Song of the Moment: "Mississippi Goddam" by Nina Simone

"Mississippi Goddam" is one of Nina Simone's more well-known songs, and a classic of the civil rights era. The most well-known and perhaps most striking version was recorded live at Carnegie Hall in March of 1964. Simone opens by introducing it, to what is presumably a mostly white audience, saying "the name of this tune is 'Mississippi Goddam!' And I mean every word of it," drawing a hearty laugh from the crowd. After an opening chorus, she says "this is a show tune, but the show hasn't been written for it yet." A less hearty, slightly nervous laugh. Then, she goes into the verses, which contain some extremely serious civil rights messages, and some palpable anger. After a couple verses she says, "bet you thought I was kiddin', didn't you?" This time, you can almost hear the audience fidgeting. It's horribly uncomfortable and brilliant and really amazing. Not to mention it's a great song.

[Listen at Grooveshark]