After several days of shenanigans at the RNC—sanitary pad on the ear and a vulture capitalist VP pick among them—I’m feeling the need for something cleansing. Something pure. Something Eva.
So I’ve chosen her acoustic take on “Wade in
the Water”.
“Wade in the Water” is a jubilee song, an
African American spiritual originating in slavery and collected and sung by the
Fisk University Jubilee Singers in the early years of the 20th
Century. A lot of those songs were about getting through terrible times by
holding out hope for deliverance and salvation.
Not sure, but the first time I heard it might
have been Bernice Johnson Reagon, founder of Sweet Honey in the Rock, singing
it in a class she taught at American University. And here’s that amazing
group singing it, if you’re interested.
At times like these, I turn to music and art to help me through, because it’s frankly overwhelming. Eva Cassidy’s warm, powerful and steady voice is what I need today.
©2024 Bas Bleu
No comments:
Post a Comment