. I have mentioned in my posts that there were hard times on African-Americans, but I simply let it go at that. I have emphasized on the fact that she held this life that she believed that women deserved up on this majestic pedestal, but it is not about the women as much as it is for the African American women. They lived life where they constantly had to live by someone else's rules. They questioned the fact of who they were, where they belonged, and which way they were to go in life. And this fact makes me sick to my stomach, I know that such things went on, but the thought of someone truly having to live in those conditions is unbearable. Maybe that is why I simply touched the subject, but pushed no farther to explain myself.
I had to think hard about something that this song made me think of. There were many things that came to mind, but none of them actually made me feel as though I was grasping the concept. I ran across this picture and felt as though everything that Nina Simone talked of in the song was wrapped up in this one picture.
http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l171/shanamarie01/untitled.jpg
On a bus, a simple means of transportation, there is a vibe of discomfort in this picture between the two races. She was tired of feeling as though she had to live the way that the Caucasian believed was right, what about what the African American's thought and felt? So she stood up for her beliefs and she sat where she thought she deserved to sit, which was in the front of the bus which was labeled for only the white man to sit in. Instead of expressing her emotions in words and lyrics as Nina Simone did, she showed hers in actions.
I hope that everyone has a great week and I can't wait to see the new posts.
:)
-Sincerely,
Shana Stephens (4)
Hey Everyone!
It's Brittany again! Well we have come to the end of our road together (well blog anyway) and it kind of makes me sad. I have really enjoyed reading everyone's posts about this song. It has been very enlightening and has helped me to see things from another person's point of view and not just my own! Now back to the song of course, thats why we are here. I agree with Shana's latest post. When i first read these lyrics i thought that the music that went along with it would be of a sad nature, but hearing the song for the first time today really put me in shock. I did not think of this song going along with a show-tune type beat, even though it is mentioned in the lyrics. I do believe that if i would have heard the song before reading the lyrics i would have taken a very different stand on this. Nina sounds very sarcastic with the tone of her singing than would be expected for something like this. I never would have picked the lyrics apart, as i did, with such a strong stand on what i believed it to be about having heard it first. I still believe in that it was about equal rights of both African Americans and women. To go along with this stand point, i found a picture that really stood out to me to be perfect for this song:
http://i30.tinypic.com/2a92tfb.jpg
This picture not only shows African Americans protesting for equal rights, there are also a few white women and men protesting too. This shows that not everyone hated the African American people, some wanted to help them. This is apparent with the white men that are protesting, they had no gain with these protests. The men actually did this despite the fact that they would be looked down upon, possible even taken to jail, for fighting for something that had no profit in it for them.
One last thing before i go. I just want to thank all of you that agreed with my posts! I really appreciated the comments made towards it. It made me feel even stronger about my opinions.
Thank you all and hopefully we will meet again one day!
I look forward to reading all of the new posts!
Thanks again,
Brittany Youngblood(4)
Hi everyone!
I have thoroughly enjoyed this interaction thus far, and I find the comments made by other members of this group to be informative and interesting. I found that all the group members mostly agreed on the issues the song addressed. Actually reading the comments of other group members allowed me to grasp a better understanding of the song. Shana actually went into deep concept and thought on the issue which I admire her work ethics which are very similar to mines. She realized the passion that I noticed as soon as I heard the song from Ms. Simone. Many of group members also stated that Ms. Simone was addressing the issue of women rights. I really didn’t get the impression that she was addressing women issues. During this period of time I don’t feel women rights were as important as civil rights.
I actually typed in “civil rights” in an image search engine and the first image to come up was the image of police officers allowing their dogs to attack a young African American man.
http://cache.eb.com/eb/image?id=71296&rendTypeId=4
I feel that this image possess such strong emphasis on the issue of civil rights. The image accurately portrays the way that we were treated during that time period. Nina Simone’s “Mississippi Goddamn” possessed the same quality except that she put the way that she was feeling into a song.
Lakeyia McCrea (60)
Hello everyone,
Well the time has come for this project to end and another to begin; I’ve really enjoyed everyone’s different views of this song because it made me view the song differently too. Well, I heard the song in class today and boy was I blown away, the song and the tone do not match at all. If I would have heard her song before I read her lyrics, I would not have taken her serious. My first thought (and I’m sure others would agree) was that she had a lot of sarcasm was in her voice and a lot of laughter in the background. As we discussed the song a little bit more, I realized that she was using what I thought was “sarcasm” to cope with her pain and the laughter was not at her but with her. I would especially like to thank Lakeyia for all her views and ideas, you made me view this song in more than one way, where at the beginning I was way too focused on “Goddamn” and didn’t bother focusing on her main point for writing the song.
To keep it simple I just went to yahoo and looked at a picture of Nina Simone.
To look at her and try to put the song with her voice and lyrics I found impossible. By looking at her face which looks so peaceful and listening to her voice filled with so many emotions…it just doesn’t match.
Once again thanks for your time and I’m really looking forward to everybody’s feedback.
Kishanda T.
Hello again,
Hope everyone had a good weekend. Mine of course was too short. After reading through everyone's latest posts and comments i came to the conclusion that mostly everyone got a good grasp on what this song is talking about. This was one of the easier songs to analyze because it was so "black and white" (ha no pun intended). I, like Chrissy watched Nina perform the song on Youtube once i read the lyrics and this greatly helped me understand her position. She's not singing on someone else's behalf like many of the artist of the time, but on her own. She knows what it is like. I liked how Shana pointed out Nina's positive attitude. that really stuck out to me as well. She realizes the problem but is not using negativity to make it worse, she is trying to be positive to rise above it and bring change. Lakeyia also pointed out the fact about Communists which i did not know even know i do not see its relevance.
http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a182/nick_dagan/birmingham_church_1963-2.jpg
This is an image i found of a famous bombing on a black Birmingham church in Alabama. Four innocent black children were killed and this brought huge attention to just how bad things were getting. Kids being killed for simply being born a different shade of skin.
Have a great week,
Daniel Smith 50
Hey everyone,
Sadly, it is the last day of our group discussion. I just listened to the song one last time, and I definitely agree with Shana and Brittany that listening to the way Nina Simone sings the song gives you a whole new impression of what she is feeling and how she presents herself while singing about what I assume were her own experiences of the oppression and abuse she faced as an African-American woman living in the South. When I first read the lyrics, my first impression of Simone’s song was that it was very dark and depressing, depicting the anger and bitterness she feels towards the south for the life of neglect and oppression that many African-Americans faced each day while living there. After listening to the song, I could still sense the frustration within Simone as she sang the lyrics; however, rather than sounding sad and depressing, she was composed and upbeat. She even managed to show off her sense of humor in certain areas of the song. Once I listened to the song, my impression of Simone completely changed. I see her now as a much stronger woman who never gave in to the abuse she was forced to endure throughout her life. I see her as a strong individual who not only should receive recognition for rising above every opposition as a woman, but more importantly, an African-American woman. The URL below links to an image that directly embodies certain aspects of Simone’s song.
http://www.indybay.org/uploads/2005/10/24/jb_modern_parks_1_e.jpg
This is a famous photograph of Rosa Parks being fingerprinted after her arrest for refusing to sit at the back of the bus, which was mandatory due to segregation laws existing at the time. It relates to the portion of the song where Simone addresses the severe consequences that her people would face if they didn’t abide by segregation laws. This image became a symbol of the oppression that African-Americans faced in the south which boosted civil rights activism across the nation. Segregation laws would be put to an end soon after.
I’ve enjoyed sharing my opinions with all of you and hearing your own. Hope everyone has a great week and a good finish to the semester. It’s been real!
Brooks Johnson (60)
Hey everyone! Hope everyone had a good weekend! After reading everyone’s posts, I really feel like we all have a good grasp of what Nina meant in her song. I thought a lot about what Brooks said about the South being not a very nice place to live and it really must have been true. I am not from the South and so I never really thought about how it was until now. Living in that situation, for both whites and especially blacks, must have been a very difficult place to be. It was also really nice to look at the picture that Shana attached. It really made me think about the prejudice that took place, even on the bus systems. The picture I found was of a police officer spraying someone with a water hose. This type of picture gives a vivid image of the prejudice that occurred.
http://www.crmvet.org/crmpics/bham-firehose.jpg
I have known about the prejudice that took place but I never thought much about it because I was never faced with the issue back at home and so talking about this song really helped to open my eyes to the problems that were faced. I hope everyone got as much from this blog as I have and I hope you all keep doing well!
Chrissy Tanner (26).
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