Wilson's repertoire includes both jazz and blues standards and renditions of pop and rock songs. Her contralto voice has been described as bluesy and sultry, and the style of her music ranges from swing to funk to bossa nova. Many of the songs she covers are by artists who usually record in other genres.
Wilson counts the late Miles Davis as one of her greatest influences. In 1989 she performed as the opening act for Davis at the JVC Jazz Festival in Chicago. In 1999 she produced Traveling Miles as a tribute to Davis. The album developed from a series of jazz concerts that she performed at Lincoln Center in November 1997 in Davis's honor and includes three selections based on Davis's own compositions, in which Wilson adapted the original themes.
A Brief Discography
Point of View (1986, JMT)
Days Aweigh (1987, JMT)
Blue Skies (1988, JMT)
Jumpworld (1989, JMT)
She Who Weeps (1990, JMT)
Live (1991, JMT)
After the Beginning Again (1992, JMT)
Dance to the Drums Again (1992, DIW/Columbia)
Blue Light 'til Dawn (1993, Blue Note)
New Moon Daughter (1995, Blue Note)
Rendezvous (with Jacky Terrasson) (1998, Blue Note)
Traveling Miles (1999, Blue Note)
Belly of the Sun (2002, Blue Note)
Glamoured (2003, Blue Note)
Thunderbird (2006, Blue Note)
Loverly (2008, Blue Note)
Silver Pony (2010, Blue Note)
Another Country (2012, eOne)
Official website: www.cassandrawilson.com
I'm So Lonesome I Could C
Cassandra Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He sounds too blue to fly
The midnight train is whining low
I'm so lonesome I could cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
When leaves began to die
That means he's lost the will to live
The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky
And as I wonder where you are
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I'm so lonesome I could cry
Cassandra Wilson's song "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a heartbreaking rendition of Hank Williams' classic. The song is an expression of loneliness and sadness, and Wilson's performance perfectly captures the emotional weight of the lyrics. In the first stanza, Wilson talks about a lonely winter bird singing a melancholic tune that seems too sad to even fly. The imagery of the bird struggling to take flight represents the heavy burden of loneliness that can weigh us down and prevent us from moving forward.
In the second stanza, she sings about a robin weeping when the leaves begin to die, a metaphor for someone losing the will to live. The song's melancholic tone is captured perfectly with the lines, "That means he's lost the will to live, I'm so lonesome I could cry." In the final stanza, Wilson talks about the silence of a falling star lighting up a purple sky. This line represents the emptiness and longing that come with loneliness. As she wonders where her love is, she can't help but feel the weight of her loneliness.
Overall, "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is a beautiful yet mournful song that speaks to the heart of loneliness and emotional pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Hear that lonesome winter bird
Listen to that sad bird of winter
He sounds too blue to fly
He sounds so sad he can't even fly
The midnight train is whining low
The train in the middle of the night is making a sorrowful sound
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I am extremely lonely and sad that I could cry
Did you ever see a robin weep
Have you ever seen a robin cry
When leaves began to die
When the leaves start to fall off the trees
That means he's lost the will to live
That indicates that the robin has lost its desire to live
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I am extremely lonely and sad that I could cry
The silence of a falling star
The quietness that accompanies a shooting star
Lights up a purple sky
It brightens up the sky and turns it purple
And as I wonder where you are
And while I question your whereabouts
I'm so lonesome I could cry
I am extremely lonely and sad that I could cry
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rhonda Bland
She is one of my favorite vocalist. Her live shows are just AWESOME!! LOVE HER!!!
Ola Akinlade
Completely underrated artist. Absolute legend of a singer. She handles this like she created it. Hasn't got enough recognition and the strings in the piece are amazing
Brave Now
What an absolutely beautiful voice Cassandra has. Consummate musician.
Rick Cornell
Still my favorite Cassandra Wilson cover, after all of these years (and "Blue Light Til Dawn" is still my favorite album....)
lulubluemoon
Mine too
Natalie Lipscomb
Mine too !😊
buckskinfringes79
Thanks Van for transmitting so much emotion with your song and thank you Cassandra for opening other avenues to appreciate these wonderful words and music.
Master Channel
Fabulous violin solo
Linda Chavers
Yes, awesome!
Free Radt
Again, another amazing version of one of many CLASSIC songs written by Van Morrison and yet she sings it as if it were meant to be HER song. WTG Cassandra! You are simply nothing less than WONDEROUS!!!!!!!!!!! LOVE U!!!