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.
People Get Ready
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear diesels humming
You don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
Yeah yeah yeah
People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's room for all
Among the loved and lost
Now there ain't no room
For the hopeless sinner
Whom would hurt all mankind
Just to save his own
Have pity on those
Whose chances are thinner
'Cause there's no hiding place
From the Kingdom's throne
Ohh people get ready
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear diesels a- humming
You don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
Yeah yeah yeah
I'm getting ready
I - I'm ready yeah yeah yeah
Oh I'm getting ready oh - oh
I'm ready yeah
Eva Cassidy's song "People Get Ready" is a powerful gospel tune that urges people to prepare themselves for judgment day, for the coming of a train to Jordan that will take the righteous to the Kingdom's throne. The lyrics suggest that all one needs to be saved is faith and good deeds, not material possessions or social status. The train represents a chance for redemption and salvation. The song also speaks to the idea of inclusiveness, emphasizing that there is room for everyone on board, regardless of their background, provided they have faith in God.
The lyrics also suggest that not everyone will make it on board, that those who are selfish and hurtful will be left behind. The song warns that there is no hiding place from the Kingdom's throne, meaning that one's deeds will be judged and that there is no escape from the consequences of one's actions. The song underscores the idea that faith and good deeds are the keys to eternal salvation, and urges people to ready themselves for the train to Jordan.
Overall, "People Get Ready" is a song that combines powerful vocals with a profound spiritual message, calling on people to live a life of faith, hope, and love in order to be saved. It is a timeless piece of music that continues to inspire people with its message of inclusiveness and salvation.
Line by Line Meaning
People get ready
Get prepared, get ready for the upcoming events
There's a train a-coming
An upcoming event is like a train that is approaching
You don't need no baggage
You don't need to carry any burdens with you for the upcoming event
You just get on board
You just need to participate and join in the upcoming event
All you need is faith
Believe and have confidence in the upcoming event
To hear diesels humming
To witness the wonders and delights of the upcoming event
You don't need no ticket
You don't need to pay anything to participate in the upcoming event
You just thank the Lord
Be grateful for the opportunity to participate in the upcoming event
People get ready
Get prepared, get ready for the upcoming events
For the train to Jordan
For the upcoming event, which is like a journey to a promised land
Picking up passengers
People from different places and backgrounds will participate in the upcoming event
From coast to coast
People from different regions will join the upcoming event
Faith is the key
Having faith is essential to participate and enjoy the upcoming event
Open the doors and board them
Be accepting and welcoming to all participants of the upcoming event
There's room for all
Everyone is welcome to participate in the upcoming event and there is room for everyone
Among the loved and lost
Everyone is equal in the upcoming event, no matter their background or social status
Now there ain't no room
There is no space for
For the hopeless sinner
People who have given up hope or made mistakes
Whom would hurt all mankind
People who would hurt others for their own benefit
Just to save his own
To benefit yourself at the expense of others
Have pity on those
Show compassion and empathy towards those who are struggling to participate in the upcoming event
Whose chances are thinner
Those who have fewer opportunities or resources to participate in the upcoming event
'Cause there's no hiding place
There is no escape or place to hide from the impending event
From the Kingdom's throne
From the judgment or authority of a higher power or being
Ohh people get ready
Get prepared, get ready for the upcoming events
I'm getting ready
I am preparing myself for the upcoming events
I - I'm ready yeah yeah yeah
I am excited and eager to participate in the upcoming events
Oh I'm getting ready oh - oh
I am actively preparing myself for the upcoming events
I'm ready yeah
I am well-prepared and excited to participate in the upcoming events
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Curtis Mayfield
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Grace Faith Saved
People get ready
There's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels hummin'
You don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
So people get ready
There'a a train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
Coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's hope for all
Among those loved the most
There ain't no room
For the hopeless sinner
Who would hurt all mankind
Just to save his own
Have pity on those whose
Chances grow thinner
There's no hiding place
Against the Kingdom's throne
So people get ready
There's a train a comin'
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear the diesels hummin'
Don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord.
Grey Jay
In a world overrun with pretenders, Eva was the real thing. A voice still unmatched, and an amazing woman. We miss you, Eva.
Laura Dehelian
Only the good die young, eh?
Jeremy Crandall
No disrespect intended to Chrissie Hynde, I’m sure.😊
Laura Dehelian
@Jeremy Crandall Absolutely!
NIX
Miss her always
吴 國雄
@Laura Dehelian Good Guys always die young😭
Kenny Askew
My mom is in the final stages of home hospice. She is ready for the train . This beautiful song is my comfort.
Chained Minds Asylum
The greatest female singer I ever heard ❤️🥀💙🌹💜🌻💚🌷💛💐🧡
Mark Kubiak
Iv heard so many, but none of them as gifted as Eva.
David Franklin
I find myself watching her videos over and over. The fact that very few people knew her while she was alive still puzzles me. Rest in peace Eva.