Colvin has pared down her songs, tightening melodies and dropping most of the groaners.

V I g m 7 ( b 5 ) A G f m e m b m G sus 2 sus 4 G notes and lyrics. Songwriting is a process of subtraction as well as creation over the last decade, Ms. Chords, melody, and music theory analysis of Sunny Came Home by Shawn Colvin. chord variants implied by vibes Intro (drum roll) Verse 1 (bass only on first line) Em7 G9 Cmaj7 Fm7 B7 Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain Em7 G9 Cmaj7 Fm7 B7 Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain Em7 G9 Now the dark days are done and the bright days are near Cmaj7 F9 My sunny one shines so sincere F7sus4. But as a songwriter, her musical debts to Joni Mitchell, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon and others were obvious in her lyrics, she emoted over cliches and had a post-collegiate penchant for dropping book titles. Colvin released her first album in 1989, she already had the supple, slightly weathered voice, the guitar finesse and the amiable stage presence that turned clubgoers into fans.

After winning two top 1997 Grammy Awards for her song ''Sunny Came Home,'' about an unhappy wife with visions of arson, she is touring as a solo performer. Others improve as they go, and Shawn Colvin, who performed at Irving Plaza on Thursday night, is one of them. Some songwriters seem to emerge fully formed, with a gift for distilling stories and emotions into a few words and a shapely melody.

Lyrics to sunny came home