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.
Somewhere
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We'll find a new way of living
Will find a way of forgiving
Somewhere...
There's a place for us
Somewhere a place for us
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
There's a time for us
Someday there'll time for us
Time together and time to spare
Time to learn, time to care
Someday, somewhere
We'll find a new way of living
Will find there's a way of forgiving
Somewhere...
There's a place for us
A time and place for us
Hold my hand and we're half way there
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow...
Someday, somewhere...
Eva Cassidy's song "Somewhere" is a beautiful and introspective ballad that explores the themes of hope, forgiveness, and unity. The song emphasizes the idea that there is always a chance of redemption, regardless of our past mistakes, and that we have the power as human beings to change and create a better future. The lyrics are uplifting, encouraging us to believe in the possibility of a brighter future, where love and acceptance conquer all.
The first stanza sets the scene for the rest of the song, as it outlines the idea that we will eventually find a new way of living and forgiving. The repetition of the word "somewhere" emphasizes the idea that this place is elusive and perhaps hard to find, but it exists nonetheless. The second stanza expands upon this idea, offering more details about what this place might look and feel like: peace and quiet, open air, and a sense of waiting. The emphasis on time - both together and to spare - points towards the idea that this is a long-term, ongoing process of growth, healing, and learning.
The chorus is where the song's message really hits home. The repetition of the phrase "there's a place for us" communicates a sense of belonging that is central to the human experience. Cassidy's plea to "hold my hand" once again underlines the importance of human connection and support, as we journey towards this better future together. Ultimately, the song's message is one of hope, unity, and the power of human potential. It encourages us to keep striving towards something better, even in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
Someday, somewhere
At some point in the future, in a place yet to be encountered
We'll find a new way of living
We'll discover a fresh perspective on existence
Will find a way of forgiving
We'll learn how to absolve others and ourselves
Somewhere...
In some unknown destination
There's a place for us
There exists a location where we belong
Somewhere a place for us
There's definitely somewhere we can call our own
Peace and quiet and open air
Tranquility, serenity, and a lack of confinement
Wait for us
Be patient, it will come in due course
There's a time for us
All things will come to pass at the appropriate moment
Someday there'll time for us
Eventually, we'll have the time we need
Time together and time to spare
Opportunity to be together and free time to use as we wish
Time to learn, time to care
Time to acquire new knowledge and care for others
Somewhere,
In an unidentified locale
We'll find a new way of living
We'll find an innovative perspective on existence
Will find there's a way of forgiving
We'll come to realize that absolution is feasible
There's a place for us
Where we fit in and are accepted
A time and place for us
The ideal time and location for us
Hold my hand and we're half way there
By holding hands, we have taken a significant step in the right direction
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
I'll help guide you to where we need to go
Somehow...
In some way that isn't clear or obvious
Someday, somewhere...
Eventually, in an unknown place
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Don Strasbaugh
I don’t have this album yet. I just learned that Eva wrote this song. To me it just seems as though she had amazing insight into her future. The more I discover about this genius I truly believe she was an angel in human form. Beyond her voice which has no peers her depth of soul and unending honesty makes her the greatest musician I’ve ever experienced. I’ve been around a long time. Being a musician myself I’ve played with hundreds of great folks and listened to thousands. Eva is not of this world. Her body was as we all know because her earthly body is no longer with us. However her spirit , her soul , her amazing gift for us will remain forever. I so wish during this troubled time here on earth that Eva could be exposed to everyone alive. I feel her beauty, her insight into life’s experiences would bring so many different views together so as to make us once again one people, one love, one life. Someday we can hope for this. We all need Eva’s gift. Someday maybe it will happen. Somewhere!
Eleven
Your comment made me very. We are one, if only we could realise this utter love.
💚 Love for Eva and you and all
Michael Orzolick
Excellent Comment Don Strasbaugh, I found Eva’s Music a year or so ago and in my 66 years of life I’ve never had a better mentor. If the wife of my youth could of been so kind.
CF
Beautiful and well said,
I have two of her CD's - Songbirds, Wonderful world,
I have them about 15yrs I guess,
I am not sorry today,
A voice of an Angel,
R.I.P Eva
Lala Robinson
I couldn't have said it better. She has an indescribable depth. She is definitely one of God's rare gifts to humanity. My first time hearing this particular song. Beautiful
Bridgette Rodriguez
I just discovered her, myself, and I couldn't agree more. Almost all her covers of others' songs take the original piece to another level. Her voice pure, yet carries such emotion. Wow, just wow...
Don Strasbaugh
I just have to comment again. This is just such a look inside of Eva’s feelings. My God this young woman is magnificent. It just brings out so much for me. She touches my soul. Thank you Eva! Thank you so much. 🎺
Ellen Casteel
You do know she died in 1996 from cancer? She "was" magnificent!!
Don Strasbaugh
No one ever felt their music more deeply than Eva. Every song is just an intimate look into her beautiful soul. My God I love this woman’s spirit. Simply the greatest courier of song to ever bless us with her amazing gift. Thank you so much Eva.
Eleven
Didn't she write this one? I love her. Her voice rises virtually higher than hope