139 Quotes by Nina Simone

It's time to take a look at my failures and stop calling them successes. Now I can start working at something that can use me best.

Music has been a burden and a joy for as long as I can remember.

What is love but a prelude to sorrow...with heartache ahead for your goal.

Every day has its emotional difficulties. I miss my mother whether I'm singing her music or not.

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky," she said, "who stole my song and got a hit out of it?

I am particular about the seating of the audience - also about how much money they pay - but most of all where they are seated. If I am going to sing something intimate, who am I going to sing it to?

I applied for a scholarship to Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I knew I was good enough, but they turned me down. And it took me about six months to realize it was because I was black. I never really got over that jolt of racism at the time.

I'm sorry that I did not become the world's first black classic pianist. I think I would have been happier.

There's no excuse for the young...