The Flight of the Rocketman

Something is out of reach
Something he wanted
Something is out of reach
He's being taunted
Something is out of reach
That he can't beg or steal nor can he buy
-- "A Campfire Song" by Natalie Merchant

My good, good friend Anne lent me her CD of Nina Simone's greatest hits, a 3 CD compilation of 50 fantastic tracks of the legendary jazz singer and pianist. I've always liked her, ever since I saw Point of No Return (also called Assassin) with Bridget Fonda. Her character in that movie loved Nina Simone and it was there that I got my early introduction to the music of Nina Simone. I was amazed at her beautiful rendition of the Beatle's song Here Comes the Sun.

I never got a copy of any of her albums but burned that track into a compilation.

Now I want to get the same CD my friend has because I am totally amazed by her interpretation of the songs and her soul.

I have always loved the songs of Randy Newman and Bette Midler's version of I Think It's Going to Rain Today has always been a personal favourite of mine. Where Midler's version is sad and grieving; Simone is accepting. Midler feels the sadness of the day, the loss of her friend (it was used for the film Beaches) but Simone sings as if she has been through this before. She knows the score. It happens. Shit happens. It's just another one of those days.

I heard Angel of the Morning first through Shaggy and then fell in love with the version of Chrissie Hyndes and the Pretenders. The sadness in Chrissie Hynde's voice, the pain of being something so temporary is so evident. But again, Simone has been through this all before. As Anne said, there is a level of hope. But for me, it's strength.

And whereas Bette Midler's Everyone's Gone to the Moon, I remember being sad and an expression of loneliness and one of exile, Simone's is almost insane. She sings in her jazzy syncopated rhythm, more shocked at the disappearance of people. She even injects her personal opinions into the song: what happens now? It is one of fear and shock. Simone's version is taken literally, everyone has gone to the moon. Bette Midler uses the metaphors to present her feeling of being left behind. It is an interesting way of presenting the song. An interpretation worth repeated listening.

Of course, Leonard Cohen's Suzanne has always been a magical song for me since I first heard it sung by the magnificent Judy Collins. But with Nina Simone, it is the dreaded story of someone else. Judy Collins' sounds as if she's talking about herself in the third person. For me, Simone is talking about Suzanne. A different person entirely. There is a feeling of invasion. The song takes a creepy turn. There is sympathy and yet a distance that is comforting and at the same time, not so...

And lastly, Bob Dylan's Just Like a Woman. Dylan, having written the song, talks about a girl that he once loved. Stevie Nicks covered the song in her Street Angel album and sang it with a rough edge, a rock edge and a toughness that could mean that she's that girl as well. The lines are blurred in Nick's version. Is she talking about someone else or herself? And there is an anger hidden behind the voice, showing a disapproval of such behaviour, but also a closeness, an acceptance. Judy Collins covered this song as well and with her sweet, gorgeous voice, Collins shows sympathy, compassion for the woman in question. As she sings But she breaks just like a little girl, we feel her attachment to this person, like she wants to take care of her. Stevie Nicks is almost accusatory. There is a level of disgust. A woman like Nicks who has been through far worse, probably has lived that life knows that weakness is a poor excuse for a way of life. We have to be strong.

But Nina Simone actually becomes the girl halfway through the song, changing the pronouns she to I. She claims to be that girl. And the statement rings so true and proud. That weakness is something to be proud of; something inherently human. It becomes a song about standing true to what you are; of who you are.

Simone's interpretations is one of strength, of power, of taking life by the reigns... Here is a woman who must've gone through a lot (I have yet to read anything about her life, anyone know a good biography to recommend?) and her stand is one of acceptance.

What a powerful voice! And I'm not just talking about the vocal chords. It's a voice that rings with so much truth and power. I am overwhelmed. What does one have to do to reach that level of depth?

Sometimes, you have to ask yourself is it so bad to be protected? To have things go your way? It was not by choice. You work hard and you suffer little and you get on by. Would it be ungrateful to ask for a little pain?

To be honest, I read and read, watch movies and listen to songs closely because I'm afraid that I'm not as tough as I seem to be. I don't think I could handle anything that real; prejudice, racism, poverty, absolute hatred. I've been lucky. I've been comfortable. But will that mean that there will be a grit that's missing from my work? A level of pain that people can relate to?

I don't want it yet I want that connection with the people who read my writing, who will be viewing my work. But will I always be a step away? Three steps back (or forward, however you want to take the metaphor) and a little out of reach?

Or can I fake it? Is that the magic of art? The ability to create an illusion, a metaphor of all things universal?

Or is it irrelevant because the quality of work should have that level of the universal? I can only create and create and hope that I get there...