Yeshuwa Reviews: “Feeling Good” By: Nina Simon

Nina Simone - Feeling Good — Feeling Good Album Cover

This morning I looked outside feeling the fresh air, the newness coming in the new year, and thanked God for giving me another day starting off another year! I’ve put my best efforts forth to have the best start that I’m able to within my control, as I hope you have, too. The rest is part of going with the flow, which I like to think I specialize in.

“Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel”

Speaking of flows to go with, I’ve got a song for us to enter the new year to! This song was originally released in 1965 with a live performance a year earlier by Cy Grant. The original version was written for a stage production called “The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd” which is a comedic music-hall allegory which consisted of two main characters of Sir, who seems to have everything and Cocky, who isn’t as lucky. The musical pokes fun at British class structure while the two main characters compete in a “Game of Life” in which it always seems like Sir has the upper hand. In the musical there is a part the character, “The Negro” sings the song “Feeling Good” after being ridiculed and stereotyped while trying to play the “Game of Life”. This was a bold song and part to come out during the Civil Rights Movement in 1965 around the time of the Selma Montgomery Marches that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke at and around the time of the murder of Malcom X. The song itself was powerful in its lyrics, stance, and meanings and it was covered by many great singers. The only thing the song was missing was a powerful voice to be able to really give it the drive it needed; thus the legendary Nina Simone. The energy Nina Simone adds to
this song is immaculate.

“River running free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel”

Nina Simone was born in 1933 in Tyron, North Carolina. Her father was a barber, dry-cleaner, and entertainer and her mother was a Methodist preacher. Being born as the sixth of eight children to a large but poor family was tough. She began playing piano at a young age with her first song being “God Be With You, Till We Meet Again”. One of her recitals would be the inaugural moment for her involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, involving an incident in which her parents were told to move their front seats to the back for a white group of patrons. The courageous young Simone refused to play until her parents were moved back to their spots. When she grew older she changed her name from Eunice Waymon to Nina Simone, a name derived from a nickname for her and inspiration from a French actress named Simone Signoret that she had seen in the movie Casque d’Or. She changed her name because she knew her mother would not approve of her musical career singing music in jazz clubs that was not seen as “of the church.” Through her determination, Nina Simone found a way to grow her popularity and make her way into hearts around the world.

“Butterflies all havin’ fun, you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done, that’s what I mean”

Nina Simone’s version of “Feeling Good” made its first big debut for a Volkswagen commercial in the United Kingdom. Once the single was released it earned the 40th spot on the UK Singles chart in 1994 and it became one of her most well known songs – eventually going platinum and selling over 600,000 copies, and history wasmade! In 2022 American Songwriter ranked “Feeling Good” as Nina Simon’s biggest hit! This song also became a very popular sample, which is a song that has parts of another song in it.

“Oh, freedom is mine
And I know how I feel”

For the start of 2024, I felt this song was a great fit for the feeling of refreshment and newness I hope we all feel for the upcoming year. The song has a sense of freedom to it that Simone says is hard to explain. God’s love is that feeling of freedom that is the central theme in Simon’s life and the life of the song “Feeling Good”. We know that Our Lord lifts up the lowly and humbles the proud like we see in the relationship between Sir, Cocky, and The Negro in “The Roar of The Greasepaint”. The song captures the feeling of finally winning after being put down by the group; we even see this in Jesus’ life. Throughout our lives God has given us freedom too, and by making the right choices with that freedom we feel love and optimism. Simone also demonstrated God’s righteousness by doing work to free her people through the Civil Rights Movement. She accomplished this not only through her powerful performance of this song but others too making her a peaceful advocate; and with her music being so soulful, it affected people right where it makes the most difference.

“It’s a new dawn
It’s a new day
It’s a new life for me
I’m feeling good!”

I hope this song helps you find that good feeling in the air this year. I hope this year makes you do something righteous. I hope the righteousness in your actions, seen or unseen, help you advance in this “Game of Life” that isn’t always about getting ahead, but sometimes just Feeling Good, you know what I mean?

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