True Colors (2003) – Eva Cassidy (Cyndi Lauper Song)

The late Eva Cassidy is one of my favourite female singers and has featured here prominently. There are few other voices I have heard that sound as pure and angelic as hers. It’s a real pity Eva didn’t see musical success or fame during her lifetime, as she tragically passed away at just 33 from melanoma. She was largely unknown outside her native Washington, D.C., even though she was already a remarkable singer.

The phrase “what might have been” is often overused, but in Eva Cassidy’s case it feels entirely justified. It is hard not to wonder how large her place in contemporary music history might have been had she lived longer. When her music was released more widely after her death, it received an overwhelming response and was widely talked about around the world. Her songs began appearing in films and received significant radio play.

Many of Eva’s best-known songs are covers, and that’s the case with her version of True Colors, originally by Cyndi Lauper. It’s the second Cyndi Lauper song to appear here from Eva after her live rendition of Time After Time. Other recordings by her which I adore are Over the Rainbow, Songbird (Fleetwood Mac), and Kathy’s Song (Paul Simon). True Colors is also a live recording, released on the album American Tune in 2003, seven years after her death.

Wikipedia:
American Tune is an album of rehearsal tapes and live recordings. It was her second album of mainly live material and her third posthumous album. American Tune spent five weeks on the U.S. Billboard Top 200, and was a UK number one album.

[Verse 1]
You with the sad eyes
Don’t be discouraged
Though I realize
It’s hard to take courage
In a world full of people
You can lose sight of it all
And the darkness there inside you
Makes you feel so small

[Chorus]
But I see your true colors
Shining through
See your true colors
That’s why I love you
So don’t be afraid to let them show
Your true colors
True colors are beautiful
Like a rainbow

[Verse 2]
Show me a smile then
And don’t be unhappy
Can’t remember when
I last saw you laughing
If this world makes you crazy
And you’ve taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I’ll be there

[Interlude]
Can’t remember when I last saw you laugh

[Refrain]
If this world makes you crazy
You’ve taken all you can bear
You call me up
Because you know I’ll be there

References:
1. American Tune (album) – Wikipedia

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“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand