Songs I Love: Nina Simone “Do What You Gotta Do”
Refracting Sound excavates a great late 60s nugget from the High Priestess of Soul
“Do What You Gotta Do” was written by Jimmy Webb in 1967 and covered by Nina Simone in 1968. It was released as a double sided 7in single with “Ain’t Got No… I Got Life” which shot up to #2 on the UK singles charts. I remember finding the single (pictured below) on one of my trips to London and Amsterdam in the 80s/90s and just being so surprised that one of my favorite Nina Simone songs was the B side of a 7in with a picture sleeve (pre-Discogs era). “Do What You Gotta Do” was included as a studio track on Nina’s 1968 “Nuff Said” album, a mostly live release recorded three days after the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr. It was also included on several Nina Simone Greatest Hits compilations and appeared in the movie “Bridget Jones’ Diary”, on the accompanying soundtrack album. More recently, Rihanna sung an interpolation of the chorus on Kanye West’s song “Famous” off Kanye West’s “The Life Of Pablo” album released in 2016.
“Do What You Gotta Do” was also covered or recorded by artists as diverse as Tom Jones, Linda Rondstat, Paul Anka, Ronnie Mislap, Glenn Campbell and Roberta Flack. Nina Simone’s rendition has much more punchier vocal phrasing and performance, immediacy, with the energy swelling and crashing on the chorus; it’s more effective than the other versions. Nina’s voice drips with passion and lovable imperfection. It’s a natural, brave, raw love song.
Do what you gotta do
Come on back and see me when you can
Man, I can understand how it might be
Kind of hard to love a girl like me
I don't blame you much for wanting to be free
I just wanted you to know
I loved you better than your own kin did
From the very start
It's my own fault, what happens to my heart
You see I've always known you'd go
So you just do what you gotta do
My wild sweet love
Though it may mean that I'll never kiss
Those sweet lips again
Pay that no mind
Find that dappled dream of yours
Come on back and see me when you can
Now I know they make you feel sad
They make you feel so bad
They say you don't treat me like you should
They got ways to make you feel no good
I guess they've got no way to know
I've had my eyes wide open from the start
And man, you never lied to me
And the part of you that they'll never see
Is the part you've shown to me
So you just do what you gotta do
My wild sweet love
Though it may mean that I'll never kiss
Those sweet lips again
Pay that no mind
Find that dappled dream of yours
Come on back, and see me when you can
“Do What You Gotta Do” was also released as the A side of a German 7in single in 1970; see below:
