Four Women - Music

Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Four Women

Nina-Simone - Ne Me Quitte Pas

The Jazz Vocalist Composer Pianist And Arranger Nina Simone's Song "Four Women" Was Included On The Album Wild Is The Wind In 1966. There Are Four African American Women Whose Stories Are Told. The Four Characters Each Stand In For A Societal Stereotype Of African Americans. The Song In The Words Of Thulani Davis Of The Village Voice Was "an Instantly Accessible Analysis Of The Damning Legacy Of Slavery That Made Iconographic The Real Women We Knew And Would Become." The First Of The Four Women Mentioned In The Song Is Aunt Sarah A Figure Who Stands In For The Enslavement Of African Americans. In Her Depiction Of The Woman Simone Focuses On The Resilient And Powerful Traits Of Her Race Emphasizing That They Are "strong Enough To Take The Pain" As Well As The Ongoing Suffering That Has Been "inflicted Again And Again" On Them. The Song's Second Character Is A Mixed-Race Woman Named Saffronia Who Is Compelled To Live "between Two Worlds" Because Of The Color Of Her Skin. Her Story Is Once Again Used To Emphasize How Black People Suffer At The Hands Of Powerful White People "My Father Was Rich And White/He Forced My Mother Late One Night" And She Is Depicted As An Oppressed Woman. The Third Woman Is A So-Called "Sweet Thing" Prostitute. Because Of The Sexual Satisfaction She Offers "Whose Little Girl Am I?/Anyone Who Has Money To Buy" She Is Accepted By Both Black And White People In Addition To Being Accepted Because "my Hair Is Fine". The Fourth And Final Woman Is Extremely Tough And Resentful "I'm Awfully Bitter These Days/'cause My Parents Were Slaves" Due To The Years Of Persecution And Misery Her People Have Undergone. After A Dramatic Conclusion In Which The Woman Exclaims "My Name Is Peaches!" Simone Finally Reveals The Woman's Identity. The Song's Melody Is Based On A Straightforward Groove And It Is Accompanied By Piano Flute Electric Guitar And Bass Guitar. The Music Increasingly Intensifies As It Goes Along Reaching A Peak In The Fourth And Last Segment. Simone's Voice Is More Passionate And Emotional Cracking With Emotion And Her Normally Calm Piano Playing Gets Frantic And Occasionally Dissonant Maybe To Capture The Character's Angst. Simone's Ear-Splitting Howling Of The Word "Peaches" As The Song Comes To A Close. To Simone's Dismay Some Listeners Took The Song To Be Racist Despite The Fact That She Had Intended To Highlight Societal Injustice And The Suffering Of African Americans. As A Result It Was Prohibited On Some Well-Known Radio Stations Because They Felt It Played Into Prejudices Of Black People.