After several years of gigging in Boston and Cambridge, the band signed to a major label and released its debut album In Loving Memory of... in 1997. The single The Oaf was a major Top Ten hit for the band that year.
Due to Thornley's Canadian nationality, the band's biggest commercial success was actually in Canada rather than the United States. The album's subsequent singles, Blown Wide Open and That Song, were not as successful on the American charts as The Oaf had been, but in Canada they were both Top Ten hits.
In October of 2001, Big Wreck played a special show at Toronto's Roy Thompson Hall accompanied by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Uzume Taiko Ensemble of drummers, with The Tragically Hip's Paul Langlois and Robby Baker also making appearances.
The band's second album The Pleasure and the Greed (released in 2001) was marred by poor marketing and was not as big a hit as their debut album, especially in the United States. The band subsequently broke up a year later in 2002.
Thornley moved back to Toronto, launching the band Thornley. Doherty has gone on to be in the indie band Death of 8, but the other band members never emerged with new projects.
Ian and Brian rekindled their friendship, which lead to a reunion in 2011.
This reunion, however, would not include founding members Dave Henning and Forrest Williams.
Albatross, the band's third album, would be released on March 6, 2012, and would be Big Wreck's best charting album of all time, debuting at #5 on the Canadian albums charts, and would see its title track hit #1 on the Canadian Rock charts, which it would hold for six weeks straight. It would also spawn the singles Wolves and A Million Days, and would receive the CASBY award for "Favourite New Album" in 2012.
2014 would see the release of their fourth album, Ghosts, on the 10th of June. The album would debut at #5 on the Canadian Rock charts, and would go on to debut at #4 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart, making it their highest charting album on that chart to date. Ghosts would come to spawn three singles: the name-sharing Ghosts, Come What May, and Hey Mama.
Big Wreck's fifth studio album, Grace Street, would see its release on February 3, 2017. The album would end up peaking at #5 on the Canadian Albums chart, much like Albatross and Ghosts. However, the lead single One Good Piece of Me would end up outperforming Ghosts (the song), with the track charting high on two separate charts within the first week of airplay. The other two singles that spawned from Grace Street were Digging In and You Don't Even Know.
On June 5, 2019, founding guitarist Brian Doherty would pass away after a battle with cancer. He was 51.
Big Wreck would release their sixth studio album, ...but for the Sun, on August 30, 2019. The band would end up dedicating the album to the late guitarist in memory of him. The album would see Locomotive, Too Far Gone, One More Chance and Alibi be the four singles to spawn, and would also see an in memoriam tour dedicated to Doherty.
...but for the Sun would be the last full-length album recorded with longtime drummer Chuck Keeping, as he would end up leaving the band in 2021 to focus on family life.
In the following years, Big Wreck would hire new drummer Sekou Lumumba (the former drummer for Ian Thornley's side project, Thornley) to replace Chuck Keeping, and would go on to release 3 EPs: 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3.
Pages, Big Wreck's 7th album, was released on November 24, 2023.
Discography:
Studio Albums
In Loving Memory Of... (1997)
The Pleasure And The Greed (2001)
Albatross (2012)
Bag of Tricks (Live, 2013)
Ghosts (2014)
Grace Street (2017)
...but for the Sun (2019)
Pages (2023)
EPs
7.1 (2021)
7.2 (2022)
7.3 (2023)
Members:
Ian Thornley (Vocals, Guitar, 1992 - present)
Chris Caddell (Rhythm Guitar, 2019 - present)
Dave McMillan (Bass Guitar, 2010 - present)
Sekou Lumumba (Drums, 2021 - present)
Past Members:
Brian Doherty (Guitar, 1992 - 2019 (d. June 5, 2019))
Paulo Neta (Guitar, 2010 - 2017)
Dave Henning (Bass Guitar, 1993 - 2002)
Forrest Williams (Drums, 1994 - 2002)
Brad Park (Drums, 2010 - 2012)
Chuck Keeping (Drums, 2012 - 2021)
Blown Wide Open
Big Wreck Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By the things I thought I'd put away
And I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
An there s a pile in the closet
That's where I threw some yesterday
Maybe under the rug
That's where I swept some the other day
So the mess is drawing forces
Outside I hear them say
Just come out with your hands up
So we can blow you away
And I walk out the door
Get blown wide open
By the things I'd put away
And I wasn't even warned
Just blown wide open
Now the mess is where I lay
So I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
So I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
And if I'm a slob
Well I never looked at it that way
Irresponsible
Well you're not the first to say
But I told her I'm sorry
I never wanted it this way
Yeah, I still need her
But the mess won't go away
And I walk out the door
Get blown wide open
By the things I'd put away
And I'm out on the porch
Just blown wide open
Now the mess is where I lay
Yeah, blown wide open
Blown wide open
Blown wide open
The gun's still smokin'
Blood keeps flowin'
Blown wide open
Why's she going
All surrounded
The lyrics to Big Wreck's song "Blown Wide Open" describe the feeling of being burdened by things that one thought had been put away. The singer is surrounded by a mess that they thought they had dealt with, but the mess has come back to haunt them. The pile in the closet and under the rug are metaphors for the problems that we try to hide and ignore. However, the situation has become so dire that law enforcement officials are outside the door with guns drawn, ready to take the singer down. The metaphorical mess has become so overwhelming that it has spilled over into reality, and the singer is left lying in the mess they had put aside.
The chorus of the song speaks to the shock and surprise that comes with being overwhelmed by something unexpected. The singer walks out the door, expecting to face the world as they know it, and instead, they are "blown wide open" by the mess they thought was long gone. Similarly, when the police arrive, the singer is not ready for the confrontation and is "blown wide open" by the unexpected nature of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
So I'm all surrounded
The singer is overwhelmed by their messy surroundings
By the things I thought I'd put away
The singer thought they had already cleaned up this mess
And there's a pile in the closet
Some of the mess is stored inside a closet
That's where I threw some yesterday
The artist recently added to the mess
Maybe under the rug
Some of the mess may be hidden from view
That's where I swept some the other day
The singer attempted to hide some of the mess under the rug
So the mess is drawing forces
The mess is causing external problems
Outside I hear them say
There are people outside who are trying to confront the artist about the mess
Just come out with your hands up
The people outside are demanding that the artist surrender to them
So we can blow you away
The people outside are threatening violence
And I walk out the door
The singer decides to face the outside world
Get blown wide open
The revelation of the artist's mess is like a sudden shock
By the things I'd put away
The singer is faced with the mess they tried to hide
And I wasn't even warned
The singer had no indication that others knew about the mess
Just blown wide open
The mess is now exposed for all to see
Now the mess is where I lay
The mess has become all-consuming for the artist
And if I'm a slob
Others may perceive the artist as messy or disorganized
Well I never looked at it that way
The singer may not have realized the extent of their messiness
Irresponsible
Others may view the singer as negligent or careless
Well you're not the first to say
Others have criticized the artist's behavior before
But I told her I'm sorry
The artist recognizes their mistake and apologizes
I never wanted it this way
The artist did not intend for things to become so messy
Yeah, I still need her
The singer recognizes the importance of their relationship despite the mess
But the mess won't go away
The artist is finding it difficult to clean up the mess
And I'm out on the porch
The singer is outside of their house, exposed to the world
Blown wide open
The sudden reveal of the singer's mess has left them vulnerable and exposed
The gun's still smokin'
The singer may feel like they are facing an attack or danger
Blood keeps flowin'
The artist may be experiencing emotional or physical pain
Why's she going
The artist may be questioning why their partner is leaving them
All surrounded
The singer is still trapped by their messy surroundings
Lyrics © ANTHEM ENTERTAINMENT LP, OLE MEDIA MANAGEMENT LP
Written by: IAN THORNLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Big Daddy
Lyrics
So I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
And I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
An there s a pile in the closet
That's where I threw some yesterday
Maybe under the rug
That's where I swept some the other day
So the mess is drawing forces
Outside I hear them say
Just come out with your hands up
So we can blow you away
And I walk out the door
Get blown wide open
By the things I'd put away
And I wasn't even warned
Just blown wide open
Now the mess is where I lay
So I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
So I'm all surrounded
By the things I thought I'd put away
And if I'm a slob
Well I never looked at it that way
Irresponsible
Well you're not the first to say
But I told her I'm sorry
I never wanted it this way
Yeah, I still need her
But the mess won't go away
And I walk out the door
Get blown wide open
By the things I'd put away
And I'm out on the porch
Just blown wide open
Now the mess is where I lay
Yeah, blown wide open
Blown wide open
Blown wide open
The gun's still smokin'
Blood keeps flowin'
Blown wide open
Why's she going
All surrounded
I know ya’all
W B
The stairfall stunts were done by my best friend Henry Korhonen. He passed away a few years ago. I come back here to see him, still alive and doing what he loved. Frozen forever in time. Miss you man.
Fiz_gigg
Love you bro
SimonCyber
F
Mark Hemingway
Nice bro
TheReal MrBitcoin
Sorry for your loss, brother.. I hope one day we can all see those we have lost.. Until then, cheers to you & yours❤
W B
@therealmrbitcoin4081 Thank you. Me too, man, me too.
Scotian
honestly this song has lost absolutely nothing over time. If anything its meaning just gets more and more real.
Certified Classic
fiddilly dee potatoes
Good to know this song will live on is NS ! Currently sharing with my neighbors 😂. Classic ❤️
Brandon Rogers
Loved this song in my 20's... I'm 45 now and it still hits me the same... man time flies!!
Chris
Same. Brings back memories.