Following Adamson's death in 2001, the band reformed in 2007, with the surviving members. Between 2010 and 2013, the band reformed with Mike Peters of The Alarm on lead vocals. Since then the band has continued with only two of the original members (Watson and Brzezicki).
Big Country's first single was "Harvest Home", recorded and released in 1982. It was a modest success, although it did not reach the UK Singles Chart. Their next single was 1983's "Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)", which reached the UK's Top Ten and was followed by the album The Crossing. The album was a hit in the United States (reaching the Top 20 in the Billboard 200), powered by "In a Big Country", their only US Top 40 single.
Stuart Adamson was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii on 16 December 2001, having been believed to have died by suicide.
On 24 May 2024 the band announced that singer Tommie Paxton would being "helping them out" for the year. Paxton is guitar player and singer with the Big Country tribute band Restless Natives.
Harvest Home
Big Country Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who broke the ploughman's bread?
Who heard the winter calling?
Who wore the tailor's thread?
How many sheaves were counted?
How did the carriage shine?
How many thoughts were doubted?
Just as you sow you shall reap
Who led the mayday feasting?
Who saw the harvest home?
Who left the future wasting?
Who watched the families go?
See where the bowls are empty
See where the arms reach
See where the butter melted
See where the altars creak
Where were the days of promise?
Where were the gifts divine?
Where were the heroes honest?
Where was the summer wine?
Watch how the waves must shatter
Watch how the shore divides
Watch how the nets will tatter
Watch Canute and his bride
The lyrics to Big Country's song Harvest Home present a series of thought-provoking questions that prompt the listener to think critically about the harsh realities of rural life in times past. The song asks who saw the fences falling and who broke the ploughman's bread, which could suggest that the singer is reflecting on societal changes that have affected rural life. The next lines ask who heard the winter calling and who wore the tailor's thread, which could represent the struggles of farmers, particularly in harsh winters, and the work of skilled craftsmen.
The song goes on to ask how many sheaves were counted and how did the carriage shine, possibly referencing the importance of harvest and the wealth and status that were associated with it. The lyrics continue to pose thought-provoking questions such as how many thoughts were doubted and how did the landlord dine. The repeated line "Just as you sow you shall reap" serves to reinforce the idea that the hardships faced by farmers were often the result of their own actions, highlighting the cyclical nature of agrarian life. The final lines of the song reference the sea and the shore, and Canute and his bride, which could be interpreted as a comment on the fleeting nature of life and the inevitability of change.
Line by Line Meaning
Who saw the fences falling?
Who witnessed the breakdown of boundaries?
Who broke the ploughman's bread?
Who was responsible for feeding the workers?
Who heard the winter calling?
Who recognized the coming of hard times?
Who wore the tailor's thread?
Who dressed up to hide their poverty?
How many sheaves were counted?
How much work and effort went into the harvest?
How did the carriage shine?
What luxury goods did the landowners enjoy?
How many thoughts were doubted?
How much uncertainty plagued the minds of the poor?
How did the landlord dine?
What privileges did the wealthy landlords have?
Just as you sow you shall reap
Your actions will have consequences.
Who led the mayday feasting?
Who organized and participated in the celebration of spring?
Who saw the harvest home?
Who witnessed the completion of a season's hard work?
Who left the future wasting?
Who neglected investing in the future?
Who watched the families go?
Who saw people leave due to lack of opportunity?
See where the bowls are empty
Notice the scarcity of food.
See where the arms reach
Recognize the desperation and need for help.
See where the butter melted
Observe the loss of valuable resources.
See where the altars creak
Witness the struggle and hardship of religious communities.
Where were the days of promise?
What happened to the hopes of a better future?
Where were the gifts divine?
What happened to the blessings and favors of fate?
Where were the heroes honest?
What happened to the virtuous and noble people?
Where was the summer wine?
What happened to the pleasures of life?
Watch how the waves must shatter
Observe the breaking of natural forces against the vulnerable shore.
Watch how the shore divides
Notice how land and sea are separate and opposed.
Watch how the nets will tatter
See how the hard work of fishermen can be easily destroyed.
Watch Canute and his bride
Witness the futility of trying to control the uncontrollable.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: STUART ADAMSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Philip Kassabian
on In a Big Country
An absolutely classic song by Squeeze.
Kanno Yoichi
on In A Big Country
I never saw you look like this without a reason
Another promise fallen through, another season passes by you
君をわけもなくこんな風に見つめた事なんてなかった
また約束が反故にされたまま、新しい季節が君のそばを過ぎていく
I never took the smile away from anybody's face
And that's a desperate way to look for someone who is still a child
誰かの顔から微笑を奪ったことなんてなかった
それはまだ子供のような純真さを求めて無我夢中だっただけさ
CHORUS:
In a big country dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive
この広大な大地では、夢は君とともにあるんだ
山の斜面を燃やし続ける恋人の声のように
どうかここで生き続けてほしい
I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert
But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime
こんな砂漠の地では花が育つなんて期待してないよ
でもオレは生きて、息をして、冬のこんな季節にも太陽を浴びている
And in a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice, fires the mountainside
Stay alive
この広大な大地では、夢は君とともにあるんだ
山の斜面を燃やし続ける恋人の声のように
どうかここで生き続けてほしい
I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered
But you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered
痛みと真実こそが今の君には本当に必要なこと
でも君がいくつもの小さな希望を持ち続けられなければ、ここで生きてはいけないよ
I'm not expecting to grow flowers in the desert
But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime
こんな砂漠の地では花が育つなんて期待してないよ
でもオレは生きて、息をして、冬のこんな季節にも太陽を浴びている
And in a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice, fires the mountainside
Stay alive
And in a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice, fires the mountainside
Stay alive
この広大な大地では、夢は君とともにあるんだ
山の斜面を燃やし続ける恋人の声のように
どうかここで生き続けてほしい
この広大な大地では、夢は君とともにあるんだ
山の斜面を燃やし続ける恋人の声のように
どうかここで生き続けてほしい
So take that look out of here, it doesn't fit you
Because it's happened doesn't mean you've been discarded
Pull up your head off the floor, come up screaming
Cry out for everything you ever might have wanted
I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered
But you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered
君には都会暮らしは似合わないって、ここから見ていてわかるんだ
だって、ここでおきたことが君を見捨ててきたって意味にはならないから
フロアの中から飛び出してさ、大きな声で叫びにおいで
君が望んでたであろうすべてをそこにぶちまけるんだ
痛みと真実こそが今の君には本当に必要なこと
でも君がいくつもの小さな希望を持ち続けられなければ、ここで生きてはいけないよ