NINA SIMONE, ain't got no - I got life, B side do what you gotta do, RCA 1743, 7" single

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I Got Life’ is a real celebration. There are always reasons to choose the positive side of life, no matter how bad things seem or how difficult the way ahead looks.

The caveman that was vigilant to danger was more likely to survive than his ever-optimistic friend. While the former considered rustling in the bushes a reason to be on guard, the latter headed towards them in wide-eyed anticipation. In that situation, expecting the worst – a sabre-tooth tiger perhaps – was a necessary element of survival. One explanation for this behaviour offered by psychologists and sociologists is that it is a primitive instinct.

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In maintaining such an outlook on life, we risk falling into a life of constant pessimism and, potentially, isolation and depression. There is a reason Eeyore – from AA Milne’s much-loved Winnie the Pooh stories – was always alone. Forget the bad things, I got life Nina Simone’s exuberant response to adversity brings to mind the words of poet Maya Angelou, another civil rights activist: This melancholy outlook on life is exhibited perfectly in the opening lines of this Nina Simone classic. Focused on the negatives and downsides of life, she sounds like a women concentrating on the things to be upset, scared or worried about. I got life… for now, says the caveman The songstress was raised in a religious household – so much so that “Nina Simone” is actually a name she adopted so that her family would not catch on to the fact that she took up secular music as a profession. In addition to being a prolific musician, reportedly recording over 40 albums in less than 20 years, she was also recognized as a civil rights’ icon.

Nina Simone was a prominent activist in the US civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. She experienced first-hand the segregation and discrimination of the time. Despite her natural musicality and training as a classical pianist, she failed to gain entry to the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia due to the colour of her skin. That would be the singer appreciating the fact that she has life in general despite, as noted earlier, being economically and socially challenged. And in terms of its pop media presence, according to a study conducted in 2010, it holds the distinction of being the second ‘Most Performed Song in Advertising’ in the UK. The Iconic Nina Simone Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer Ain't got no home, ain't got no shoes It was Nina Siimone herself who took the two songs, reworked them and combined them into one. She however, doesn’t get any official songwriting credit for “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life”. Success of “Ain’t Got No, I Got Life”But in spite of all of this, she still proclaims the virtues of maintaining that positive attitude to what life throws at you. Celebrate life today Indeed as part of the conclusion of this piece, Nina also asserts that she has her “freedom”. This may read as a contradiction considering that the first two verses allude to various ways in which she is suppressed. But the implication is that life in and of itself affords her the opportunity to be free. Or stated alternatively, so long as she is alive, freedom will be one of her ideologies and aspirations. In Conclusion