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Nina Simone — I Put a Spell on You
Album: Anthology
Avg rating:
8.4

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2378









Released: 1965
Length: 2:33
Plays (last 30 days): 1
I put a spell on you
Because you're mine.
I can't stand the things that you do.
No, no, no, I ain't lyin'. No.
I don't care if you don't want me
'Cause I'm yours, yours, yours anyhow.
Yeah, I'm yours, yours, yours.
I love you. I love you.
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!
I put a spell on you.
Lord! Lord! Lord!
....'Cause you're mine, yeah.
I can't stand the things that you do
When you're foolin' around.
I don't care if you don't want me.
'Cause I'm yours, yours, yours anyhow.
Yeah, yours, yours, yours!
I can't stand your foolin' around.
If I can't have you,
No one will!
I love you, you, you!
I love you. I love you. I love you!
I love you, you, you!
I don't care if you don't want me.
'Cause I'm yours, yours, yours anyhow.
Comments (176)add comment
"That's for anyone whose unhappy in love...
.
as i'm sure.. ...most of us are..."
.
Tim Curry (following playing 'I Put A Spell On You' - Nina Simone, on BBC Radio1's 'Star Special' circa 1978-ish).
It stuck in my head, and i've never forgotten it...
Straight in at Godlike.
 joejennings wrote:



So did CCR on their 1st album.   This version is GREAT!!


CCR's version was great as well though this has more soul.  that was more psychedelic..
 ecojot wrote:

Audience, a great early 70s British prog rock band did an excellent version of this.




So did CCR on their 1st album.   This version is GREAT!!
Audience, a great early 70s British prog rock band did an excellent version of this.
 acferrad wrote:


... that refers to to previous track... sigh


lol right now it was the same order. Was double checking if the page had updated correctly or if I had some kind of mushroom when I saw your comment
Iconic for all the right reasons!
Led Zeppelin paid it forward!
 greenbuilding wrote:

When the Airplane was touring with the Doors in Europe. Jim and Grace supposedly had their time. So says, Stephen Davis in his biography on Jim.



... that refers to to previous track... sigh
When the Airplane was touring with the Doors in Europe. Jim and Grace supposedly had their time. So says, Stephen Davis in his biography on Jim.
  
She certainly put a spell on me...
  
every time I hear Nina, I just wonder if she was really happy singing that particular song, she was just so tired of the industrial music machine. I love her live stuff, at least she was in charge out on the stage and you can clearly hear her being herself and being authentic.
These lyrics are miles out.
 Proclivities wrote:

Adrienne Barbeau? Wow.
c.
Man that is lovely horn
 vit wrote:

Screamin' Jay Hawkins was pop? Maybe, thinkin' about it, he was. Still, it's funny to read about the song's roots (from wikipedia):

"Hawkins originally envisioned the tune as a refined ballad."<5> The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where "Hawkins screamed, grunted, and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon."<5> The resulting performance was no ballad but instead a "raw, guttural track" that became his greatest commercial success and reportedly surpassed a million copies in sales,<6><7> although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts


 
I feel a little weird watching a Black man performing with a bone through his nose and a skull scepter, but oh, man, a performance for the ages. He was still doing that act in 1990, [Spoiler Alert!] rising up from a coffin at the beginning of the show.
 kcar wrote:

The teenager in me prefers CCR's version but Screamin' Jay pretty much owns this song by losing his sh**. 

Another Hawkins classic: Alligator Wine. Would love to know the name of the B-movie in the video of this YouTube clip: 
https://youtu.be/Jv3l36jMfag


 That movie is Wild Women of Wongo

Uh-oh:a full version
Transports me to a better place every time I hear it. 11 from me.
The best .................. just, the best!
 Cyclehawk wrote:
Nina's is quite good, but no will ever top Screamin' Jay Hawkins' version.  Ever.

 




The teenager in me prefers CCR's version but Screamin' Jay pretty much owns this song by losing his sh**. 

Another Hawkins classic: Alligator Wine. Would love to know the name of the B-movie in the video of this YouTube clip: 



https://youtu.be/Jv3l36jMfag

It simply doesn't get better.
Superbe rendition of a priceless original.
...
because you're mine...
 Cyclehawk wrote:
Nina's is quite good, but no will ever top Screamin' Jay Hawkins' version.  Ever.

 
Agreed.
Nina's is quite good, but no will ever top Screamin' Jay Hawkins' version.  Ever.
 fitmartin wrote:
Great music, many thanks to you Bill and Becky! the next song was also a 9! Bravo!{#Hearteyes}

 
I put 9 (instead of 10) just to fool myself that I am in control ( of myself).

 
 hayduke2 wrote:
part of my dippy mind drifts back to Jarmusch's:

Strangerthanparadise.jpg
"The original song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins features prominently in the soundtrack."

 
Love this movie. Thanks to Bill for introducing me to Nina. 
 hayduke2 wrote:
voice of an Angel

 
a fallen Angel, maybe a Devil, but a great one!
Great music, many thanks to you Bill and Becky! the next song was also a 9! Bravo!{#Hearteyes}
part of my dippy mind drifts back to Jarmusch's:

Strangerthanparadise.jpg
"The original song "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins features prominently in the soundtrack."
Canvas yields a Lucky spell.
Nina's style is as distinctive as the guy who wrote this song, Screamin' Jay.
3 -> 8
What was wrong with me? 
more Nina please!!
voice of an Angel
{#Fire} killer track, the sax and nina jamming how much better could music ever get?
You ain't got a spell on me, Nina.
 BobLoblaw wrote:
Such a great voice. 8 ->9.

 
......... agree 9 >>>>>>>>>>>> G O D L I K E
 aaronm wrote:
So, so good.

Here's a weird question... does her voice sound like that of Cee Lo Green to anyone else? 

 
Now that you've mentioned it...
 hahaha! Sax wasn't the word I saw on first glance at this post lol!

oldfart48 wrote:
{#Bananapiano}{#Fire} some fine sax.....

 


Such a great voice. 8 ->9.
So, so good.

Here's a weird question... does her voice sound like that of Cee Lo Green to anyone else? 
What a magnificent and soulful voice! {#Notworthy}
{#Bananapiano}{#Fire} some fine sax.....
ahhhhh, nina{#Fire}
sung to my satisfaction.
 OH  YES meloman wrote:
The interplay between her voice and the sax is worth the price of admission. Fantastic!
 


Sitting outside on a warm summer evening with a cold beer and good old Nina on the radio..
Always good... Mature Woman Voice...and jazz back-up... What more do we need-?

David Gilmour & Mica Paris - "I Put a Spell On You" Live (1980's)
"Dave Gilmour plays the blues, so well"

"I Put a Spell on You" is a 1956 song written by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, whose recording was selected as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. It was also ranked #313 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song has been recorded by numerous other artists, Nina Simone, Alan Price, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Bryan Ferry's,etc.

 

 


wow...
10. 'nuff said.
Bill, you can play Simone all day long as far as I'm concerned.
Nina is the best {#Whistle}
How interesting might my life be if Nina Simone sang the soundtrack?
Most of the great voices are instantly recognizable: Ella, Janis, Lena, Etta, Billie, and a host of others. Nina's gives me goose bumps.
from an old friend I used to race against way back when:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/GeKkq1yUZ-A

 Giselle62 wrote:
this is sexy—-i love low-voiced women so much better than the masses of baby-voiced women singers out there.
 
Those low-pitched, husky, breathy, female voices: A friend described them sounding like a saxophone.  "The notes come out and you can hear them, but there's all this other sound in there." 
Ms. Simone put a spell on me the first time I heard her sing.
I love Nina!
picture of a tortured soul.
Why, shertainly Mishter Bond. {#Whipit}
 Panama_Floyd wrote:
Wow! I wish this kind of thing would happen *every* time a real artist decides to cover a "pop tune".
 
Screamin' Jay Hawkins was pop? Maybe, thinkin' about it, he was. Still, it's funny to read about the song's roots (from wikipedia):

"Hawkins originally envisioned the tune as a refined ballad."<5> The entire band was intoxicated during a recording session where "Hawkins screamed, grunted, and gurgled his way through the tune with utter drunken abandon."<5> The resulting performance was no ballad but instead a "raw, guttural track" that became his greatest commercial success and reportedly surpassed a million copies in sales,<6><7> although it failed to make the Billboard pop or R&B charts


Classic. {#Music}
Natacha Atlas does a kick-ass Middle Eastern take on this song.
Good Music... I haven't heard her in a long time. I'd forgotten how good she is.  Thanks...
This song put a spell on me, and I ain't lyin'...{#Cowboy}{#Tongue}{#Yes}
Ladies and Gents ... Ms. Nina Simone!! Emotion, passion, technique, cultural bagage ... and many other adjetives I am not able to articulate because her rendering of this tune leaves me just speechless! {#Cheers}
Wow! I wish this kind of thing would happen *every* time a real artist decides to cover a "pop tune".
Great tune!
Holy cow, I love this song!
this is sexy—-i love low-voiced women so much better than the masses of baby-voiced women singers out there.
Bill, how about the version by Jeff Beck and Joss Stone from his latest CD?
There are some other cool tunes on it as well.  Interesting CD from El Becko.

Was singing this to myself just the other day. This version is so much better.
 DaveInVA wrote:
Just love this version of I Put a Smell on You....
 


And not to be forgotten:



You know Dave, in the end, we're all just individuals, singular souls belonging to nothing but the universe....all given gifts to be cherished.
You are heartless, a simple thanks so troublesome
Nina put a spell on me and I'm hers.
Just love this version of I Put a Smell on You....
Very nice interpretation.

But, for absolutely raw, screaming, painful, insane, and pure longing I have to give it to (me - dons flame retardant suit) Marilyn Manson.  It starts out slow and rough, get's very heavy/psychedelic, and proceeds to go straight off the deep end.  Look for it on the Lost Highway soundtrack.

This is one of the 10s of all time. That is all.
{#Mrgreen}
This is my favourite Nina Simone tune (and she is my favourite jazz-singer)
She does it so well, adds a whole new dimension and feeling to the song
Truly a masterpiece, even though it's a cover!
{#Clap}

 

Nina Simone - I Put a Spell on You    ==>    Bonnie Raitt - When the Spell Is Broken

remembering Ms. Nina Simone, born Eunice Kathleen Waymon

** 10 **



As with many Simone songs (covers), she does something different with it. And something excellent. Her rendition of 'Strange Fruit'... same story, it becomes even darker than it already was. This one here: brooding and sensual. Wow.
 BillnDollarBaby wrote:
Wow. Great version. Totally thought she was a he. I thought the same about Amy Winehouse when I first heard her, also. Isn't it interesting the preconceived notions we have about range and gender?
 
I really thought this singer was male too...{#Foot-in-mouth}


Yup, here it is. SJ's video from wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy before MTV or PC. Not great quality. But........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kGPhpvqtOc
Fabulous! Oh and don't forget CCR's version, too. Screaming Jay's video for this one is a gas. Will have to look on You Tube for it. Haven't seen it in years.
miahfost wrote:
No no no! Only Screaming Jay Hawkins can do this.




NO, just a different INTERPRETATION.

Nina's version is romantic, intense, steamy, powerful... Screaming Jay's is just incredibly creepy and scary... but both are great in their own way.

That's what's great about a well done cover— when the interpretation changes, it gives the song a new meaning.

TOTALLY GODLIKE!
Why oh why do we have to always have this argument about covers? Can't we just accept a song for what it is? This one is pure beauty!
SomeOldGuy wrote:
Gimme Screamin' Jay...
No doubt. Someone should upload that. The original and _best_.
SomeOldGuy wrote:
Gimme Screamin' Jay...
...me too.
This sounds so fantastic, you can play as much as you want Bill!!!!
she put a spell on me...
miahfost wrote:
No no no! Only screaming Jay Hawkins can do this.
I will have to hear that one, but I find it hard to believe that anyone can top this version.
I haven't heard the original by Screamin', but this has to be the best version of this song I've heard. Nina is simply amazing!
No no no! Only Screaming Jay Hawkins can do this.
Gimme Screamin' Jay...
Best version of this is by Audience. 1974 or so.
Wow. This is an outstanding song, but when SHE sings it... it's out of this world...
I think her voice goddess-like; it cuts straight to heart of the songs she chooses to sing.
rococodeco wrote:
does anyone else think that she sounds very very much like a man?... She's just not working for me.
Never has for me, either. And yes, I think she sounds like a man, but then I thought Imogen Heap was a man too, so what do I know?
rococodeco wrote:
does anyone else think that she sounds very very much like a man? I can't imagine her singing "at last." She's just not working for me.
Not me, but I must say neither one of my kids would believe her gender until I showed them the CD. I absolutely love her voice no matter what she sings: jazz, blues, folk, Kurt Weil, whatever.
meloman wrote:
The interplay between her voice and the sax is worth the price of admission. Fantastic!
So cOol
Not really into this, I like the CCR version myself...
Sing it gurl...
great song from a great artist :bow:
rklein wrote:
Perfect segue from Claude Chalhoub - Don't wake me up! BTW: Both track are just wonderful.
Ditto! A seamless and most musical transition. BRAVO!
Perfect segue from Claude Chalhoub - Don't wake me up! I didn't notice the transition at all. Suddenly there was singing and I figured that must be a new track. BTW: Both track are just wonderful.
jamm wrote:
Great version...I also like Credence Clearwater's version...what an awesome song!
Great segue from the Claude Chalhoub to Nina!
When Nina sings I can feel it deep inside.. Nina Sings the Blues is hands down my favorite.
GregX59 wrote:
I normally love Nina Simone, but this one has such smooth orchestration that just doesn't mesh with her voice. It is a nice interplay with the sax, but the rest just doesn't work for me.
That's a shame. You must be missing out on loads of Ella and Lady Day tracks too !!
rococodeco wrote:
does anyone else think that she sounds very very much like a man? I can't imagine her singing "at last." She's just not working for me.
Sometimes I think Ben Harper sounds like Nina.
rococodeco wrote:
She's just not working for me.
you got THAT right.
does anyone else think that she sounds very very much like a man? I can't imagine her singing "at last." She's just not working for me.
my buddy tells a story where he went to see her live, and early on she walks off stage, not feeling the audience. i wasn't there, but i feel she would know what she's talking about...
I could listen to her all day!