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During the Peter Rodis documentary Nina: A Historical Perspective, she put it plainly: “I want to shake people up so bad that when they leave a nightclub where I’ve performed, I want them to be in pieces.”ĭuring “Sinnerman,” Simone (who likely learned the song from her minister mother’s “deep religiosity” while growing up) takes the blues and jazz – both of which were derived in her home region of the South – and flips the original folk-leaning song on its head. In the early days of performing in New York City’s Greenwich Village, Nina Simone often closed out her performances with “Sinnerman.” The placement of the song in her setlist was intentional. An energetic acoustic guitar and theatrical horns play throughout their rendition, which features Holt and a chorus both singing and speaking the lyrics. The earliest recording of the song is by the Les Baxter Orchestra in 1956 Baxter and Will Holt share songwriting credits for the track. It tells the tale of man running from God (“the Lamb”) and begging for forgiveness on Judgment Day, but ultimately, man cannot escape his wrath. “Sinnerman” is a traditional African American spiritual inspired by the book of Exodus. Listen to the best of Nina Simone on Apple Music and Spotify. While much of Pastel Blues is sonically subdued, the album’s 10-minute grand finale “Sinnerman” demonstrates Nina Simone’s dynamic musical qualities on all fronts – from her love of instrumentation to her knack for combining artistry and awareness.