--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Nina Simone was an entertainer. Bob Dylan…" description: "\"Nina Simone was an entertainer. Bob Dylan was an entertainer. Anyone that can occupy a piece of music and make the air catch on fire at that moment is ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/michael-gira-15235_air_nina-simone-was-an-entertainer-bob-dylan_2125347.jpg" --- # Nina Simone was an entertainer. Bob Dylan was an… ![“Nina Simone was an entertainer. Bob Dylan was an entertainer. Anyone that can occupy a piece of music and make the air catch on fire at that moment is a true entertainer. That's how I view it. That's what I was meant to do. I love doing it. That's why I'm on earth.” quote by Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/michael-gira-15235_air_nina-simone-was-an-entertainer-bob-dylan_2125347.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/michael-gira-15235_air_nina-simone-was-an-entertainer-bob-dylan_2125347.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/692/michael-gira-15235_air_nina-simone-was-an-entertainer-bob-dylan_2125347.jpg) > “Nina Simone was an entertainer. Bob Dylan was an entertainer. Anyone that can occupy a piece of music and make the air catch on fire at that moment is a true entertainer. That's how I view it. That's what I was meant to do. I love doing it. That's why I'm on earth.” [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. An entertainer captivates listeners, turning music into a vivid, fiery experience that feels essential to existence. **In simple terms:** True entertainers make music feel alive and purposeful. Key Takeaway Embrace your unique artistic purpose. Themes creativity expression passion Mood inspired determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - live concerts - recording sessions - teaching music - personal artistic development Key Concepts artistry performance authenticity Questions to Reflect On - How do you channel fire into your art? - What does being an entertainer mean to you? A Different Perspective Not all audiences value intensity; some prefer subtlety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Entertainer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainer/) [Entertainers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entertainers/) [Fire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fire/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [I feel like I am a true entertainer and performer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-barrett/i-feel-like-i-am-a-true-entertainer-and-performer/) [Gabby Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-barrett/) > [I'm very eclectic in my music tastes - anything from Nina Simone to Beethoven to Talvin Singh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-ali/i-m-very-eclectic-in-my-music-tastes-anything-from-nina-simone-to/) [Monica Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-ali/) > [If Rihanna stripped it all down morally rather than with her clothes, perhaps we'd get closer to Nina Simone. She's talented, but all we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-doillon/if-rihanna-stripped-it-all-down-morally-rather-than-with-her-clothes/) [Lou Doillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-doillon/) > [Artists look at the environment, and the best artists correctly diagnose the problem. I'm not saying artists can't be leaders, but that's not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/artists-look-at-the-environment-and-the-best-artists-correctly/) [Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/) > [You know, and the fact that Nina Simone had to start playing in clubs and sing because her parents had moved north to support…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-garbus/you-know-and-the-fact-that-nina-simone-had-to-start-playing-in-clubs/) [Liz Garbus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-garbus/) > [People like Howlin' Wolf, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, John Lee Hooker, Nina Simone, Captain Beefheart - all of these artists were what I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-like-howlin-wolf-bob-dylan-the-rolling-stones-john-lee-hooker/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We just didn't put any pressure on each other, and I think that everybody needs somebody, and I didn't do it to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/we-just-didn-t-put-any-pressure-on-each-other-and-i-think-that/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [ I wish that she had had a black loon because I don't think that Nina \[Simone\] did. I have always had - I've been… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-wish-that-she-had-had-a-black-loon-because-i-don-t-think-that-nina/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) > [So while you're imitating Al Capone, I'll be Nina Simone And defecating on your microphone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauryn-hill/so-while-you-re-imitating-al-capone-i-ll-be-nina-simone-and/) [Lauryn Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauryn-hill/) > [I think it's fair to say that Nina Simone was a prodigy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martin/i-think-it-s-fair-to-say-that-nina-simone-was-a-prodigy/) [Michel Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martin/) > [I write to music, and Nina Simone is always on my playlist to write to. I mean, shes inspiring. She's truthful and real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/i-write-to-music-and-nina-simone-is-always-on-my-playlist-to-write-to/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [My big influences are Joni Mitchell, and a lot of classical and Indian music, as well as Nina Simone and the personal blues and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yael-naim/my-big-influences-are-joni-mitchell-and-a-lot-of-classical-and-indian/) [Yael Naim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yael-naim/) > [I'm like a middle-aged person; when my friends go on about modern bands, I don't know what they are talking about. I'm into rock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georgia-may-jagger/i-m-like-a-middle-aged-person-when-my-friends-go-on-about-modern/) [Georgia May Jagger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georgia-may-jagger/) > [There are singers that I have enjoyed, from Nina Simone and Ray Charles onward. But the music that made music the number one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wyatt/there-are-singers-that-i-have-enjoyed-from-nina-simone-and-ray/) [Robert Wyatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wyatt/) > [ I just think she was a wonderful woman. What I think of when I think of Nina \[Simone\] is someone that I could relate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikki-giovanni/i-just-think-she-was-a-wonderful-woman-what-i-think-of-when-i-think/) [Nikki Giovanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikki-giovanni/) ## More by Michael Gira > [I have my own record company. I have to answer to God, basically. I'm not young, so I want to make the best possible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-have-my-own-record-company-i-have-to-answer-to-god-basically-i-m/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [It's good that people come to the shows because there's nothing fashionable about Swans. Never has been, really. We've never been part of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/it-s-good-that-people-come-to-the-shows-because-there-s-nothing/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [The sexuality of children - there's a lot friction there. That tension interests me a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/the-sexuality-of-children-there-s-a-lot-friction-there-that-tension/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I wanted to challenge myself and move into something new. I felt that using the name Swans and the sonic attitude that that engenders…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-wanted-to-challenge-myself-and-move-into-something-new-i-felt-that/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [When I walk around New York now, there are so many ghosts. I find it very uncomfortable. There were many hard years, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/when-i-walk-around-new-york-now-there-are-so-many-ghosts-i-find-it/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I'm just as comfortable performing solo with just my acoustic guitar and vocal as I am with a band. The main thing for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-m-just-as-comfortable-performing-solo-with-just-my-acoustic-guitar/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I'm a producer in the old-school way - not just some slacker working on Pro Tools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-m-a-producer-in-the-old-school-way-not-just-some-slacker-working-on/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I like loud electric guitars because I like how you can just lose your entire being in the sound. But I can't find myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-like-loud-electric-guitars-because-i-like-how-you-can-just-lose/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [“An oiled young stud does sit-ups on his Soloflex machine, eviscerates himself with an impossibly honed and gleaming kitchen knife, flings his dangling intestines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/an-oiled-young-stud-does-sit-ups-on-his-soloflex-machine-eviscerates/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [“I never could read Foucault. I find philosophy tedious. All of my knowledge comes from reading novels and some history. I read Being and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-never-could-read-foucault-i-find-philosophy-tedious-all-of-my/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [“I like Sade. I’m re-reading Juliette. I skip the philosophy and read the salacious bits. His descriptive imagination is incredible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-like-sade-i-m-re-reading-juliette-i-skip-the-philosophy-and-read/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I don't throw my body down on the stage at all anymore because I'm sure I'd snap like a twig.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-don-t-throw-my-body-down-on-the-stage-at-all-anymore-because-i-m/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [Many of the songs were written as a way of paying tribute to specific people, but in the end the songs took on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/many-of-the-songs-were-written-as-a-way-of-paying-tribute-to-specific/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I don't want to sound like everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-gira/i-don-t-want-to-sound-like-everybody-else/) [Michael Gira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-gira/) > [I'm pretty confident that people are going to come along for the ride. 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