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Early Morning Rain
Eva Cassidy Lyrics


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In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
And an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home and I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain with no place to go

Out on runway number nine big seven-o-seven set to go
But I'm stuck here on the ground where the cold winds blow
You can't jump on a jet plane like you can a freight train
So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain

Hear the mighty engines roar see the silver bird on high
She's away and westward bound far above my home she'll fly
Where the morning rain don't fall and the sun always shines
She'll be flying next my home in about three hours time

In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
And an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home and I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain with no place to go
In the early morning rain with no place to go

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Eva Cassidy's song "Early Morning Rain" captures the emotions of a person who is stranded and alone at an airport with no place to go. The opening lines of the song paint a vivid picture of a person with a dollar in their hand, an aching heart, and pockets full of sand, suggesting that they are destitute and helpless. The lines also convey homesickness through the person's yearning for their loved ones who are far away.


The second verse introduces a different mood as the persona watches a "big seven-o-seven" airplane rev its engines, preparing for takeoff. Here, it is noticeable that this is an early morning flight as the persona points out that the morning rain is falling. The persona's feeling of stuckness is conveyed by their inability to jump on the plane, similar to how they could jump onto a freight train. As a result, they resign themselves to leave on their own, even though they have no place to go.


The last verse is somewhat optimistic, as the persona watches the departure of the airplane, noting its destination will be above their home in about three hours' time. The persona returns to their original state, with no clear path forward and nothing but longing for what they left behind. In all, "Early Morning Rain" is an emotional story of loss and alienation, reflecting how people can be stranded in unfamiliar environments.


Line by Line Meaning

In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
I find myself stranded in the early morning with only one dollar in my possession.


And an aching in my heart and my pockets full of sand
My heart hurts from being far away from loved ones and my pockets are weighed down with useless sand.


I'm a long way from home and I miss my loved ones so
Being far from home is difficult and I yearn for the company of those I love.


In the early morning rain with no place to go
I have no destination in mind and nowhere to turn to.


Out on runway number nine big seven-o-seven set to go
A large plane sits on the runway, ready for takeoff.


But I'm stuck here on the ground where the cold winds blow
I am forced to remain grounded in the cold, unforgiving weather.


You can't jump on a jet plane like you can a freight train
It is not easy to travel by plane as it is by train.


So I'd best be on my way in the early morning rain
I must leave soon, even in undesirable conditions.


Hear the mighty engines roar see the silver bird on high
The powerful sound of the engines can be heard as the silver plane takes flight.


She's away and westward bound far above my home she'll fly
The plane will head west and soar high above my home.


Where the morning rain don't fall and the sun always shines
The destination is a place where it never rains and the sun always shines.


She'll be flying next my home in about three hours time
In just a few hours, the plane will fly over my home.


In the early morning rain with no place to go
I am still stuck with nowhere to go and the rain continues to fall.




Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gordon Lightfoot

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@quill444

@dnmurphy48 I'm not a musician nor am I a singer, and Lord Knows I cannot sing even a single note (on key, anyway), but I find Eva Cassidy's voice to be enchanting. As an engineer, I do understand mathematics and harmonics and just a little bit about Jazz and Blues musical notes and scales, and upon first hearing her, I believed that this woman, Eva Cassidy, indeed had a very special voice.

I understand your reaction, in that there are cases in which an artist or musician dies young, or tragically (or both!), and in so doing, seemingly becomes famous. In my own case, I adored Eva Cassidy's voice when I first heard it, and it was over a few years later that she died, at only age thirty-three. And when she died, it was during an autumn in which I was age thirty-eight and in the midst of dealing with the end of a long-distance, whirlwind of a relationship, amidst my own health problems that have existed since I was a teenager, and continue to this day such that, as I look back now at age sixty-three, I think I knew even at the time it would (probably) be my last relationship. I did not 'discover' her after she died, but did her tragic end increase my adoration and appreciation of her voice? I'm guilty as charged, I suppose.

Therefore, while I did actually hear and love her voice in what was to be the last few years of her life, before I even knew she was ill, it would be easy for anyone to categorize me as being part of that crowd that only purchases the recording AFTER the tragedy of her early death. But I assure you, I discovered her voice BEFORE the sadness of her early death, and before National Public Radio (Stateside) and BBC-2 (in the UK) and the "Songbird" release (which occurred nearly a full year-and-a-half after she died) later made her "famous."

Upon first hearing Cassidy, it took me a while to sense Eva's vocal range and her capability, which she almost seemed to keep deeply hidden, and at first I wasn't even sure whether she was a soprano who could 'dig deep' into the contralto range, or whether she was a mezzo soprano who could occasionally reach both 'up' and 'down' and occasionally do so as necessary. Again, I am not a musician!

But it is not her range or classification that gives Cassidy her beautiful sound: I think it is her ability to find those 'in-between' notes, those often-magical frequencies that lie at a special place in what I might call 'within the interstices' of the notes that typically make up usual musical scale. Cassidy also possesses a powerful control over her breathing, and at times, when you are certain she should take another breath, out comes six or seven more notes and another whole verse of music. I don't even know what the musical term is for this, but not many singers have this extra lung power. Also very characteristic I think is the way Eva takes a familiar song and breaks up the syllables in her own unique way, with some use of what I believe is called "rubato," and yet it's this and something more.

Other singers who excel at this are Diana Krall, a popular Jazz Singer, as well as Erika Lewis, a phenomenal singer in the New Orleans Jazz Band, "Tuba Skinny." I think this vocal technique was also very well exemplified and used by the late J. J. Cale, as you could never tell how he might dissect or "chop up" the syllables of a verse in classic songs of his such as "After Midnight" or "Call Me the Breeze," and it seemed as though you never knew just when he might begin and end singing each word of each line in a song (even the band members often seemed surprised); but in the end, all of the vocal start-and-stop sequences and timings seem to allow the singer to finally arrive and to do so just in and on time!

And I am guessing that, possibly among other things, these are maybe just a few of the things others like myself are hearing, and why we like these singers so much; and yet maybe you aren't hearing these things or you hear them and don't find them quite as mesmerizing as we do. And that's okay, but I would implore you to give her voice a bit more of a chance to reach through to you.

The exquisite Eva Cassidy sings what I think is the "definitive version" (at least in English) of Autumn Leaves (English Lyrics by Johnny Mercer and Music by Joseph Kosma) which is probably more Jazz than Blues . . . https://youtu.be/xXBNlApwh0c and if Jazz of this nature is to your liking, also perhaps try Diana Krall. Also, before you give up on Eva, listen to her rendition of "Over the Rainbow" a few times, https://youtu.be/2rd8VktT8xY and see if it doesn't move you. I am confident that it will, if you allow it to do so: it may take three or four honest attempts on your part, so give it a try, and see what you think. - j q t -



@ameliasmith2492

Chorus:
In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
And an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home
And I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain
With no place to go

Out on runway number 9
Big 77 set to go
But I'm stuck here on the ground
Where the cold winds blow
Your can't jump a jet plane like you can a freight train
So I best be on my way in the early morning rain

Hear her mighty engines roar
See the silver bird on high
She's away and westward bound far above my home she'll fly
Where the morning rain don't fall
And the sun always shines
She'll be flying past my home
In about 3 hours time

In the early morning rain with a dollar in my hand
And an aching in my heart
And my pockets full of sand
I'm a long way from home
And I miss my loved ones so
In the early morning rain
With no place to go



All comments from YouTube:

@moonshadow3946

Eva Cassidy has the most beautiful and captivating voice that I have ever heard. Her interpretation of various songs was both phenomenal and beautiful. She left us far too soon. Thank you to Eva's parents who have been kind enough to share her music and her beautiful voice with us.❤️💐⭐

@angyt1070

Agreed❤

@jeffsilverman6104

If there was ever anything sweeter than the sound of Eva Cassidy's voice, God kept it for himself.

@petestronach4949

jeff silverman what a great sentence.

@yifanwang7136

What a beautiful way to put it

@herimminencethesupremeoneg2523

There is no "himself," in speaks of GOD. I have never been selfish to keep sweeter things for MYSELF.

@philipevans1897

Amen! I'm crying and loving every minute of it.

@t.l.duncan1021

amen

6 More Replies...

@marikesl

R.I.P. Eva Cassidy and Gordon Lightfoot!😢🙏

@stevestoecklein8806

This is one of the greatest songs that Lightfoot ever crafted, and he did so many, I am discovering Eva Cassidy for the first time and I am absolutely floored that it took me over 20 years from her passing to discover her, I will cherish her body of work from this day until my days end, a true moment of enlightenment and clarity and thanks to my wife Donna

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