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.
Song Bird
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For you the sun will be shining
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's all right I know it's right
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you I love you I love you
To you I would give the world
To you I'd never be cold
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's all right I know it's right
And the songbirds keep singing
Like they know the score
And I love you I love you I love you
Like never before Like never before
Like never before
The lyrics to Eva Cassidy's Song Bird are a beautiful testament to the power of love. Cassidy's soft and gentle voice brings the lyrics to life, as she sings about the joy that comes with being in love. The opening lines of the song, "For you there'll be no crying, For you the sun will be shining" are an assurance to her lover that everything will be alright as long as they are together. The song goes on to say "And the songbirds keep singing, like they know the score," which is a beautiful metaphor for the way that love brings a sense of harmony and tranquility to the world. When we are in love, everything seems to fall into place, and the world becomes a more beautiful and peaceful place.
The next verse of the song speaks of the lengths to which Cassidy would go to keep her lover happy. She says "To you I would give the world, To you I'd never be cold," which are words of complete and utter devotion. There is a sense of selflessness in these lyrics that is truly heartwarming. The song closes with the repeated refrain of "And I love you, I love you, I love you, like never before," which is a beautiful declaration of love that is both simple and powerful.
Line by Line Meaning
For you there'll be no crying
Your presence and our relationship bring me happiness and peace.
For you the sun will be shining
Your presence makes my world a brighter and happier place.
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
Being with you is a comforting and joyful experience for me.
It's all right I know it's right
I am confident and certain about the love we share.
And the songbirds keep singing
Nature itself seems to be aware of our deep love and happiness.
Like they know the score
The songbirds seem to understand and sing along to our love story and express it in their own way.
And I love you I love you I love you
My love for you is intense and present all the times.
To you I would give the world
I am willing to go far beyond my limits to make you happy and fulfill your every desire.
To you I'd never be cold
I will always be warm and loving towards you.
Like never before
The love I feel for you is unprecedented and has never been matched by anyone else.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: LIAM GALLAGHER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@williamkean8679
My wife chose this song to be played at her funeral after battling cancer for two years , I still miss her so much.
@denisecharles1787
I'm so sorry for your loss. God bless you 🙏
@ericastewart8527
It’s a beautiful song. Hope you’re coping ok. You’ll always miss her because you’ll never stop loving her ❤️
@kirstytaylor4094
A beautiful song for a beautiful lady I’m sure ! So very sorry x
@tonycanter6487
Bless you Sir. A very moving song. Be strong and go on. It's what she would of wanted. I can feel your love for each other ❤
@anntaylor2039
I heard Eva Sing this song the first time the week of my best friend's funeral. Trulisa died after a 5yr battle with Inflamatory breast cancer..what an appropriate song for your wife to have chosen. The love is there! Eva died of Cancer also.
@martinbeeharry7543
My daughter has just passed ages 25 years young from breast cancer she sang this song at a song contest and won the talent show took far far too young mum dad family miss you soo soo much my beautiful baby 😢😢xxxxxxxx
@audiechenery4210
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
@anotherlifejunkjournals3209
🥀🌻💝❤
@smcally2251
😢😢❤❤❤