“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”

Abstract

This study sought to move beyond superficial appreciation of Nina Simone’s lyrics to identify and contextualize emergent constructs. A qualitative ethnographic content analysis of 44 songs was conducted in order to reach a deeper understanding of the messages in her lyrics. The findings revealed that Nina Simone did not only entertain, rather she helped raise her listeners’ consciousness of various sociopolitical issues (e.g., anti-Black oppression and Africana womanist perspective), thus preparing them for political action. Furthermore, her lyrics revealed awareness of, and experience with emotional and psychological issues (e.g., love, stress, and resilience) possibly destigmatizing emotional and psychological pain and suffering. Nina Simone’s music constitutes an exceptionally rich site for an investigation of Africana womanist values and has the capacity to communicate particular sociopolitical and psychological perspectives for Africana women’s social empowerment. This work attempts to explore and locate the sites and sounds where the voices of Africana women can be heard.