Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to Be Free lyric

Performed by Nina Simone
Album: Silk and Soul (1967)
Songwriters: William Taylor, Richard Carroll Lamb

And I wish I knew how
It would feel to be free
I wish I could break
All the chains holdin' me
I wish I could say
All the things that I should say

Say 'em loud say 'em clear
For the whole 'round world to hear
I wish I could share
All the love that's in my heart
Remove all the doubts
That keep us apart

I wish you could know
What it means to be me
Then you'd see and agree
That every man should be free

I wish I could give
All I'm longin' to give
I wish I could live like I'm longing to live
I wish I could do all the things that I can do
And though I'm way over due
I'd be startin' a new

Well I wish I could be
Like a bird up in the sky
How sweet it would be
If I found out I could fly
So long to my song
And look down upon the sea

And I sing because I know yeah
And I sing because I know yeah
And I sing because I know

I would know how it feels
I would know how it feels to be free
I would know how it feels
Yes, I would know
I would know how it feels, how it feels
To be free, no no

*Note:
This song also sung, covered, and remade by many other artist, e.g.:

• The Derek Trucks Band (2004 and 2006 on the albums Live at Georgia Theater, Songlines and Songlines Live)
• Solomon Burke (1968)
• Ahmad Jamal (1968)
• Illinois Jacquet (1968)
• Denver, Boise & Johnson (1968)
• The Smothers Brothers and Harry Belafonte, on Season Three of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1968)
• The Ray Charles Singers (1969)
• Shirley Scott (1969)
• Cold Blood (1969)
• John Denver (1969)
• Glenn Yarbrough (1970)
• Doris (1970)
• Air (1971)
• Mary Travers (1971)
• Dionne Farris (B-side of the "I Know" maxi single) (1994)
• Jools Holland (1997)
• Leontyne Price (1997)
• Marc Shaiman (1997)
• Rob Agerbeek on the album Three of a Kind (1998)
• Marlena Shaw (2000)
• Lighthouse Family (2001)
• Sharlene Hector (2004)
• Martin Taylor (2005)
• Irma Thomas (2006)
• The Derek Trucks Band (2006)
• Human Highway (2008)
• Levon Helm Band (2009)
• Lucky Peterson (2010)
• John Legend & The Roots (2010)
• Emeli Sand� (2012)