Song Analysis Of Feeling Good, By Nina Simone

Improved Essays
“Music speaks what cannot be expressed, soothes the mind and gives it rest, heals the heart and makes it whole, flow from heaven to the soul (Monet).” Feeling good was originally written in 1965, by Nina Simone. This song has been used in the popular culture such as, “Point of No Return” and “Six Feet Under”. A song cover was later done by Jennifer Hudson in 2011, and Lauryn Hill in 2015. Although Nina Simone wrote the song, Jennifer Hudson sang it better due to melody, rhythm, and instrumentation used in her version.
Nina Simone was born February 21, 1933; she died just two months after her 70th birthday on April 21, 2003; she sang the rhythm and blues between the years of 1954, and 2003. She was even nominated for an Oscar Award (nin). British songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse wrote
…show more content…
Simone had small quarter and base instrumentation in the middle and ending. The rhythm stayed the same, and you could really hear the passion and pain in the song. However, Jennifer Hudson’s version started off faster and happier. The rhythm change was throughout the song and was even a bit shorter. Lauryn Hill’s version was more similar to Nina Simone’s than Jennifer Hudson’s. Lauren used less base, and more jazz like Simone’s version. But, Hudson’s version was more pop. Melody, rhythm, and the instruments made the three versions of the same song different. Nina Simone was from an earlier generation than Jennifer Hudson and Lauryn Hill. Music has evolved between the three generations. Simone’s melody was smoothing and touching, while Hudson’s, and Hill’s melody was relaxing and exciting at the same time. Jennifer Hudson’s and Lauryn Hill rhythm is faster than Nina Simone’s leaving room to distinguish the different generations. Hudson’s was more pop. In my most humble opinion, Jennifer Hudson’s version was better because the melody, rhythm, and instrumentation was more of my

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    “A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart”- Unknown. Do you ever just listen to a song and wonder what the writer is trying to say? As a matter of fact, most of the time the song he or she is writing is about their personal lives. Tim McGraw wrote My Little Girl in 2006 it was the second single of his CD. In my opinion, this song is about his daughters and him.…

    • 658 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction Domestic violence is everywhere around us and for some of us it is not something new. It comes in many forms physical, emotional, and psychological. The abuse is very real and when it starts we are the last to notice it. Nothing is worse then being the person on the outside looking in watching mothers, sisters, and friends go through it without being able to do anything is hard.…

    • 1505 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Black womanhood continues to be as important as feminism. Black women have been treated wrong for some time now, they have been raped, beaten on, barely able to work, but still manages to be just as resilient as everyone else. Women, in general, are not being treated as an equal, but for a black woman it is even worse. Maya Angelou once said “as far as I knew white women were never lonely, except in books. White men adored them, Black men desired them and Black women worked for them.”…

    • 1371 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Marriage, baptism, your first steps, and getting your driver's license are all a rite of passage, and “The Medicine Bag” story, “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” video, and the “Cherokee Night Ritual Into Manhood” story are all rites of passages. “The Medicine Bag” is about a boy named Martin receiving his family's tradition from his grandfather and how he feels about it. “Apache Girl’s Rite of Passage” video is about Dachina becoming a woman in her tribe and what she has to go through to become one. “Cherokee Night Ritual Into Manhood” story is about how the Cherokee boys turn into men by staying in the woods all night. My analysis of the passages and video show the similarities and differences of the stories, and also shows the disadvantages…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women’s roles in society were a controversial thing in the past, women weren’t allowed to act the way they wanted. In the “Story of an Hour” by Kate Chopin, Mrs. Mallard has felt trapped since her marriage but becomes overflowed with joy and the idea of freedom but in the end she dies. In “The Waltz” by Dorothy Parker, the narrator is forced to dance but she doesn’t speak her mind and acts as if everything was fine. Women’s roles in society were very similar but also different, women didn’t have the freedom to speak their mind or had freedom in general which is seen in both the stories. “Story of an Hour” and “The Waltz” are similar because both women feel freedom without the presence of males.…

    • 723 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ella Vs Ethel Merman

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages

    After listing to “I get a kick out of you”, I believe the classic song was better performed by Ella Fitzgerald instead of Ethel Merman. I enjoyed the overall classic of the lyrics and see why standards are important for many singers to know and interpret differently. The vocal style of the singer was very different. Ethel’s vocal style of singing is more aggressive and it seemed somewhat rushed but had a whimsical feel. While Ella’s vocal style is more laid back because she takes her time to sing the words of the song and puts soul into it.…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Introduction In 1983, when Cyndi Lauper released “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” on her album She’s So Unusual, it garnered so much fame that it became one of the most well-known feminist anthems in the country. Several artists covered the song in subsequent years, and Lauper herself released a remastered version. However, few people are aware, even today, that the song is a cover version of Robert Hazard’s original demo, recorded in 1979 but never released officially (the demo is currently available on several media platforms, including YouTube).…

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    I think that the instrumentation in these songs really are the main thing that give them their different unique moods. The original song by Garland is a ballad, it is very slow and feels almost proper in a way. The instruments used sound like they are very orchestral and classical, which could be a reason that the song feels the way it does. The emotion is not so much there and it feels more like the singer is trying to daydream. Israel’s cover on the other hand is definitely not a ballad.…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In J.Coles “She Knows” he uses a juvenile young man to demonstrate the life of a average suburban family and the struggles they go through. By looking at the the two scenes spoken about in this essay, we can see what exactly J.Cole means in his title “She Knows”, which most viewers don’t see; this is important because J.Cole changes the meaning of “She Knows” through the entire music video. The first important scene starts with the young man being dropped off by his mother and father on his way to school. This scene is significant because previously before the young man left the house he stole money from his parents and the young mans mother gazes at him in the car as if she knew what exactly he had done. The second important scene starts with…

    • 1189 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Eleanora Fagan also known as Billie Holiday was born on April 7, 1915 and died on July 17, 1959. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had a nickname of “Lady Holiday” which was given to her music partner Lester Young. She was considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time. Holiday had a thriving career as a jazz singer for many years before she lost her battle with substance abuse.…

    • 731 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is a song originally written and recorded by the Grunge band Nirvana in 1991 on their “Nevermind” album and is considered to be one of the most influential songs the band had written during their time. One year later, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was covered by singer-songwriter Tori Amos for her “Crucify” EP. While the cover may be extremely different from the original, there are still some elements that are similar among both versions. In contrast, both Nirvana and Amos play different styles of music which would change how the song is viewed by their respective audiences. Although the lyrics, in general, are the same, the overall meaning and mood of the song is different based which artist is playing the song.…

    • 1022 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nina Simone

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “To most white people, jazz means black and jazz means dirt, and that's not what I play. I play black classical music” (Simone). Nina is one of the greats when it comes to African-American music, a black woman that children of color can look up to in awe knowing that our people had a contribution to real art. Simone was born February 21, 1933, in the small town of Tryon, North Carolina, but later died at her home on April 23, 2003, in Carry-let-Rout, France. Nina Simone attended Julliard School of Arts in New York City where she studied classical piano.…

    • 453 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    However I find subliminal similarities. One of the first things I notice was the use of other things besides dancing to help convey the purpose of the piece. The speaker in the poem, and the dirt on the stage gave the audience a sign of what direction the piece is going. Both of the pieces were unique, however to me the technique obtained by the dancers was still evident. Something that differed between the two pieces was the number of performers.…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Making Sarah Cry Bully

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages

    “Making Sarah cry” and “Don't Give Up The Fight” have the same theme of being different. They show it the same way of telling how the main characters who would get bullied by teammates or school kids. They also said it's the same by how they both had a friend help. They show it differently by telling how the main characters got bullied by the bullies and why they were bulling them.…

    • 397 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When comparing different ballet performances, you look at more than just the way the performers dance. You look at the location, use of the stage, force and speed behind each movement, costumes, and the props used. The performance that seemed very different from Firebird in almost all aspects was the first performance of the night, La Source. The ballets of La Source, Komoreibu, and Firebird were performed at the Koger Center on November 10 and 11, 2016. La Source is choreographed by George Balanchine and is set up into three different acts, as we only viewed one act in the performance.…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays