Eva Cassidy - Over the Rainbow (A Song about Marriage)

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On June 26, 2015, the United States became the twenty-first and most populous country to recognize same-sex marriage, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges. The court ruled that the denial of marriage licenses to same-sex couples violates the equal protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Starting in 2003, various lower court decisions, state legislation, and popular referendums had already legalized same-sex marriage to some degree in thirty-seven out of fifty U.S. states, in one U.S. territory, and in the District of Columbia. Federal benefits were previously extended to lawfully married same-sex couples following the Supreme Court's June 2013 decision in United States v. Windsor.


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 you 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

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
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

If happy little bluebirds fly
Beyond the rainbow
Why, oh why, can't I

Eva Marie Cassidy was an American singer-songwriter and artist, known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, The Other Side, a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, Live at Blues Alley in 1996. Cassidy was virtually unknown outside her native Washington, DC when she died of melanoma in 1996.

Four years later, Cassidy's music was brought to the attention of British audiences when her versions of "Over the Rainbow" and "Fields of Gold" were played by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at the Blues Alley, was shown on BBC Two's Top of the Pops 2. Shortly after, the compilation album Songbird, climbed to the top of the UK Albums Charts, almost three years after its initial release. The chart success in the United Kingdom led to increased recognition worldwide; as of 2008 her posthumously released recordings, including three UK #1s, have sold around eight million copies. Her music has also charted top 10 positions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

In 1986, Cassidy was asked by Stonehenge guitarist and high school friend, David Lourim, to lend her voice to his music project, Method Actor. This brought her to Black Pond Studios, where she met bassist and recording engineer Chris Biondo. Biondo helped her find work as a session singer and later introduced her to Al Dale, who would become her manager. She sang back-ups for various acts from go-go rhythm and blues band Experience Unlimited to rapper E-40. Biondo and Cassidy, who were in a romantic relationship for a time, formed the five-piece "Eva Cassidy Band" with Lenny Williams, Keith Grimes and Raice McLeod in 1990. They began to perform frequently in the Washington area.

"Over the Rainbow"
One of the changes Cassidy made to "Over the Rainbow" includes singing the opening word "somewhere" on the same high A flat, rather than with an octave jump of the Judy Garland version.