Like a couple of the other songs we've discussed on the blog this song is so well known and so much part of our musical cultural heritage that I've been guilty of not really listening to the lyrics. I've heard them but never really listened properly. There have been so many versions in recent years from Muse, to Buble, to various X-Factor protagonists that I can't remember the last time I really listened to the seminal (if not original) 1965 Nina Simone version. Whichever version you like best though - these are the amazing lyrics:
Birds flying high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel.
It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for me yeahIt's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
And I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for me
And I'm feeling good
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world for me
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for meAnd I'm feeling good
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel.
It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for me yeahIt's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for me
And I'm feeling good
Fish in the sea you know how I feel
River running free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel
It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for me
And I'm feeling good
Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when day is done that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world for me
Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the pine you know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn, It's a new day, It's a new life for meAnd I'm feeling good
___________________________________________
The format is super simple verse / chorus / verse / chorus and the message in the lyrics that stands out to me is the connection that we can feel to all aspects of our reality, through all our senses. The fish, the river that the fish are in, and the blossom on the tree next to the river all know how I feel. They are not separate from me - but intimately connected.
The dragonfly out in the sun, and the butterflies having fun know how to live life and have much to teach us. Act natural and don't get too stressed! And when its time to sleep - sleep in peace without a care in the world.
The chorus takes up this theme that everyday is a new day, with a new dawn and an opportunity for a new life for every one of us.
Even the stars shining know how I feel, the scent of the pine too. I love the way the lyrics appeal to our different senses here: feeling, sight, smell, touch. And then - not only do all aspects of reality know how I feel, but through my experiences of reality I know how I feel - and I'm feeling good.
Its a truly beautiful message. We are instrinsically connected with nature - not separate from it. The universe cradles us, understands us and can even sympathise with how we feel. This overwhelming feeling of cosmic consciousness and shared experience is one that has recurred time and time again to people of all cultures through all time.
"The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper" W.B. Yeats
"The fundamental delusion of humanity is to suppose that I am here, and you are out there" Yasutani Roshi
"To drop into being means to recognise your interconnectedness with all life, and with being itself. Your very nature is being part of larger and larger spheres of wholeness" Jon Kabat-Zinn
"Look deep into nature and then you will understand everything better" Albert Einstein
"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin" William Shakespeare
"Earth laughs in flowers" Ralph Waldo Emerson
Enjoy today and remember you have another chance tomorrow !
Another excellent writeup! Personally my favorite version of the song is the very, absolute original one, which Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley wrote for their musical "The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd". It's a very strange musical and one that I think deserves a lot more recognition than it gets (and not just for introducing this number, along with the similarly awe-inspiring "Who Can I Turn To (When Nobody Needs Me)", into the standards canon). Basically the play is a social allegory structured as a vaudeville-style buddy act, with the wry, indefatigable, working-class Cocky playing against the pompous, wealthy, pseudo-intellectual Sir in a hopscotch-like game involving a multicolored board which Sir keeps changing the rules for (no points for subtlety I'm afraid, even if it is wonderfully executed!). Sir, who at first seems to have all the power over the play's fictional universe, keeps introducing new incentives to keep Cocky playing, up to and including giving him a love interest for the sole purpose of snatching her away. It's after a long string of moments like these that Cocky does "Who Can I Turn To", where he essentially bemoans his fate to forever keep playing a game which he has no control over and which doesn't seem to care or notice him in the slightest except for when it can make him suffer (now there's an interesting write-up for you!). At this point the play introduces a new character, "The Negro", which leads Cocky to rejoice as there's finally a player in the game who's inferior even to him (now hold on, this isn't going where you think). After being mercilessly taunted by both Sir and Cocky, though, the Negro surprises everybody by actually winning the game. It's at this point that he sings "Feeling Good". And let me tell you, it's an absolutely beautiful moment. This version of the song, which the lyrics were actually written for, is positively DRIPPING with magic. The backing instrumentation is markedly different from the slinky jazz vamp that Simone would make canonical - there's a muted orchestra rising and falling like waves in the ocean, some remarkably mysterious-sounding flute trills, and even a children's choir singing wordlessly, unaccompanied, for about a bar after he says "sleep in peace when day is done", and when they're finished he returns to delightedly exclaim "THAT'S what I mean!". You can almost see the butterflies flitting through the forest. If you're interested in the song's nature themes there's definitely something for you here. However, the story offers a degree of perspective that isn't available from most other versions of the song. "Feeling Good", as the Negro sings it, is decidedly a song about the inception of everything it's describing, at least for the protagonist. Unlike some other versions, there isn't an "and I'm" here - the "new dawn, new day, new life" for him is just that: feeling good. He's experiencing freedom for the first time, and he delights in having this simple thing in common with the birds, the sun, the breeze. It’s by following his example that Cocky ultimately triumphs. So on the one hand, I think you're more right than you realize with your interpretation of the song. On the other - I think it goes even further than you explore here.
ReplyDeleteLink to the "Greasepaint" version if you're interested (and the uploader also has the rest of the musical's original-cast recording if you're really, really interested):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pulEa0cfNcw
Oh, and just to emphasize that I'm not coming down too hard on Nina Simone here - the same album that "Feeling Good" came off of also includes her rendition of "Greasepaint"'s opening number "The Beautiful Land" (sadly not one of the numbers that went on to become a standard), and she imbues it with a sense of mystery and childlike wonder that wasn't even on the mind of the delightful, but also somewhat twee, original:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-kCguQWvNA (Greasepaint)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHzgV8KxRl8 (Simone)
...But note that she couldn't even approach that sugar-rush of a second verse :)
Dear Champiness - many thanks for you're kind words, but more importantly, for your wonderful, insightful and eloquent commentary on this song. You write extremely well! I'd never heard of "Greasepaint" but will dive into it headfirst! Many thanks my friend. Loudzoo
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