"Sunny Came Home" is afolk-rock song by American musicianShawn Colvin. It is the opening track on her 1996concept album,A Few Small Repairs, and was sent to Top 40 radio in the US on February 4, 1997,[2] followed by a release as aCD andcassette single later that year on June 24. In the United Kingdom, the song was released in July 1997 but did not chart until a re-release in May 1998.
"Sunny Came Home" was a commercial success, reaching number seven on the USBillboardHot 100 to become Colvin's first entry and first top-10 single on the chart. In Canada, the song peaked at number three, while in Iceland, it reached number 20. The song was also a critical success, winning bothGrammy Award for Record of the Year andSong of the Year and was nominated forBest Female Pop Vocal Performance.
It was the last song to be written, or for me to put lyrics to, on that record. I had already chosen the cover of the record, which was a painting by a dear friend of mine,Julie Speed. And there’s a woman, obviously, with a match. A lit match, and what appears to be a huge fire in the background – in the far, far, background – and I thought, why don’t you write a story about her?
Shawn Colvin was inspired to write the lyrics of "Sunny Came Home" by the painting she had chosen for the album cover, which shows a woman with a lit match in her hand.[3] The song is written in the key ofB minor (with its chorus inD major) incommon time with atempo of 84 beats per minute.[4] Colvin's vocals span from F♯3 to B4 in the song.[5]
"Sunny Came Home" is Colvin'sonly hit, peaking at number seven on theBillboard Hot 100 in the United States and topped theBillboardAdult Contemporary chart for four weeks.[6][7] Colvin's record label did not plan to release the track as a retail single until it became an airplay favorite oncontemporary hit radio as well as adult contemporary and adult alternative radio stations.[citation needed] "Sunny Came Home" also became a major hit in Canada, reaching number three on theRPM Top Singles chart for two weeks and peaking atop theRPM Adult Contemporary chart for three weeks.[8][9] Outside North America, the song became a moderate hit, peaking at number 29 in the United Kingdom, number 44 in Australia and number 90 in Germany.[10][11][12]
^Sunny Came Home (US CD single liner notes).Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1997. 38K 78528.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Sunny Came Home (US cassette single sleeve). Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1997. 38T 78528.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Sunny Came Home (UK CD1 liner notes). Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1997. 664802 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Sunny Came Home (UK CD2 liner notes). Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1997. 664802 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Sunny Came Home (UK cassette single sleeve). Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1997. 664802 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Sunny Came Home (European CD single liner notes). Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1996. COL 664778 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
^Sunny Came Home (Australian CD single liner notes). Shawn Colvin. Columbia Records. 1996. 664699 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
