Listen to this when
Ain't Got No, I Got Life
When it feels like you have nothing, count what's still yours ✊
Who it's for
The song is a medley from the musical Hair: it first lists everything the singer lacks, then turns to everything she still has in herself.
Empty-handed, less-than→Grounded, quietly proud
Feelings it meets
What it is
Nina Simone released this 1968 single from her album 'Nuff Said!. It is a medley of two songs from the musical Hair, "Ain't Got No" and "I Got Life", written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot, which Simone reworked for her own purpose. The song moves from a list of what the singer lacks to an affirmation of what she still has, and scholars have described it as a Black anthem and a protest song.
Where to find it
All major streaming services.
Before you start
Age: All ages
When I stand before thee at the day's end thou shalt see my scars and know that I had my wounds and also my healing.Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, no. 290
