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.
The Waiting Is Over
Eva Cassidy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waited to hear a reply
I wanted to know
What the future would hold
Would I spend my life looking for you
The waiting is over today
The waiting is over forever
I noticed a feeling awake in my heart
The moment my eyes turned to you
A warmth in my soul
That slowly took hold
The power of love takes control
The waiting is over today
The waiting is over forever
As I turned away I noticed a smile
A joyous gleam in your eye
I headed out laughing
You by my side
Together the rest of our life
Oh the waiting is over today
Yeah the waiting is over for ever
The waiting is over today
The waiting is over
The lyrics of the song “The Waiting is Over” by Eva Cassidy tell the story of someone who was looking for love and clarity about their future. The singer is hoping to find someone special and wondering what the future will bring. They ask the sky for answers but do not receive any response until they meet their love interest. The singer finds in their eyes and heart a feeling of warmth and a sense of control that was missing before. The song concludes with the singer realizing that the waiting is over and they finally found what they were looking for.
The song conveys a universal theme of searching for love and belonging. The opening stanza paints a picture of a protagonist in search of answers about their future, hoping to find someone special. The use of the phrase “looked to the sky” suggests a sense of deep desire and that one is praying for something important. The chorus is the key message of the song and it indicates that the waiting is over, as the singer has found what they were looking for. The final stanza describes the singer’s feelings of being at ease and finding joy with a new partner.
Line by Line Meaning
I asked a question looked to the sky
I had a question in mind and I looked up to the sky, hoping to receive an answer.
Waited to hear a reply
I waited patiently with a glimmer of hope to hear the answer that would help me move forward.
I wanted to know
I had an intense desire to uncover the truth about what my life would look like in the future.
What the future would hold
I was uncertain about what was in store for me in the future and longed for some guidance.
Would I spend my life looking for you
I wondered if my destiny would entail an eternal quest for someone special.
The waiting is over today
Finally, the long wait for an answer has come to an end and I can move on with my life.
The waiting is over forever
This momentous answer is one that I will never have to wait for again.
I noticed a feeling awake in my heart
As my question is answered, I can sense a new intensity of emotions starting to grow within me.
The moment my eyes turned to you
At that very instant, when I redirected my attention, everything changed.
A warmth in my soul
I feel an inner glow and an overwhelming sense of contentment that I have never experienced before.
That slowly took hold
These feelings of warmth, love and affection continue to expand and extend into every aspect of my life.
The power of love takes control
This force of attraction and devotion is so strong that it takes over my thoughts, actions and decisions.
As I turned away I noticed a smile
As I turn away from the answer I had been seeking, I notice the happiness and optimism reflected back at me.
A joyous gleam in your eye
Your excitement and eagerness at being there with me is apparent in your sparkling eyes.
I headed out laughing
As we move forward together, we embrace the journey ahead with a positive and light-hearted attitude.
You by my side
I feel comforted and strengthened by the support and presence of my partner by my side.
Together the rest of our life
We move forward into the future with the certainty that we will be united in our love and happiness forever.
Oh the waiting is over today
I can't express enough how relieved and grateful I am that the waiting is finally over today!
Yeah the waiting is over for ever
This is such a significant moment that it would be impossible to ever go back to the waiting again.
The waiting is over today
I rejoice in the fact that the question I had is finally answered and I have a new sense of purpose in my life.
The waiting is over
This refrain conveys the message that the waiting is now a thing of the past and this newfound joy is here to stay.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@laurencecahill2329
You would think a song that has been covered a hundred times couldn’t be redefined— but she does it, utterly transforms it— this version is unique and unparalleled. ❤️
@user-bg2cs6rw8c
I wish there was a “Love a million times” button! God she was fabulous!
@johannesk1855
Eva is the first person I'm gonna look up in heaven just to thank her for this performance.
@pphantom538
It's been 1 year since my wife passed. Autumn was her favorite time for us to take walk through the forest just holding hands. Eva's beautiful and emotional interpretation of the lyrics brings comforting memories. May your both rest in peace.
@SigMaQuint
I can guess this means something very special to you, then.
@kittybitts567
God bless her soul. May she rest in peace. May perpetual light shine upon her. May her good and gentle soul through the Mercy of God rest in peace in Jesus' Holy Name, Amen. God bless and give you peace and solace. Amen.
@circlekings
❤
@mark9835
My Carol Ann went home in 2011. This song and Eva's enchanting voice bring tears of longing for my darling Carol.
@DavidMiller-yn1ig
BEAUTIFUL PRAYER
@pmbrig
Autumn Leaves is a jazz standard, covered by countless musicians and singers. So often it's done in an up-tempo swing style. Eva's rendition is soul-wrenching in its expression of love and loss. It immediately made me realize that no one has ever performed this the way it needed to be performed — this is what the song is really about, and it should always be done like this.
And it should be mentioned that the piano interlude is brilliant in the shape of its line, its reworking of the melody, its building to successive high points — a perfect complement to Eva's impeccable voice and arrangement.
This is truly a perfect performance. You could not change a note of it.