Sea Lion Woman facts for kids

Sea Lion Woman (also known by names like "See-Line Woman" or "She Lyin' Woman") is an old African American folk song. It was first used as a children's playground song, often sung while playing games.

Different Song Versions

Many artists have covered "Sea Lion Woman." Most of these versions are based on the famous singer Nina Simone's arrangement. Her style often included rhythmic hand-claps or other percussion, and more than one background voice singing along.

One of the first groups to cover Nina Simone's version was the Australian beat band The Easybeats. They recorded it in 1967 for their album Good Friday.

In 1987, the Irish rock band Hothouse Flowers released a live recording of the song. This was on a special 12-inch single of their song "Love Don't Work This Way."

Feist, a singer, made a very popular cover of Nina Simone's song in 2007. It was for her album The Reminder. Feist originally called her song "Sea Lion Woman," but it was shortened to "Sealion" on the album. Even so, it became popular through digital downloads. It reached number 94 on the Canadian Hot 100 Chart under the name "Sea Lion Woman."

The folk-rock group Ollabelle changed the song into a rock tune in 2006. This version appeared on their album Riverside Battle Songs. Other singers like Katie Melua (with Arno) and Brooke Fraser from New Zealand have also covered the song.

Remixes and Samples

Sometimes, musicians take parts of an old song and use them to create a new one. This is called "sampling." They can also change a song to make a "remix."

A remix of an early recording of "Sea Lion Woman" was made by Greg Hale Jones and Russell Ziecker. They called their version "She Began to Lie." This song was used in the 1999 movie The General's Daughter.

In 1997, a house music remix of the song was created by Jerome Sydenham and Kerri Chandler. They called themselves "The Songstress" for this project.

Nina Simone's original 1964 recording was remixed by Masters at Work in 2002. This remix was released as a single. It was also part of the Verve//Remixed album from Verve label. Other artists like J.Views (in 2008) and Ogris Debris (in 2012) also made remixes of Simone's recording.

Parts of the song have been sampled in other music. For example, Frayser Boy used a sample in his 2003 song "H.C.P." from the album Gone on That Bay.

The Durutti Column also sampled the song for their track "Woman." This was on their 2003 album Someone Else's Party.

Kanye West sampled Nina Simone's version for his song "Bad News." This track is on his 2008 album 808s & Heartbreak.

French DJ Bob Sinclar produced a house version of the song in 2013. It used samples from Nina Simone's recording. This version was on his album Paris by Night.

A version of "Sea Lion Woman" can also be heard at the end of the 2016 movie American Fable.

More recently, Dennis Cruz released "Wade's Remix of See Line" through Solid Grooves Records.

Lyrics

• Full lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics