Tags
George Harrison, Isn't It a Pity, Love, Martin Luther King, MLK Day, music, Nina Simone, quotes, song
If you’ve never heard Nina Simone’s version of George Harrison’s song “Isn’t it a Pity,” I can’t think of a more fitting day to do so. While Harrison wrote the song about the pain caused by broken relationships, Simone takes it to a whole new level. Small changes in the lyrics and the way she uses her incredibly heart-breaking voice to wring out every emotive nuance turns the song into something much larger than what it had been before. It’s about when societies break down, when our humanity tears apart, when we forget about who we are or could be, when we fail to see all the beauty around us, including inside us.
Joe Taysom wrote the following in Far Out Magazine about how Simone transformed Harrison’s song:
“[Simone’s] voice is one of the most incredible sounds that has ever graced the earth so when you mix it with George Harrison’s mercurial songwriting then you’ve got an emphatic mix and her cover of the former Beatles guitarist’s track ‘Isn’t It A Pity’ is a true delight. . . . . [Her]11-minute cover feels more like theatre than it does music as her voice takes the listener on a rollercoaster of emotions where she makes every word that came from Harrison’s pen years previously come to life. It was this ability to express another’s emotion which elevated Simone to legendary status and it shines on this effort.”
The song meshes so well with Martin Luther King’s messages of love:
“At the center of non-violence stands the principle of love.”
“Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.”
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
“I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”
Simone’s version is long, 11 minutes, but I hope you will listen all the way to the end. I think you’ll be glad you did.
Deborah J. Brasket 
This is a well-considered cross-over piece to reflect on this MLK Jr memorial day. Thanks for bringing it to our attention.
You are so welcome. It was a pleasure to put together this piece and share on this special day. Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed it.
You are so welcome! Thank you for letting me know you appreciated it.
I enjoy your thorough reflections on MLK, Nina Simone, and her unique voice and talent. Thanks Deborah. May we honor them with more love and compassion.
Thank you Brad. It does seem like a message we all need to hear, especially now with so much anger and angst going on politically across our nation.
Agreed. I just reposted a blog about compassion on Facebook.
FB is a good place to post it, so much of what we find there isn’t compassionate at all. every effort to remind people helps.
wow!
LOL! I think that means you liked it. I felt that way too when I first heard it.
Nice, and a great song. It was a standard that I used to play in a band I was in a while back. Another very good version is by a band called Galaxie 500. Worth giving a listen if you have time.
Thanks, Jeff. It is a great song. I like the way Harrison sang it as well. I’ll check out the Galaxie 500 version.