By Nina Simone's own admission, this was her first civil rights song. It was inspired by the murder of four girls in the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church on 15 September 1963 by members of the Ku Klux Klan. I think this is by far one of the most powerful protest songs of the time... "do things gradually will bring more tragedy"... even today! A very interesting paper on the involvement of Nina Simone in Civil Rights activism in the 60s was written by Ruth Feldstein in the Journal of American History. I'm not so sure youtube may be where students come looking for references but I've included the reference below anyway. Feldstein, R. (2005) "I don't trust you anymore": Nina Simone, Culture, and Black Activism in the 1960s, Journal of American History, 91(4): 1349-1379. Lyrics to this wonderful anthem below... The name of this tune is Mississippi Goddam And I mean every word of it Alabama's gotten me so upset Tennessee made me lose my rest And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam Alabama's gotten me so upset Tennessee made me lose my rest And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam Can't you see it Can't you feel it It's all in the air I can't stand the pressure much longer Somebody say a prayer Alabama's gotten me so upset Tennessee made me lose my rest And everybody knows about Mississippi Goddam This is a show tune But the show hasn't been written for it, yet Hound dogs on my trail School children sitting in jail Black cat cross my path I think every day's <b>...</b>
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