Eva Cassidy was the third of four children born to Hugh and Barbara Cassidy. From an early age, she displayed artistic and musical talent. When she was nine years old, her father taught her to play the guitar, and she began to play and sing at family gatherings.
While a student at Bowie High School, she did sing with a local band, called Stonehenge, and received considerable praise.
At the age of eighteen, Cassidy began her professional career, singing and playing guitar in a Washington, D.C., area band, called Easy Street. This band performed in a variety of styles, at weddings, corporate parties, and pubs.
During the summer of 1983, Cassidy sang and played guitar, six days per week, at Wild World, in Maryland. Her brother Dan was also a member of this working band.
Throughout the 1980s, Cassidy worked with a number of other bands, including the soul and Motown-oriented band The Honeybees, and the techno-pop band Characters Without Names, later called Method Actor.
During this period, Cassidy also worked as a propagator at a plant nursery and as a furniture painter in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1986, she met (bassist and recording engineer) Chris Biondo, who encouraged her and helped her find work as a backup singer for various acts. In 1990, Biondo and Cassidy hired the so-called "Eva Cassidy Band", composed of Chris Biondo, Lenny Williams, Keith Grimes and Raice McLeod, and she began to perform frequently in the Washington area.
In 1992, Biondo played a tape of Cassidy's voice for Chuck Brown. Best known as the "Godfather of Go-go", Brown is also a jazz and blues vocalist. This led to the first commercial recording of Cassidy, the duet album with Chuck Brown, The Other Side; which featured performances of classic songs such as "Fever", Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" and Cassidy's signature tune "Over the Rainbow". The album was released and distributed by Liaison Records, the label that also released Brown's Go-go albums. The duet CD attracted the attention of various record companies, but the offers all required Cassidy to pigeonhole herself within a single style (e.g., pop or jazz), something she adamantly refused to do.[citation needed]
In 1993 Eva Cassidy was first honored by the Washington area music community when she was awarded two Wammie awards for "Female Vocalist Roots/Traditional R&B" and "Vocalist Jazz/Traditional." The next year she was chosen to perform for the awards ceremony.
In January 1996, Cassidy recorded the album Live at Blues Alley, about which The Washington Post later commented that "she could sing anything and make it sound like the only music that mattered". [1] Cassidy was unhappy with her singing on the album, because she had a bad cold on the night of the recording; she began recording a studio album which was eventually released as Eva by Heart posthumously in 1997.
During a promotional event for the Live at Blues Alley CD in July 1996, Cassidy noticed an ache in her hips, which she attributed to stiffness from painting murals. The pain persisted, and, a few weeks later, Cassidy was diagnosed with melanoma. By the time of her diagnosis, the cancer had spread throughout her body. Cassidy's health rapidly deteriorated, and her final performance was in September 1996. At the performance, she had used a walker to reach the stage, sang "What a Wonderful World" in front of an audience of friends, and was subsequently admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital.[citation needed]
Eva Cassidy died on November 2, 1996, at the age of 33. She was posthumously inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Washington Area Music Association.
5 Wade In The Water
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Wade in the water
Children wade, in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
Who's that yonder dressed in red
Wade in the water
Must be the children that Moses led
God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
Who's that yonder dressed in white
Wade in the water
Must be the children of the Israelites
Oh, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, wade in the water children
Wade in the water,
God's gonna trouble the water
Who's that yonder dressed in blue
Wade in the water
Must be the children that's coming through
God's gonna trouble the water, yeah
Wade in the water, wade in the water children
Wade in the water,
God's gonna trouble the water
You don't believe I've been redeemed
Wade in the water
Just see the Holy Ghost looking for me
God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, wade in the water children
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
The song "Wade In The Water" is a traditional African American spiritual that is said to have originated as a code song for the Underground Railroad. The song encourages people to wade in the water as a way to throw off bloodhounds that were used to track down escaped slaves. The lyrics also reference several biblical stories. The first verse mentions God's troubled water, which is thought to refer to the biblical story of the parting of the Red Sea. The second verse references Moses leading the Israelites to safety through the water. The third verse talks about the children of the Israelites and the final verse mentions redemption and the Holy Ghost.
The repetition of the phrase "Wade in the water" creates a meditative and rhythmic quality to the song that is both calming and empowering. The song reminds its listeners of their connection to God and the power of faith to overcome adversity. By referencing these biblical stories, the song highlights the links between the struggles of the African American slaves and the struggles of the Israelites.
Overall, "Wade In The Water" is a powerful and enduring song that has been sung by many artists throughout history. Its lyrics speak to a universal human experience of struggle, redemption, and faith.
Line by Line Meaning
Wade in the water
Let yourself be immersed in the divine presence
Wade in the water, wade in the water children
Children, follow the path towards spiritual liberation
God's gonna trouble the water
The divine will shake up what needs to change and bring justice
Who's that yonder dressed in red
A symbolic figure representing the liberation of slaves from oppression
Must be the children that Moses led
Referring to the biblical story of the exodus and the escape from bondage
Who's that yonder dressed in white
Another symbol of purity and freedom
Must be the children of the Israelites
Those who carry the legacy of a people's journey towards liberation
Who's that yonder dressed in blue
A new generation coming forth and carrying the torch
Must be the children that's coming through
The hope for a better future lies in the hands of those who come next
You don't believe I've been redeemed
Some may doubt the existence of grace and redemption, but it's real
Just see the Holy Ghost looking for me
The divine is always seeking to uplift and heal, even if we don't see it
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Willie Mae Thornton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind