The Magic of Lilac Wine
One of the greatest songs recorded
When my Af-Am Lit professor introduced us to Nina Simone, he explained her like the archetype of the strong woman. During the Civil Rights Movement in the 60s, she became a symbol of Black power, a strong voice for troubled times. She sang Mississippi Goddam, an epic ballad on Martin Luther King Jr’s death, and a heartbreaking song about a girl discovering racism for the first time. She was seen as a difficult woman, my professor said, a woman with a rough voice who wouldn’t sing simple love songs.
But her reputation didn’t rest on her politics. Aside from being a trained classical pianist, she was a songwriter-poet and a transcendent performer. In 1966, on her album Wild is the Wind, Simone released Lilac Wine. It wasn’t her song. It was written 16 years prior by Broadway actor and composer James Shelton. But Simone’s version may very well be the beginning and end of the song. Jeff Buckley, who also covered the song, said Simone’s is the only version he listens to.
Striking a minor chord on her piano, Simone starts the song and sets the scene for us:
I lost myself on a cool, damp night
Gave myself in that misty light
Was hypnotized by a strange delight
Under a lilac tree
Like a witch under the moonlight, she makes a potent drink from the lilac. She says the drink “makes me see what I want to see and be who I want to be.” Back when jazz was pop music, it was common to start songs with an introduction, a short narrative framing whose musical tone was distinct from the rest of the song. As the narrator settles into the trance that the lilac wine puts her under, she begins to have visions of her love. The introduction of the song ends, and the magic begins.
At that point, Simone and her band settle on a slow, pulsing rhythm. The song now truly starts. With softness and fury she sings about her one true love, and how she is not ready for him. She hallucinates him in the distance, coming to her, but still she is not ready for him. Where does this angst come from? Will she ever be ready for her love? Will any of us be?
But don’t take my word for it. You have to listen to the song yourself.
