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
Last Train To Clarksville
Cassandra Wilson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'll meet you at the station
You can be there by 4:30
'Cause I've made your reservation
Don't be slow
Oh no no no, oh no no no
'Cause I'm leaving in the morning
We'll have one more night together
'Til the morning brings my train
And I must go
Oh no no no, oh no no no
And I don't know if I'm ever coming home
Take the last train to Clarksville
I'll be waiting at the station
We'll have time for coffee flavored kisses
And a bit of conversation
Oh no no no, oh no no no
Take the last train to Clarksville
Now I must hang up the phone
I can't hear you in this
Noisy railroad station all alone
I'm feeling low
Oh no no no, oh no no no
And I don't know if I'm ever coming home
Take the last train to Clarksville,
And I'll meet you at the station,
You can be here by four-thirty,
'Cause I've made your reservation, don't be slow,
Oh, no, no, no,
Oh, no, no, no,
And I don't know if I'm ever coming home.
Take the last train to Clarksville,
Take the last train to Clarksville,
Take the last train to Clarksville,
Take the last train to Clarksville.
"Last Train to Clarksville" by Cassandra Wilson was originally performed by The Monkees in 1966. The song was written by Tommy Boyce and Bobby Hart, a hit songwriting team behind the success of several pop acts in the 1960s. Wilson's version of the song is a slowed-down, jazz-infused rendition of the original, which essentially turns a pop song about a soldier's farewell into a mournful ballad.
The lyrics depict a man telling his lover to take the last train to Clarksville and meet him at the station before he leaves in the morning. He wants them to spend one more night together before he is deployed, suggesting that he is a soldier who might not return. He reassures her that he has already made her reservation, urging her not to be slow. He wants them to have time for coffee-flavored kisses and a bit of conversation before he departs. The song ends with him expressing his uncertainty about returning home, suggesting that the possibility of him never coming home is real.
In Cassandra Wilson’s version of “Last Train to Clarksville,” the song’s upbeat, danceable groove is replaced with a wistful, pensive atmosphere, placing the focus on the poignancy of the lyrics. Wilson's interpretation of the song highlights the idea of longing and heartbreak, shifting the emphasis from the catchy melody of the original version, to the deeper emotions of the characters.
Line by Line Meaning
Take the last train to Clarksville
Let's meet up one last time in Clarksville
And I'll meet you at the station
I will be waiting for you at the train station
You can be there by 4:30
Please arrive on time, at 4:30
'Cause I've made your reservation
I have already booked your train ticket
Don't be slow
Please do not be late
Oh no no no, oh no no no
We cannot waste time or miss the train
'Cause I'm leaving in the morning
I am departing the following day
And I must see you again
I want to spend more time with you
We'll have one more night together
Let's enjoy one more night with each other
'Til the morning brings my train
Until the morning comes and I depart on my train
And I must go
I have no choice but to leave
And I don't know if I'm ever coming home
I have no idea if I will return home
We'll have time for coffee flavored kisses
We will make time to enjoy coffee and share kisses
And a bit of conversation
We can also talk for a bit
Now I must hang up the phone
I have to end our phone call
I can't hear you in this
It is too noisy to hear you properly
Noisy railroad station all alone
I am alone in a busy train station
I'm feeling low
I am feeling sad and down
Take the last train to Clarksville
One more reminder to catch the last train and meet up in Clarksville
Take the last train to Clarksville
Repeating the previous line
Take the last train to Clarksville
Repeating the previous line
Take the last train to Clarksville
Final reminder to catch the last train to meet up
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Bobby Hart, Tommy Boyce
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind