Passavo da un negozio di dischi vicino a casa, quando ancora esistevano, in cerca di consigli saggi. Era uno di quei negozi che non si usano più, quelli abitati da strane creature, non tanto commessi quanto appassionati smodati di musiche varie. Mi si dice che in mondi altri, come il jazz e la classica, ancora allignino in tane polverose queste rare creature piene di passione. Nel mondo che superficialmente definirò “rock” tale specie è stata sostituita per selezione naturale da una meno specializzata, meno gentile e assolutamente indifferente al tipo di materiale che smercia, che sia musica o cotechini.
Ero abituata a chiacchierare con i commessi e a chiedergli “oggi che mi consigli?”, un po’ come si chiede a un bravo barman “fammi un cocktail a tuo piacere”. Un modo come un altro per dire: “sorprendimi!”. Erano posti dove entravi come un naufrago, in cerca di un riparo qualunque dai fortunali quotidiani, e spesso lo trovavi pure. Se c’è una cosa che mi manca del nuovo mondo musicale, diviso tra l’on-line e il centro commerciale, è questa percezione fisica e affettuosa dello scambio. Nostalgica? Solo un po’, solo a volte. Oggi sì.
“Songbird” di Eva Cassidy è legato proprio agli ultimi anni di vita di quel piccolo negozio: è stato uno degli ultimi consigli ricevuti dall’attempato commesso e dalla sua giovane collega che a turno se ne andavano a Londra in cerca di novità succose da presentare ai clienti. Mi presentarono questo disco con un gran sorriso. Dentro, una serie di brani, più o meno noti, da “Fields of gold” di Sting alla celeberrima “Over the rainbow”, passando per brani di Pete Seeger e Curtis Mayfield e “traditional” americani come “Wayfaring stranger”. Tutta gente che mi diceva (e tuttora mi dice) poco… La copertina poi era tremenda, sembrava uno di quegli scarti che trovi in fondo alle ceste degli autogrill, e l’idea di un disco di cover non mi ha mai entusiasmato più di tanto. Insomma, ero un po’scettica. Ma quando ho sentito la voce di Eva, fin dal primo brano, è passato ogni dubbio.
Io che amo le voci sgraziate, la raucedine ispirata, i rantoli da alcolista e i circhi infestati, sono finita in balìa di un angelo.
Americana di Washington, Eva Cassidy morì di melanoma senza mai raggiungere il successo nel 1996 a soli 33 anni. Il mercato musicale se ne accorse quasi per caso nel 2001 grazie a un fitto passaparola tra gli ascoltatori, portandola troppo tardi in vetta alle classifiche (numero 1 in Usa e Inghilterra) con questa raccolta di brani tratti dai suoi vecchi lavori.
Con un immaginario diviso a metà tra il soul e il blues, una voce duttile e cristallina in grado di muoversi liberamente dal jazz al pop al rythm&blues, Eva Cassidy in “Songbird” viene affiancata da musicisti piuttosto ordinari, dal suono nitido ma poco personale. In pratica, fa tutto lei. Ma non importa, c’è qualcosa di unico, in quella voce. Una personalità in grado di rendere proprie anche melodie già sentite mille volte. Un timbro limpido, acqua di sorgente con una lontana sporcatura… un vago retrogusto di terra amara, ma proprio un’ombra lontana, come un antico trauma infantile. Nulla a che fare con la disperata malattia di Janis Joplin o con la soffice sensualità di Sade, al limite un po’ più simile alla Joni Mitchell di “Blue”. Ma qui non ci sono virtuosismi, niente eccessi, niente di niente. Eppure la povera cantante americana mi ha preso con sé, lontano da tutti, e mentre canta con il gospel tradizionale “Wade in the water” mi fa sentire come portata via dalla corrente di un grande fiume. Fa bene e fa male, contemporaneamente.
Mi immagino con lei, a quindici anni, novelle Tom Sawyer e Huck Finn in gonnella, in una campagna limpida mai corrotta dal male di vivere, con un futuro davanti dove, come diceva Guccini, “è ancora tutto da fare e ancora tutto, o quasi tutto, da sbagliare”.
Elenco tracce e testi
01 Fields of Gold (04:44)
You'll remember me when the west wind moves
among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky,
when we walked in fields of gold
So she took her love,
for to gaze awhile,
among the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down
among the fields of gold
Will you stay with me?
Will you be my love
Among the fields of barley?
And you can tell the sun in his jealous sky
when we walked in fields of gold
I never made promises lightly,
and there have been some that i have broken,
but i swear in the days still left
we will walk in fields of gold,
we will walk in fields of gold
(instrumental)
I never made promises lightly,
and there have been some that i have broken,
but i swear in the days still left
we will walk in fields of gold,
we will walk in fields of gold
Many years have passed since those summer days
among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down,
as you lie in fields of gold
You'll remember me when the west wind moves
among the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky
when we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold
02 Wade in the Water (04:04)
"Refrain:
Wade in the Water
Wade in the Water children
Wade in the Water, God's gonna trouble the Water
Who's that young girl dressed in red
Wade in the Water
Must be the Children that Moses led
God's gonna trouble the Water
Refrain
Who's that young girl dressed in white
Wade in the Water
Must be the Children of Israeli
God's gonna trouble the Water
Refrain
Who's that young girl dressed in blue
Wade in the Water
Must be Children that's coming true
God's gonna trouble the Water
Refrain
You don't believe I did begin to wade in the Water
Just see the holy ghost looking for me
God's gonna trouble the Water
Refrain"
03 Autumn Leaves (04:43)
The falling leaves
Drift by my window.
The falling leaves of red and gold.
I see your lips,
the summer kisses,
the sunburned hands i used to hold.
Since you went away
the days grow long
And soon i'll hear old winter song
But i miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
Since you went away
the days grow long
And soon i'll hear old winter song
But i miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
I miss you most of all my darling
When autumn leaves start to fall
04 Wayfaring Stranger (04:28)
Verse 1
I am a poor wayfaring stranger,
While journeying through,
This world of woe,
Yeah, and there's no sickness,
toil nor danger,
In that bright land,
To which i go.
Chorus
I'm going there to see my Father,
I'm going there,
No more to roam,
I'm only go,
Going over jordan,
I'm only go,
Going over home.
Verse 2
I know dark clouds,
Will gather on me,
I no my way,
My way is rough and steep,
Yeah, and beautiful fields,
Lie just before me,
And God's redeemed
Their vigils keep.
Chorus
I'm going there to see my Father,
I'm going there,
No more to roam,
I'm only go,
Going over jordan,
I'm only go,
Going over home.
I'm going there to see my Mother,
I'm going there,
No more to roam,
I'm only go,
Going over jordan,
I'm only go,
Going over home.
Verse 3
I want to wear,
That crown of glory,
When I get home,
To that good land,
Well, I want to shout,
Salvation's story,
In concert with,
All the blood-washed band.
Chorus
I'm going there to see my Saviour,
I'm going there,
No more to roam,
I'm only go,
Going over jordan,
I'm only go,
Going over home,
Well, i'm only go,
Going over home,
Yeah, only....(repeat till fade)....
05 Songbird (03:45)
For you, there'll be no crying
For you, the sun will be shining
'Cause I feel that when I'm with you
It's alright
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
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 alright
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
07 I Know You by Heart (04:01)
Midnights in winter
The glowing fire
Lights up your face in orange and gold
I see your sweet smile
Shine through the darkness
It's line is etched in my memory
So I'd know you by heart
Mornings in april
Sharing the secrets
We'd walk until the morning was gone
We were like children
Laughing for hours
The joy you gave me
Lives on and on
'Cause I know you by heart
I still hear your voice
On warm summer nights
Whispering like the wind
ohhh, ohhhh, ohhhhh, ohhhh
You left in autumn
The leaves were turning
I walked down roads of orange and gold
I saw your sweet smile
I heard your laughter
You're still here beside me
Everyday
'Cause I know you by heart
'Cause I know you by heart
08 People Get Ready (03:18)
People get ready
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear diesels a-humming
You don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
Yeah yeah yeah
People get ready
For the train to Jordan
Picking up passengers
From coast to coast
Faith is the key
Open the doors and board them
There's room for all
Among the loved and lost
Now there ain't no room
For the hopeless sinner
Whose hard on mankind
Just to save his own
Have pity on those
Whose chances are thinner
Cause there's no hiding place
From the Kingdom's Throne
Oh, people get ready
There's a train a-coming
You don't need no baggage
You just get on board
All you need is faith
To hear diesels a-humming
You don't need no ticket
You just thank the Lord
Yeah yeah yeah
I'm getting ready
I'm ready yeah yeah yeah
Oh I'm getting ready
I'm ready yeah
09 Oh, Had I a Golden Thread (04:51)
Oh, had I a golden thread
And a needle so fine
I would weave a magic spell
Of a rainbow design
Of a rainbow design
In it I would weave the courage
Of women giving birth
And in it I would weave the innocence
Of the children of all the earth
Children of all the earth
I want to show my brothers and sisters
My rainbow design
Cause I would bind up this sorry world
With hand and heart and mind
Oh, hand and heart and mind
Oh, had I a golden thread
And a needle so fine
I would weave a magic spell
Of a rainbow design
Of a rainbow design
10 Over the Rainbow (04:59)
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
In the land that I heard of once, once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true.
Someday I'll wish upon a star,
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.
(instrumental)
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.
Somewhere over the rainbow blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow why then, oh why can't I?
If happy little blue birds fly across the rainbow
Why oh why can't I?
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