Nina

Album: Masters (1944)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Noël Coward wrote this comic song in the Spring of 1944 while traveling on an overnight train in South Africa. Though incredibly complex both rhythmically and lyrically, he performed it "hot from the oven" and dried up dead as he started the first verse. His audience was forgiving, and he started again, but Coward was furious with himself, and "ashamed of my casual non-professionalism... before I attempted 'Nina' again it had been rehearsed two hours a day for a week."

    It may have been that the song was inspired by the Portuguese-born Brazillian singer Carmen Miranda. Coward did in fact write some alternative lyrics alluding to her for the second verse, in July 1945, but dropped these after being advised they could have been construed as defamatory.
  • When he performed "Nina" in the 1955 CBS special Together With Music, he introduced it as a song about "a fairly disagreeable lady." Carmen Miranda was anything but a disagreeable lady, having recorded such songs as "The Lady In The Tutti Frutti Hat," but Coward does take a playful swipe at his contemporary and rival Cole Porter in the song, which drew laughs from his TV audience. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"

Dave Alvin - "4th Of July"They're Playing My Song

When Dave recorded the first version of the song with his group the Blasters, producer Nick Lowe gave him some life-changing advice.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-Nighters

Waiting For The Break of Day: Three Classic Songs About All-NightersSong Writing

These Three famous songs actually describe how they were written - late into the evening.

Desmond Child

Desmond ChildSongwriter Interviews

One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

Harold Brown of War

Harold Brown of WarSongwriter Interviews

A founding member of the band War, Harold gives a first-person account of one of the most important periods in music history.