Simone, Nina - Alone Again (Naturally) Lyrics






I remember this afternoon
When my sister came into the room
She refused to say how my father was
But I knew he'd be dying soon.

And I was oh so glad, and it was oh so sad
That I realized that I despised this man I once called father.
In his hanging on, with fingers clutching
His body now just eighty-eight pounds
Blinded eyes still searching
For some distant dream that had faded away at the seams.
Dying alone, naturally.

I was his favourite child, I had him a little while
Just as long as I could play the piano and smile a little smile
Just when I needed him most, he was already a ghost
And for all my life there where promises and they always have been broken

Leaving me alone with all my troubles
Not ever once touching me and saying
"Daughter, I'll help you get over."
Now he's fading away and I'm glad to say,
He's dying at last. Naturally.

It's a very sad thing to see that my mother with all her heart
Believes the words that the Bible said "Til death do us two part".
For her that was forever and ay, he decided her night and day
How could some English words so small affect someone so strangely?

Taking her away from us, her soul included
She might es well be gone with him, all the children are excluded.
Loneliness is hell, I know so well,
For I'm alone. Naturally.

I waited three weeks for him to die
I waited three weeks for him to die
Every night he was calling on me
I wouldn't go to him.
I waited three weeks for him to die
Three weeks for him to die.

And after he died, after he died
Every night I went out, every night I had a flight.
It didn't matter who it was with
'Cos I knew what it was about.
And if you could read between lines, my Dad and I close as flies.
I loved him then and I loved him still, that's why my heart's so broken.

Leaving me to doubt God in His Mercy
And if He really does exist then why does He desert me?
When he passed away I smoked and drank all day,
Alone. Again. Naturally.





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Simone, Nina Alone Again (Naturally) Comments
  1. K.... S....

    So glad I can listen to this song again!!

  2. F.... ....

    i dont know why but it touched me so much

  3. C.... G....

    I thought the original was devastating. This one spreads the devastation like buckshot.

  4. j.... d....

    la mastica y la convierte en otra cosa

  5. A.... G....

    Amazing!!

  6. w.... ....

    This is shocking and beautiful all at the same time.

  7. D.... S....

    Gilbert I'Sullivan's Alone Again Naturally has long been one of my favourite songs, Gilbert's own version is precious to me. When I discovered Nina's reinvention of the song that told her own story of loss I was at first made dizzy by how different it was. By the second listen I realised this was one of the most devastating, raw, brutal and brilliant things I'd ever heard. So fearless. A true work of genius.

  8. M.... G....

    I had thought this is the original version.

  9. M.... R....

    YIKES. I'LL TAKE GILBERT O.

  10. s.... ....

    Brutal but gorgeous

  11. S.... B....

    This is a naked yet powerful version of this song

  12. J.... C....

    Real life just isn't as fun as we want it to be.

  13. M.... K....

    At first I probably like a lot of others thought What the heck then What the then What and finally WOW!

  14. R.... N....

    I love Nina Simone

  15. s.... b....

    POIGNANT! !!

  16. s.... b....

    I FINALLY UNDERSTOOD THE MEANING OF THIS SONG AFTER SO MANY YRS. AWSOME VERSION BY MY BELOVED NINA

  17. C.... N....

    its sad this is so misunderstood

  18. A.... J....

    Que bênção! Obrigada Nina por tudo.

  19. n.... ....

    Nina Simone is one of my favourite musicians of all time. Alone Again (Naturally) is one of my favourite songs. And yet I really hate this.

  20. J.... R....

    Pure talent

  21. Z.... ....

    By far the best version of the song.

  22. T.... ....

    Even for Ms Simone that is strong stuff. Hard to take in.

  23. a.... ....

    aaaaay cabron.

  24. E.... D....

    Wow . . .just wow . . . . .

    E.... D....

    it's all ?...Sad...!

  25. V.... ....

    amazing

  26. W.... S....

    BEWARE! Cancerous hipster and douchey comments below.

  27. H.... C....

    Nina Simone strips O'Sullivan's masterpiece down to the barest bone,
    removing everything familiar, all we'd ever known.
    All that's left is ugly, brutal, yet still we recognise its name
    the title and vocal tune the same
    as the original song
    Now just a frame
    as emaciated as her dying father's body
    With an honesty so rare
    And the bravery to bare her soul
    Of such visceral, immediate pain
    Without fear guilt or shame

    Her work is no interpretation but
    Genius improvisation.

    Bless you Nina

    H.... C....

    Oh yes! Worded wonderfully.

    H.... C....

    @TheSkreachxorchestra
    Thanks:) Just seen a comment referring to me, I think? , as a "cancerous hipster"!
    Ha ! Been called many things, but that's a classic! ;)
    I forgot about writing these. If knew how, I'd delete the other comments but keep this:)

    H.... C....

    You said nothing wrong in my opinion. This song is merely a soul-felt interpretation, as with the original version, its more like a screenwriter interpreting another's woes.

    H.... C....

    @TheSkreachxorchestra

    Just skip to the end if you haven't a couple of minutes :)

    * * * * * * * * *

    I'm just discovering so much since I began trawling through youtube, especially finding so many great clips of Nina...

    Among my favourite finds has been her performing a brilliant reinterpretation of "Baby Just Cares" when it became a worldwide hit because of a perfume advert, (one of her latter appearances still on top form), at Montreux.

    At an earlier Montreux festival, she gives a breathtakingly beautiful rendition of Janis Ian's "Stars", in which she memorably scolds a member of the audience for standing up, to the extent she stops playing !
    Wouldn't have wanted to be that girl :)

    Previously, I've been unable to access a copy of a work by a given artist, just like the days I grew up in, when LPs were treasured and often rare because of cost, never mind the obscurity of an artist, meaning we had to tape off friends who had 3rd or more generation recordings of, say, an album by Nico (with whom I passed a few memorable hours only a year before her tragic death) !

    I remember trying to tape off "Top of The Pops" onto a cassette player - straight off the 70s non-stereo TV audio in the family sitting room ! Ha :)

    Now, with everything so accessible, the question has to be, why and how, can today's youth in any way fall for such commercialised, overhyped and talentless rubbish ?
    ... even allowing for a market dominated by teenage girls (and boys) apparently ? !

    Obviously, Bowie's last and final album was bound to have enormous success in terms of sales,
    but bands like "FFS" give me hope.
    70s pre-punk visionaries "The Sparks" together with Scottish Indie band "Franz Ferdinand" are not only brilliant, but the inter-generational crossover has caused me to be more open to some groups up and about now.

    I had basically given up on all contemporary music post millennium, aside from new tricks and gifts from beloved old pet dogs.

    I'm sure Marianne Faithful would laugh at the analogy or comparison made, her most recent album (late 2015)
    "Give My Love to London"
    is a work of genius and a masterpiece she'll be hard pressed to better !

    I just hope it causes anyone unfamiliar with music of previous generations to be as interested and open.

    Thankfully, my own taste was shaped in part by my Grandad who, born in the 1909, had a great love of music and his pride was his massive collection of 78s.

    He introduced me to some of the greatest artists, gladly playing records by Bessie Smith, George Formby (I'm sure the old so-and-so must've enjoyed seeing the downright rude and smutty 'double entendres' and innuendos present in the songs of both, ostensibly, vastly different artists fly past my ears ungrasped or beyond my comprehension), as well as soundtracks of Mae West singing her own unique masterpieces which she somehow got past the censors from her famous films of the early 1930s, Al Jolson, Paul Robeson, Judy Garland
    ... and on it goes.
    Thanks, G'da !:)

    Because of him I listen to great music that is often more than 100 years old,
    the early 1920s being a particularly favourite era of mine !

    Oi Vey !
    Unused as I am to public speaking... Sorry !...
    It's this medium.
    I waffle on and have a tendency to speak as if I were writing to a friend, a colleague or even commenting in some university newspaper review !

    It's harmless fun, nonetheless, and I rejected all FB etc so only "do" this now, and it's definitely more fun, and surprising who you end up having exchanges with.
    I even love laughing at most of the "insults" I'm sent !

    * * * * * * * * *

    Anyhoo,
    Bless ya me hearty.
    'Tis appreciated.
    Them thur words wot u sed :))))

    Sincerely.
    Thanks for your kindness.

    Kind Regards
    and
    Peace, Bro !
    Howard :)
    

  28. H.... C....

    Those commenting that the raw pain and rare emotion evoked by an artist unrivalled for her honesty if not brutality constitutes an act of hijack they deem wantonly destructive

  29. H.... C....

    Of his many compositions, Gilbert O'Sullivan is on record as stating he remains particularly protective of the use and copyright to this work. I am certain he would have no qualms in distancing himself from any interpretation he disapproved of, as shown by his willingness to take legal action if necessary. Instead, despite Dr Nina Simone having taken barely a single line from his original lyrics, retaining but one phrase, its core melody and title, he is credited as composer and not inspiration.

  30. T.... V....

    John Lennon brought me here rip

  31. T.... V....

    Did I hear "$moke and crank all day !?!) Love this version. Sad and horrible at the same damage time!

    T.... V....

    She said "Smoke and Drank all Day " this song is raw

  32. K.... M....

    Amazing!!

  33. J.... F....

    Brilliant! Nina made every song her own. She certainly speaks for me.
    Miss you Ms Simone.

  34. E.... C....

    This was amazing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  35. A.... A....

    Why destroy a epic song with whatever this is, seriously makes me want to smash my iPad from anger

    A.... A....

    Well, I agree with you in spirit, but this actually got some mileage in certain circles when it came out in 1982.

    A.... A....

    Well Smash that Damn I pad, it's yours to Smash.

    She Loved her Father, maybe she was at a point that she thought she couldn't take seeing him 88 pounds.. I can feel that pain through her vocals.

    A.... A....

    I actually think this version is ten times better than the original. I like the original too but this one is more heartfelt and personal. So much feeling went into it and you can tell from the words and how she sings it. I would hear this one over the original any time.

    A.... A....

    Nina Simone was an artist, not a pop singer. Any song she covered was always a reinterpretation, boiling over with her own emotion, personality and talent. There's no doubt in my mind that Gilbert O'Sullivan would love this reimagining and take honour from a great icon like Nina paying tribute to his song.

  36. c.... p....

    I love it when pseuedo intellectual hipsters find a hero of theirs loves something they've always hated and thought beneath them. You insult her with this you poseur douche!

  37. F.... S....

    In reply to Summer Solstice: I think you're forgetting how maudlin and overwrought the original was. This was, in an essence, a continuation of the sentiment written in Mr. O'Sullivan's original piece. I would be more concerned about a version that tried to change the general mood. If there was, say, a peppy love version... we'd both have a problem with it.

  38. S.... S....

    What an unintelligent bastardization of someone else's work; if Nina Simone felt the need to bleed onstage, she should have scrawled out her own damn vehicle rather than high-jacking someone else's.

  39. A.... ....

    I love this song... she always showedher life in music, Nina you're my goddess.

  40. u.... ....

    I don't like it.

    u.... ....

    unicornpoo we don't care

  41. J.... ....

    What a genius!! This imaginative version of this heartbreaking song, slices through me like a sword. The incredible piano solo, the bitter, wry, oriental motif, and Nina's impeccable vocal delivery , work together to create a masterful, musical experience.

  42. j.... ....

    I love Nina but this was a shameful waste of talent and melody.

  43. N.... L....

    Hang on, my friend, if the original was as bad as you describe, why on earth would a jazz genius with her own rich catalogue of compositions bother to plunder it? For my money, Gilbert OS was his own worst enemy in that he spread himsefl too thin, made too many mediocre chart records (eg. 'Get Down'), that his masterpieces get lost and buried in the minds of 'serious' music critics. 'Alone again' was one (and Nina recoginsed and retained the original emotional power); 'We Will' was another.

  44. R.... ....

    The loneliness of the Simple Piano Cords playing and nothing else accompanying them enhanced the simple sad emptiness expressed in her Lyrics. What more can be said. Thank you for sharing with us.

  45. d.... ....

    @jazzmanchgo What a load of bullshit. The original is a classic in it's own right. Utter garbage.

  46. G.... ....

    @SuperXavier30 Nope, I heard the bangled rattling as well. I thought I might have been going crazy. :P

  47. B.... F....

    @jazzmanchgo I'd like to respectfully disagree. Although I appreciate Nina's genius, and the lyrics here are beautidul, one has to realize that the wonderful harmonies and rhythm of this were not hers, but O'Sullivan's. Keep in mind also that she must of appreciated the original piece to want to write another based on it.

  48. t.... ....

    @discopoet

    nina simone is my counsillor

  49. D.... A....

    I love Nina too much to say anything really bad about her but this song is a little too sad for me. It is indicative of a troubled life. She still remains top in my opinion.
    milasmom

  50. W.... R....

    @jazzmanchgo On top of that, this work has been reinterpreted several times over. I wonder if Nina would share your opinion. People don't normally embrace "schlock" and infuse it with their own ideas, they discard it and start from scratch.

  51. W.... R....

    @jazzmanchgo Sorry, I genuinely enjoy the original. I hadn't heard it until recently, and I wasn't alive during it's context, but I love the Gilbert O'Sullivan version. This one is touching as well. I'm disappointed in your evaluation of a man's music. It is fine to have your own tastes, but to attack an artist's work is ridiculous. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? So fuck off.

  52. S.... ....

    @jazzmanchgo ,..Indeed! This really is the most pessimistic expression of “Love” that I have ever heard in a song!.
    Trust Nina!

  53. s.... ....

    @jazzmanchgo You said it so well, and I so agree.

    What higher calling for a musician than to make music and tell the truth in one work of art? Double, at least, intensity for the fortunate and brave listener.

    Thanks, SuperXavier30.

  54. D.... W....

    Unbelievable. Nina took one of the most bathetic, unlistenable pieces of schlock in pop music history and transformed it into nothing less than a living work of genius -- a no-holds-barred exercise in soul-bearing.

    NIna took no prisoners.

  55. k.... ....

    @SuperXavier30 Yes, those are bangles. Fashion diva...

  56. S.... ....

    @kronk99,.Genius indeed!. Not so sure about the scales, but am I alone in hearing rattling bangles!?

  57. k.... ....

    You can hear her playing on this one....She is going in---This is how you vent and grieve in song....That pentatonic motif is cracking me up; musical irony all up and through this one....Nina the genius....

  58. S.... ....

    @bathory1234567890 ,.This song still hits hard, with its simplistic words and melody! ..and I so agree, an incredible painting by Gabriel Jarnier...
    Thanks for passing by!

  59. b.... ....

    Love Nina Simone. Great song. btw: great disc-cover.

  60. S.... ....

    @JoyGrenade,..Agreed!..Thanks for stopping by.

  61. M.... S....

    This is supreme.

  62. S.... ....

    @Spinal83,Cheers!..I would love to know what Gilbert O'Sullivan thought of this version,as Nina totally flipped his lyrics!

  63. S.... ....

    Beautiful version!

  64. k.... ....

    oh Nina!