Last week’s chain featured Sam Outlaw, who was christened Sam Morgan, and hails from Aberdeen, South Dakota, a state which is also the birthplace of singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin who was born some 250 miles further south in the town of Vermillion.
Probably the song she is most famous for is ‘Sunny Came Home’, a tale of an inmate released back into the world but who returned home with only vengeance on her mind as she proceeds to burn down the homes of her enemies. From the album ‘A Few Small Repairs’, it’s one of a number of tracks that fall into the category of story songs and the jaunty melody belies the dark lyrics (which Colvin has referred to as a “murder ballad”) and you have to wonder how many listeners truly listened to or understood the words behind this effort. ‘Sunny Came Home’ was a 1998 Grammy Award winner for Song of the Year as well Record of the Year and some of you may remember that her presentation was interrupted by the rapper, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, who protested that Puff Daddy beat his group Wu-Tan Clan for best rap album that year.
