I asked Gordon what he thought of Eva Cassidy's cover of this song, in his words, " I think it's the best version I've ever heard. I particularly liked the live version."
My daughter is a huge fan. She was telling me about Eva a few years ago, and said let me play you this song she does really well. So I heard it and kept my mouth shut until the end, then said let me get the original. When she found out it was a Gordon Lightfoot original, she couldn't believe it, because she loves Gordon's songs also, but she wasn't familiar with his earlier material. Good bonding moment for us.
Maybe half a dozen times in my life as an adult, the peace one finds in a song has taken me to that place where one once was, and is felt with the heart and soul of memories gone by, I thought I'd never experience that feeling again. I just did. One of the most beautiful songs ever written, sung by an angel.
Just found out this song today when I had the random music in my Google radio. When I first heard it especially the guitar intro, then it got my attention until the song ends. What a talent, and sad that we lost her so early :(
I have just started on that same journey so you can just imagine my anticipation. Each song of Eva's that I discover is like unwrapping another Christmas gift as a child long long ago. Music is one of the best gifts we can receive and I feel better about myself knowing that I appreciate it so much.
I love you Eva...and now your pain echos the pain in my heart as i lose my young brother to the disease that took you. Not fair that the young and beautiful are taken, that their faces still shine full of life and sparkle. God takes the ones who shine the brightest as they are angels sent to us to remind us of all that is beautiful in this hard world...and that God has to take them home early to teach us that not all is promised and to appreciate each day he gives us... I love you Billyboy....forever xxx
The best leave first, because they've learned what they needed to learn. The gentler get to leave because they aren't fighting what is a smoothly flowing system. The rest of us, fight the idea of death, and surprisingly....., won't win that fight. You will be with your brother again...just don't be surprised if it is nothing like you expected it to be. Existense is a continum, and there isn't a beginning or an end. You and your brother have always existed and you will always exist. Welcome to reality.
Suzanne, So sorry about your brother. I lost my younger brother to cancer also, just short of 10 years ago now. You are SO right that is just not fair. My brother Tom was the one who had it all together and should have had a wonderful future. Cancer sucks! Miss you Tommy!
There aren't many artists with such a beautiful voice that moves me quite like Eva does. I get tears each time I listen, thanks for sharing.. ATB, Damian.
This is a special treasure! As usual, her vocal takes this song to places its never been before.... But I'd never have guessed her established virtuosity with the guitar would also extend to her beautiful bluegrass accompaniment in this number. Then, the photo at 2:00 took my breath away. It captures the depth of her mystical Celtic beauty that resonates perfectly throughout her music. She is a rare and exquisite blessing
Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 - November 2, 1996) was an American singer and musician known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by the 1996 live solo album titled Live at Blues Alley. Although she had been honored by the Washington Area Music Association, she was virtually unknown outside her native Washington, D.C., at the time of her death from melanoma at the age of 33 in 1996. Two years later, Cassidy's music was brought to the attention of British audiences, when her versions of "Fields of Gold" and "Over the Rainbow" were played by Mike Harding and Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response, a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at Blues Alley in Washington by her friend Bryan McCulley, was shown on BBC Two's Top of the Pops 2. Shortly afterwards, the compilation album Songbird climbed to the top of the UK Albums Chart, almost three years after its initial release. The chart success in the United Kingdom and Ireland led to increased recognition worldwide. Her posthumously released recordings, including three number-one albums and one number-one single in the UK, have sold more than ten million copies.[1] Her music has also charted within the top 10 in Australia, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland.[2] In total, nine posthumous albums have been released. The most recent, I Can Only Be Me, a collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra, was released in 2023 and charted at number 9 on the UK album chart.
It's all so sad when you look at her biography. After Cassidy's cancer diagnosis, friends and musicians held a benefit concert in Washington, D.C. in autumn 1996 to raise money for her medical treatment. There, by now seriously ill, she said goodbye to her audience at the end of the performance with What a Wonderful World, one of her beloved standards. A little later, she made the money raised available to other patients.
