The other woman has time to manicure her nails/
The other woman is perfect where her rival fails.
Nina Simone’s “The Other Woman” shows she is one of the masters of covering other artist’s material. Another I would put in her league is Tori Amos. Interestingly, both are classically trained pianists. I think that has a lot to do with it. They can add nuance to a song where before there was none, by taking a standard chord and turning into a 6th,7th, or 9th for flavor. Also, they can simply play the songs better and with more difficult and sophisticated arrangements.
“The Other Woman” is an old-school song. You wouldn’t hear this song written today…attitudes have changed. However, it was written by Jessie Mae Robinson, a woman. I suspected a man was the author. The story is that while the Other Woman looks better, and always meets my man smelling fresh like a daisy, she will end up spending her life alone, because he’s staying married to me.
If you are a girl/woman who is an aspiring singer, listen to Simone for clues on how to sing. She accentuates her lower octave and modulates her tone. Emotion is conveyed through the use of diction and slight variance in volume and barely any vibrato. It sounds like she is singing for an audience of one, not a stadium. There is one, short tasteful vocal run and that’s it. You might not win any contests with this style, but you will win an audience.
The Other Woman Lyrics
The other woman finds time to manicure her nails
The other woman is perfect where her rival fails
And she’s never seen with pin curls in her hair
The other woman enchants her clothes with French perfume
The other woman keeps fresh cut flowers in each room
There are never toys that’s scattered everywhere
And when her baby comes to call
He’ll find her waiting like a lonesome queen
Cos when she’s by his side
It’s such a change from old routine
But the other woman will always cry herself to sleep
The other woman will never have his love to keep
And as the years go by the other woman
Will spend her life alone
Written by Jessie Mae Robinson