Mr. Shawn Colvin

By

The new Shawn Colvin CD came out this week, much to my surprise. I giddily snapped up a copy and listened to it twice (so far).

Someday, I’m going to marry her.

shawncolvin.jpgI’ve been in love with Shawn for more than a decade. She used to be this touring troubadour from South Dakota that no one ever heard of.

Then she won a couple of Grammys in 1997 for the single “Sunny Came Home” and everyone knew her. For a while, anyway.

(She had won previously, but no one noticed.)

Now she’s starting over with another label, and a mostly new album in “These Four Walls.”

What drew me to her music was this bright-dark combo of pop and folk. It was intimate, it was upbeat, it was stirring.

I started with “Fat City,” then began to track down her previous discs. And I’ve been adding to the collection just as fast as she puts them out.

When I interviewed her in 2001, she talked about competing in triathlons and embarking on motherhood. She didn’t mention a relapse of depression, and even my fan-driven research didn’t uncover this hidden illness.

She talks openly about her 22-year battle with depression these days, along with her career twists and turning 50. As always, I am taken by her frankness, her toughness, her lyricism.

I’ve seen her perform live a few times, though I’m not sure I’ll get a chance during this tour.

Even so, I’ll be absorbing the new tunes for awhile, savoring the lilting melodies. It’s rare I get excited about a new disc, but I still follow a few artists with a passion.

Someday, I’m going to marry Shawn Colvin. Then I’ll be the one singing.

Share

About this entry