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“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” — Nina Simone / The Animals
As the old saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions.
“I’m just a soul whose intentions are good/Please don’t let me be misunderstood” is the sort of PR-scripted, law firm vetted, apology you hear from politicians and business leaders caught with their hands in the till or, indeed, in a variety of other places their hands shouldn’t have been.
“Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” was written for Nina Simone by Bennie Benjamin, Horace Ott and Sol Marcus. The idea came to Horace Ott after a falling out with his wife, although you’ll be glad to know they stayed together in the end.
The original Nina Simone recording has a very different feel to The Animals’ cover. Of course, nobody can sing a song like Nina Simone…definitely one of those people who broke the mould.
Given Nina Simon’s activism at the time, “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” was thought to reference the civil rights movement in some way, although there is no direct reference to that in the lyrics and it was not the original inspiration behind Horace Ott’s unfortunate misunderstanding with his wife.
The Animals had by far the bigger hit with the song, though...a 1965 UK Number Three and US Number 15.
