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Submitted by webmaster on Mon, 03/08/2010 - 09:58
Nina Simone-See Line Woman
Posted to bebeeelll
February 13, 2008
Video Summary
"nina simone performing see line woman"
-snip-
This title is also given as Sea Lion Woman but may have originally been "She Lyin'. See the comment section for more about the meaning of that phrase.
Contact
Email: jambalayah17@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2001-2010 Azizi Powell; All Rights Reserved
3 comments
Selected viewer comments from
http://www.youtube.com/comment_servlet?all_comments&v=xfMp6zcmcFw&fromur...
googahmoogah (2 years ago) this is great...capturing the nina simone live concert experience for those of us who will now never see it...
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GODLYFrankie (1 year ago) she was such a diva
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adidasguy86 (1 year ago) FLAWLESS
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right2remain (1 year ago) Nina was so classic!
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kristinnoelnewborn (1 year ago) i thought it was called "sealion"
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hexobject (1 year ago) nope. see-line woman.
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grizzled9 (1 year ago) the Feist version of this song is called Sea Lion
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OverExposedNotes (1 year ago) No hun see-line woman.
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kristinnoelnewborn (1 year ago) ok HUN!, why when i ordered the ep it is "SEA LION" i'm just stating what i've seen all over. i don't really care what it is really, i was explaining why i've seen BOTH sea line and sea lion. so next time you call me HUN, know what i was talking about, K SWEETIE. thank you.
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kristinnoelnewborn (1 year ago) am i did some research and they use both titles. apparently a sea-line woman was someone back in the day who did sexual favors for men for money. and if you know the lyrics, she's definitely talking about that. on the ep it's titled "Sea Lion" but she sings "sea-line woman..." etc.
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Philodor (1 year ago) Okay, you are still spelling it wrong.
It's either Sea Lion or See Line. Never Sea Line.
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skez67 (1 year ago) Show Hide +2 Marked as spam Reply | Spam What a gift from above Bless You Nina Simone &Thank you xxxx
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poorboogs (1 year ago) Show Hide 0 Marked as spam Reply | Spam If I'm not mistaken they were not allowed to use the term SeeLine woman originally as it was like having prostitute as the title and the censors would not have liked that.
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haydenchambers (1 year ago) she's sucha a paradox!.. frailty and power beautifully blended
gracias nina.
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wally1979 (1 year ago) My dear Nina. My day seems brighter when I hear your voice...
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LittleScrumpet (1 year ago) This has always een one of my favorite songs.
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victoriavox (1 year ago) wow. love this :)
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Jaysun0000 (1 year ago) epic!
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ShutUpNay (1 year ago) HHAAAHA. I know. Brilliant Women. I'd be so scared to play in her band...she WOULD call me out.
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arni0202 (1 year ago) amazing... her control, her humor... I have goosebumps. A+++
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beforenightfell (1 year ago) School the world Nina!
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BlaQueeNumi (1 year ago) Work Nina!!!
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alessandrosoresini (1 year ago) oh god. she's not a goddes. she is God
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grras (1 year ago) I adore this song.
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nGrEng (1 year ago) The Shipp sisters recorded what was probably the original version
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54spiritedwill54 (1 year ago) This has always been one of my favorite songs.
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ohmusic25 (10 months ago) Wow! Look how this High Priestess of Soul commands an audience and creates the feeling of the " See Line Woman". Nina Simone is one of the most creative and powerful singers in jazz and she is what Blackness is and will always be!!!!!!! Than you, Nina
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zjsk (11 months ago) i love her.
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leekifaucett (9 months ago) I love your Spirit Mrs. Simone!!! You are what women aspire to become. Thank God for sharing you with us.
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angel2rx (7 months ago) I would of loved to have been able to sit on a porch with this women, cool breeze, ice tea near by, and just listen to her life stories....But somethings telling me their not good.............
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browndaisies (7 months ago) wish i could get my friends into this music...... too bad they dont have TASTE! oops
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viniceo (7 months ago) i was willing, indeed eager to say the same exact thing u just commented heheheheheh yeah they think i'm 80 and have no sense of party......
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FlakaBambula (6 months ago) She was and still is the most riveting performer ever! Her voice is a unique mix of sorrow, soul, and happiness. I just love her!
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vjosey (6 months ago) Being black is beautiful and Nina Simone embodied and embraced that. If you are African or black American whether you hair is pressed Afro curly of relaxed. Being proud of you and what you are is all that matters because no matter how you think you front. Everyone else still looks at your skin. You should wear it proud and well
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BrotherBearAZ (5 months ago) Nina Simone is a shining example of what Black Americans mean to this country. They are the soul, the root and inner joy of this nation. They are responsible for most of our cultural arts heritage that has Fascinated the world for 100's of years. If it was not for the Black American this country would be nothing. I salute you and pray that all youth from all races (but especially the Black youth) will embrace this truth.. Be Proud, you have earned it.
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seelinewoman5 (5 months ago) cant get tired of this song ,,, love it - love you Nina ,, you was a true beutiful curagious rebellion ,,
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Karamel2233 (5 months ago) Nina Simone was tired-being an angel was a hard job : ). Love You Nina!!!
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dmoney1491 (3 months ago) Man She is so amazing!!!!!!!
I love her music
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beteltree (2 months ago) Nina Simone makes me proud to be a woman...and look forward to aging. What a magnificent lady she was!
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misskdmb (1 month ago) brings me to tears
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alindbk (1 month ago) god, she's singing from the heart
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shootersarrysingh (3 weeks ago) Spam i love the way she moves throughout the song.......nice song
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sidDkid87 (2 weeks ago) @alindbk amen . . . that's the only way to do it . . . passionately
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malaak1 (1 month ago) Wow Love it
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thegoodgeneral (2 weeks ago) Good song, good singer, don't know very much about Nina Simone. My first impression is that she seems condescending in this video.
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Dekoven06 (2 weeks ago) @thegoodgeneral lol! She does seem a bit condescending yes. However,.. if it were your song, then you'd probably want it right! Besides, when one's her age and has her celebrity,... one can get away with doing things like that. lol.
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thegoodgeneral (2 weeks ago) Divas reign, sadly.
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rasmashawnieriver (1 week ago) If you know Nina Simone (or listen to any of her CD's) you'd know she has quite a sense of humor. Love her! She does this all through her recordings..... She's so funny and talented and I LOVE HER VOICE.... The Greatest.
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snifxx0 (1 week ago)...sorry she was the best !!
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snifxx0 (5 days ago)... and remains the greatest !
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reidpharr (2 days ago) Amazing performance..... she sets the mood and works the crowd!
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Azizip17 (28 minutes ago) Thanks for posting this! I love Nina Simone's attitude! I collect African American children's game songs and found an old song from Mississippi that ends in "Sea Lion" or "See Line" or something sounding like that. I think it may be connected to this song popularized by Nina Simone. Google Cocojams children's game songs for that song. I also was part of a discussion on Sea Lion woman on Mudcat. I came to agree that that phrase was the 2nd person's sayin "she lyin" to what the 1st person said.
Additional note for Jambalayah readers- The exact link for the children’s game song “Sea Lion” on Cocojams is http://www.cocojams.com/content/childrens-rhymes-cheers (children’s game songs)
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Azizip17 (1 minute ago) Check out Wikipedia's page on Sea Lion Woman. That page indicates that this song came from a children's playground song. It doesn't make sense that that phrase in a children's song refers to a prostitute. I think the "she lyin" meaning works best for this song AND for the Mississippi children's game song that I found in a 1965 book.
But regardless of what that phrase means, it's a great song.
-end of quote-
Note-Here's the link for this song's Wikipedia page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_Lion_Woman
Here's an excerpt of that page:
"Sea Lion Woman" (also "Sea-Line Woman", "See [the] Lyin' Woman", "She Lyin' Woman", "See-Line Woman", or "C-Line Woman") is a traditional American folk song originally used as a children's playground song.[1]
The exact origins of the song are unknown but it is believed to have originated in the southern United States. It was first recorded by folklore researcher Herbert Halpert on May 13, 1939.[2] Halpert was compiling a series of field recordings for the Library of Congress in Byhalia, MS, when he ran across Walter Shipp, a minister, and his wife Mary, a choir director of a local church. Halpert recorded Shipp's daughters, Katherine and Christine, singing a sparse version of "Sea Lion Woman" that defined the basic rhymes and rhythm of the song. Two weeks later the song was covered by musicologist and folklorist John Lomax...
Here's two posts from the discussion about the song "Sea Lion Woman" or "See Line Woman" from Mudcat Discussion Forum:
http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=33719
Subject: RE: Help: ship sisters?sealion woman?
From: GUEST,Another Guest - PM
Date: 14 Sep 07 - 12:20 AM
I first heard "Sealion" in the Travolta movie 'General's Daughter' and it stuck in my head to the point of 1. Buying the soundtrack and 2. Researching the song further.
What I found were many variations such as above in this thread. But my conclusion was this: 'Sealion' is apparently slang or coloquial for 'She's Lying' and is a "she said-she said" conversation (to a musical tune) between two young girls or two rivalrous women.
In my readings, 'She's Lying' comes from a ery old work song sung by southern field hands to pass the toiling hours – similar to the chain gang practices such as depicted more recently in the Clooney Movie 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou' and others.
The two girls or women mentioned could have been house servants at a time when coffee and tea were well off limits to all servants. And when you think of the lyrics as a juvenile tattle tail incident, it becomes clearer.
"She drank (some of your) coffee" ==> <== "(No I didn't) She's lying"
"She drank (some of your) tea" ==> <== ""(No I didn't) She's lying"
Like many, the lyrics, such as Nina Simone's variation referring to prostitution, have branched.
And I'm sure there are more. Never the less, this music is more than just a song. I feel it to be a piece of African-American culture that has become a precious and significant piece of the whole American experience. Thanks go out to the Library of Congress for recognizing and treasuring several original recordings for all of us to appreciate on several levels.
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Subject: RE: Help: ship sisters?sealion woman?
From: GUEST,AveMaria22 - PM
Date: 21 Jan 09 - 11:38 PM
I grew up in the deep south and I believe what the girls are saying is a form of "she lying woman." "She drink coffee, she drink tea, she lying...." Drinking coffee and tea are not necessarily something "religious and upright women did way back when"... I believe the woman is lying about drinking coffee, tea...and a rooster crow she lie...Attica is possibly a man who did not commit something the lying woman accused him of doing...."attica no lie, she lie...the rooster was a predictor of "island justice"...meaning she would get her just dues. ....just an opinion from my limited experience.
Here's the words to a children's song that I found which may be related to the "Sea Lion" song that Nina Simone popularized [cross posted on Jambalayah's sister website Cocojams at http://www.cocojams.com/content/childrens-rhymes-cheers ]
SEA LION
Chorus
Hey hey hey! Sea Lion
Won't you be mine?
You won't do nothin,
Sea Lion,
But starch and iron! Sea Lion!
Verse 1
Way down yonder, Sea Lion!
about the sun, Sea Lion!
my mother called me, Sea Lion,
a sugar plum, Sea Lion!
Chorus
Verse 2
Old rabbit hip. Sea Lion!
Old rabbit hop. Sea Lion!
Old rabbit bit, Sea Lion!
my turnip top!, Sea Lion!
Chorus
Verse 3
If I live, Sea Lion!
to get 21, Sea Lion!
I'm gonna marry, Sea Lion!
somebody's son. Sea Lion!
Chorus
Verse 4
See that man, Sea Lion!
with the blue shirt on. Sea Lion!
You'd better leave, Sea Lion!
that man alone! Sea Lion!
Chorus
-from Nina Millen, editor "Children's Games From Many Lands"(Friendship Press, New York,1965; Revised Edition pps.161,162)
This song is listed in that book as a children's "game from the Untied States with words set down by Thelma Moorer, Christine Steward; and Music by Gertrude Smith Jackson; Southern Christian Institute, Edwards, Mississippi".
Editor:
click http://www.mudcat.org/thread.cfm?threadid=33719 to read a discussion that I participated in about the meaning of the phrase "Sea Lion" in the "Nina Simone song".
Although I initially though that "sea lion" was folk etymology for the Biblical phrase "Selah", I came to agree with several people who asserted that 1. that song originated among the Gullah people of Georgia or South Carolina 2. it either started out as or became a children's song and 3. the phrase "sea lion" or "see line" was originally "she lyin" (as in one person who is a tattle tale saying one thing and another person saying "she lyin"). For instance one person says "She drink coffee" (something that children weren't supposed to do) and the person accused of this action response with "she lyin". I think this meaning also works well for this game song.
All of the verses in this game song are similar to other floating verses found in numerous African American folk songs. True to African American traditions regarding folk songs of that time, I would expect that this song is open ended (meaning more verses can be added until people tire of the song).
Unfortunately, this book does not include any play directions. However, also true to African American traditions, I would expect that children {and other age groups?} clapped, and stomped their feet, and imitated the movement of the rabbit.
For what it's worth, apart from this song's inclusion in that book, to date, I've not found any other mention of this song in any other books of children's game songs, and I've never seen this game performed.