Simone's Stoicism

My favorite Nina Simone song is called Ain’t got no - Got life. The lyrics are incredibly powerful even today, let alone when they were written, in the middle of the rights movement.

As with any piece of art, we’re invited to read it and re-read it with different meanings, and I read it as a great ode to Stoicism:

Ain't got no home, ain't got no shoes
Ain't got no money, ain't got no class
Ain't got no friends, ain't got no schooling
Ain't got no wear, ain't got no job
Ain't got no money, no place to stay

Ain't got no father, ain't got no mother
Ain't got no children, ain't got no sisters above
Ain't got no earth, ain't got no faith
Ain't got no touch, ain't got no god
Ain't got no love

Ain't got no wine, no cigarettes
Ain't got no clothes, no country
No class, no schooling
No friends, no nothing
Ain't got no god
Ain't got one more

Ain't got no earth, no ?
No food, no home
I said I ain't got no clothes
No job, no nothing
Ain't got long to live
And I ain't got no love

But what have I got?
Let me tell ya what I've got
That nobody's gonna take away

I got my hair on my head
I got my brains, I got my ears
I got my eyes, I got my nose
I dot my mouth, I got my smile

I got my tongue, I got my chin
I got my neck, I got my boobies
I got my heart, I got my soul
I got my back, I got my sex

I got my arms, I got my hands
I got my fingers, got my legs
I got my feet, I got my toes
I got my liver, got my blood

Got life, I got my life

Link: Intensity in art