"Four Women" is a song written by jazz singer, composer, pianist, arranger and activist, Nina Simone, released on the 1966 album Wild Is the Wind. It tells the story of four African American women and portrays four archetypal figures of Black women in the United States: Aunt Sarah, Saffron, Sweet Thing and Peaches. It is through these Four Women that Nina Simone explores the intersecting burdens of race, gender, class, systemic oppression and generational trauma [1]. Thulani Davis of The Village Voice called the song "an instantly accessible analysis of the damning legacy of slavery, that made iconographic the real women we knew and would become." [2]
The first of the four women described in the song is Aunt Sarah. She is introduced with the lyric "My skin is black," and her narrative emphasizes long-suffering resilience, with lines such as "strong enough to take the pain / inflicted again and again," reflecting the historical legacy of slavery and forced labor endured by Black women [3].
The second woman who appears in the song is dubbed Saffronia, a woman of mixed race ("my skin is yellow") forced to live "between two worlds". This archetype embodies themes of colorism and sexual violence under miscegenation. Her verse: "My father was rich and white / He forced my mother late one night," explicitly links her existence to the coercion of a Black woman by a white man, problematizing the idea of simply living "between two worlds." [4]
The third woman, Sweet Thing, is a prostitute whose narrative highlights the commodification of Black women's bodies. Her questions, "Whose little girl am I? / Anyone who has money to buy," expose the transactional and dehumanizing sexual dynamics forced upon her. [5]
The fourth and final woman is very tough, embittered by the generations of oppression and suffering endured by her people ("I'm awfully bitter these days/’cause my parents were slaves"). She embodies a militant and defiant rage born from generations of oppression and trauma. The song's musical arrangement intensifies to a crescendo during her verse, mirroring this escalating anger and positioning her as the culmination of the song's protest. Simone finally unveils the woman's name after a dramatic finale during which she screams, "My name is Peaches!"[6]
Style
Musically speaking the song is based on a simple groove based melody with piano, flute, electric guitar, and bass guitar accompaniment. The song gradually builds in intensity as it progresses, and reaches a climax during the fourth and final section. Simone's vocal becomes more impassioned, cracking with emotion and her steady piano playing becomes frenzied and at times dissonant, possibly to reflect the angst of the character. The song ends with Simone wailing, with conviction, the name "Peaches".[7]
Misinterpretation
Much to Simone's dismay, and despite her intention to highlight the injustice in society and the suffering of African American people, some listeners interpreted the song as racist. They believed it drew on Black stereotypes, and it was subsequently banned on several major radio stations.[8][9][10]
Legacy
In 2022, American Songwriter ranked the song number seven on their list of the 10 greatest Nina Simone songs,[11] and in 2023, The Guardian ranked the song number six on their list of the 20 greatest Nina Simone songs.[12]
Berlin soul singer Joy Denalane, featuring Sara Tavares, Chiwoniso & Deborah, interpreted the song on her 2002 debut album Mamani.
A cover version of this song was featured in the ending credits of the 2010 movie For Colored Girls, featuring a sample of Nina Simone singing the first verse (as Aunt Sarah) with newly re-recorded vocals performed by Nina's daughter, Lisa Simone, singing Safronia's verse, Laura Izibor singing the role of Sweet Thing, and Ledisi singing Peaches's verse.
American experimental band Xiu Xiu covered "Four Women" on its 2013 Nina Simone tribute album Nina.
The song inspired the 2016 play Nina Simone: Four Women by Christina Ham. In the play, Nina meets the first three women (she is the fourth) at the site of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing, and they become the characters in her song.
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