ALBUM INSPIRATION #2: "The Other Woman" - Nina Simone version
This is one of my favorite songs. I first heard it, ironically, sung as a cover by Jewel on an old Starbucks mix CD. I went searching for other people's versions and found Nina's to be the most piercing. The lyrics of this song are perfect to me. It tells such an intimate story and speaks to the pressures of being a woman - a woman loved and a woman betrayed - the expectations of perfection.
Listening to this song, makes me understand the power of telling not only your own story as a songwriter, but also the story of others. The ability to be in another person's shoes, the ability to empathize deep enough to get down to the nuance of embodied emotions. It also just makes me want to sing as if I'm speaking to just one person. That style if so affecting.
Fun fact: This song was written by Jessie Mae Robinson, a young African-American woman songwriter, writing mostly in the 40's and 50's. In 1953, she became the first female African-American member of ASCAP.
