"Get the kids and/bring a sweater." This is the typical thing a woman in a sexist society/household would/is supposed to do. Sunny doesn't know why-no one controls time, and she' sstill confused abou tall the rapid change. The world used to be very sexist against women, but now it's not as much. Then the chorus is repeated, but it says, ".Days go by/I don't know why." This emphasis the passage of time. She had avengeance-she was getting revenge on sexist men, and sexist people in general, when she "repaired" them. So she had to "fix" them, by hurting them or making them see her view it doesn't really matter what happens to them as long as it goes acording to the story of the song. She thought that those men were really wrong. " 'It's time for a few/small repars,' she said/Sunny came home/with a vengeance." That comment is a negative hyperbole-an understatement. These were sexist men who Sunny aquired a list of. Obviously, the list was a list of men who thought that they transcend women-that they were above women. She didn't believe in transendence-a state where something or something is superior to surpassing, above and beyond, more important than, another. "Sunny came home/with a list of names/she didn't believe/in transcendence." When she came home from the cruel world, she'd developed a list of names-mayb enot physical, but in her mind. Her mind wanders into the fire where she can momentarily relax-everyone is equal. She lets go of her thoughs and wanders "into the fire." The fire symbolizes a place or state of being where nothing matters-all is lost and devoured equally. Sunny might physically close her eyes, but she's imagining she flies out of her mind. " 'I close my eyes/ and fly out of/my mind, into the fire.' " This is very symbollic. If men and women aren't treated equally, then one group will keep rising in power and blocking out the the other one. She's walking on a wire because if she's not perfectly balanced she'll slip and go to on extreme or the other. She's in a trance doing one thing or another. sunny doesn't know what to do as the hypnotizing days go by. "She says, 'Days go by/I'm hypnotized/I'm walking on a wire." Sunny says that the days are hypnotizing her-she's confused, in a daze, which sounds the same as the word "days" used, something I'm sure Shawn Colvin did intentionally. Obviously she'd been someplace else-out in the world learning-so when she came home it was her mssion to stop sexism and help women rise in power they're expected to have at home. But- "She opened a book/and a box of tools/Sunny came home/with a mission." Instead of cooking or cleaning, Sunny started reading a book to be educated, and opened a box of tools to do hard, dirty labor with! What? That's supposed to be a man's job! Or at least it was! She cam ehome with a mission. A woman's place is in the kitchen-this is where she's at "home"-cooking meals and clenaing. "Sunny came home/to her favorite room/Sunny sat down/in the kitchen." Sunny's favorite room is the kitchen, or at least it's supposed to be. There are a lot of symbols and figurative language in the song. The whole song is one giant metaphor in that sense, and all because the actions Sunny do represent something symbolic. Sunny is a woman who represents sexism-the good and the bad. The song is about sexism, and women's place in society. However, I can sue you if you use this analysis and say it's your exact interpretation. By the way, this is my own interpretation, and it's not official or anything, so you can't sue me if Shawn Colvin says that's not what the song is about. However, I never fully thought about the idea until I wrote this analysis. But when I really thoguht about the words, and started writing, I got a totally different idea, which had vaguely been in the back of my mind every time I listened to the song. I think many people think it's about a crazy pyromaniac. "Sunny Came Home" could be interpreted in many different ways. Anyway, enough blabbering, if you like the song, you probably skipped this introduction, anyway. I actually think it's about both, on two different levels, and sort of combined. Generally it's regarded as being about insane pyromaniacs (actually I kinda like that idea, heh, heh!), but it made me think of sexism and discrimination. I got a very different idea from Shawn Colvin's hit than I think most people did. I highly reccomend reading the analysis to anyone who likes this song. Keeping to my promise, I wrote my ananlysis of the song soon after I put up the lyrics.
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