"Four Women" is a song written by singer, composer, pianist and arranger Nina Simone

Nina Simone

Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...

, released on the 1966 album Wild is the Wind

Wild Is the Wind (album)

Wild Is the Wind is singer/pianist/songwriter Nina Simone's sixth album under record company Philips. The album was made up of several recordings that were left over of recording sessions for previous Philips albums...

. It tells the story of four different African American women. Each of the four characters represents an African American stereotype in society.

African-American female archetypes

• The first of the four women described in the song is "Aunt Sarah" a character who represents African American enslavement. Nina Simone's description of the woman emphasizes the strong and resilient aspects of her race, "strong enough to take the pain" as well as the long-term suffering her race has had to endure, "inflicted again and again".
• The second woman who appears in the song is dubbed "Safronia", a woman of mixed race forced to live "between two worlds". She is portrayed as an oppressed woman and her story is once again used to highlight the suffering of the black race at the hands of white people in positions of power, "My father was rich and white, He forced my mother late one night".
• The third character to be explored in the song is that of a prostitute referred to as "Sweet thing". She finds acceptance with both black and white people "my hair is fine" but sadly only because she provides sexual gratification, "Whose little girl am I? Anyone who has money to buy".
• The fourth and final woman we meet is an embittered and volatile woman, a product of the generations of oppression and suffering endured by her people, "I’m awfully bitter these days, 'cause my parents were slaves". She seems prone to violence "I'll kill the first mother' [as in "Motherfucker"] I see!" and her difficult character may be inspired by the late Nina Simone's own bitterness towards white people and their many crimes against her race. Simone finally unveils the woman’s name after a dramatic finale during which Simone screams, "My name is Peaches!"

Style

Musically speaking the song is based on a simple groove based melody with piano, bass guitar and Hammond organ 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 instability of the character. The song ends with Simone wailing, with ear splitting conviction, the name "Peaches".

The group Reflection Eternal

Reflection Eternal

Reflection Eternal is a hip hop duo composed of emcee Talib Kweli and DJ Hi-Tek. They released their first album, Train of Thought, in 2000...

 which is made up of rapper Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli

Talib Kweli Greene , better known as Talib Kweli, is an American hip-hop artist and poet from Brooklyn, New York. His first name in Arabic means "student" or "seeker" ; his in Swahili means "true"...

 and producer Hi-Tek

Hi-Tek

Tony Cottrell, better known as Hi-Tek, is an American record producer and rapper from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli on his Reflection Eternal album and on Black Star...

 has a version titled "For Women" on their debut album Train of Thought

Train of Thought (Reflection Eternal album)

Train of Thought is the debut album of American hip hop duo Reflection Eternal, released October 17, 2000 on Rawkus Records. Collaborating as a duo, rapper Talib Kweli and DJ and hip hop producer Hi-Tek recorded the album during 1999 to 2000, following their individual musical work that gained...

.

The song was featured on a tribute album recorded entirely by Jhelisa Anderson.

Canadian electroclash musician Peaches

Peaches (musician)

Merrill Beth Nisker , better known by her stage name Peaches, is a Canadian electronic musician and performance artist who lives in Berlin, Germany. Her songs are noted for disregarding traditional gender norms and their use of sexually explicit lyrics...

 takes her name from this song.

This song was featured in the ending credits of the 2010 movie For Colored Girls & also on the 2010 show Black Girls Rock.

Misinterpretation

However much to Simone's dismay, and despite her intention to highlight the injustice in society and the suffering of African American people, many listeners wrongly interpreted the song as racist. They believed it drew on black stereotypes and it was subsequently banned on several major radio stations.