Born in Windsor, Ontario and raised in France and Kelowna, British Columbia, Fellows lived in Toronto, Vancouver, Guelph and Montreal before settling in Winnipeg in 1992.
In 1993, she formed her first group, Helen, with Barry Mirochnick, Paul James, and Chang. Helen broke up in 1995, and in 1996 Fellows teamed up with singer-songwriter Keri McTighe, Barry Mirochnick, Keith McLeod and Peggy Messing, to form Special Fancy. The group released one album, King Me.
In 2000 Fellows released her debut solo album, 2 Little Birds. This was followed by The Last One Standing in 2002, Paper Anniversary in 2005, and Nevertheless in 2007. These albums feature Leanne Zacharias (cello), Jason Tait (drums, vibraphone), Barry Mirochnick (drums, vocals), John K. Samson (vocals, guitar), Keith McLeod (mandolin), Monica Guenter (viola), Greg Smith (bass), Ed Reifel (percussion), and Cristina Zacharias (violin).
Fellows has performed with the Rheostatics, Veda Hille, The Mountain Goats, Kim Barlow, Old Man Luedecke, and The Weakerthans. She is married to The Weakerthans' lead singer, John K. Samson.
In 2006, Fellows and Samson recorded The Old House, an album intended only as a Christmas gift for friends and family, although they released two songs, "Taps Reversed" and "Good Salvage", for airplay on CBC Radio 3 in early 2007. Fellows and Samson also performed live on the network on March 17, 2007, to mark the final night of the network's terrestrial simulcast on CBC Radio 2.
Fellows also composes music for dance, film and television. She scored part of Clive Holden's Trains of Winnipeg film series, as well as collaborating with Tait and Samson on the associated album. In 2007, she wrote several songs for a dance piece by choreographer Susie Burpee; they were later included on her fourth solo album, Nevertheless, which was released on November 6, 2007.
Fellows has also toured as a member of The Pan-Canadian New Folk Ensemble with Kim Barlow and Old Man Luedecke.
Recently, she was artist-in-residence at Le Musee de Saint-Boniface Museum in Winnipeg (2009), and she has been writing songs for a new solo album, scheduled for release on Six Shooter Records in fall of 2010.
Cruel Jim
Christine Fellows Lyrics
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The opening lyrics of Christine Fellows's song "Cruel Jim" set a mysterious, intriguing tone as the singer questions whether the nearby neighbor in their apartment building is "pry[ing] or prey[ing]." The following lines describe the prizefighter's appearance, with his face bearing "a constellation of scars." The singer catches a quick view of his apartment through a partially open door, with sunlight spilling out into the dim hallway. Surprisingly, the interior is painted a soft and soothing shade of robin's-egg blue.
Line by Line Meaning
Pry or prey?
Uncertainty whether the prizefighter is a curious person or a dangerous predator.
Prizefighter lives down the hall.
The prizefighter resides nearby the singer's place of dwelling.
His face I've seen passing on the stairs.
The singer has seen the prizefighter's face while passing him on the staircase.
A constellation of scars.
The prizefighter's face is disfigured with many scars that are quite noticeable.
Catch a glimpse through a sliver of a door spilling sunlight in the gloom.
The artist has briefly looked inside the prizefighter's apartment through a small opening in the door where the vivid sunshine penetrated through the otherwise dim environment.
His apartment, surprisingly, is painted a soft robin's-egg blue.
Unexpectedly, the prizefighter's place of living is colored in a soft and soothing shade of blue often seen on the eggs of a robin bird.
Cruel Jim.
These two words are used to emphasize the name of the prizefighter who likely has earned his title through violent actions and gruesome outcomes.
Contributed by Jack B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.