While it has been confirmed that the band has officially retired, former members Alan Doyle and Séan McCann have continued performing in their own solo careers typically including music from Great Big Sea in their setlists.
The band played its first official concert on March 11, 1993, opening for The Irish Descendants at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John's, Newfoundland. The founding band members included Alan Doyle (vocals, guitar, bouzouki, mandolin), Séan McCann (vocals, bodhrán, guitar, tin whistle), Darrell Power (vocals, bass, guitar, bones), and Bob Hallett (vocals, fiddle, accordion, mandolin, concertina, bouzouki, whistles, bagpipes).
Power, McCann and Hallett had already been playing together in another band. In the winter of 1989, the band, a six-piece with guitar, bass, fiddle, accordion and mandolin played its first show at the Memorial University's winter carnival talent show under the name "Newfoundland Republican Army" or NRA, and won first prize. The band's only other appearance as NRA was later that winter at the university "Grad House". The band then dropped the fiddler, accordion player and the name.
The band found its new name as original bassist Jeff Scott rented an apartment on Rankin Street, St. John's, where the members first met and discussed the formation of the band. As a four-piece, the band first appeared as "Rankin Street" at a little pub in downtown St. John's called "The Rose and Thistle", playing for $100 and beer. They played through Sean McCann's stereo system, as renting a PA would have cost more than the night's earnings. Susan Hickey (guitar and vocals) left the band months later to attend school in Halifax and was replaced by Darrell Power. The band gained much popularity playing such local pubs as Bridget's and Greensleeves. In 1991 Jeff Scott was replaced by Jackie St. Croix on bass. The band released one recording on cassette titled "Rankin Street".
In 1997, the band reached the top ten of the Canadian RPM pop chart with "When I'm Up (I Can't Get Down)", a cover of a song by the British folk group Oysterband. They performed at the 1999 Stardust Picnic festival at Historic Fort York, Toronto.
The band won the Entertainer of the Year award at the East Coast Music Awards for every year between 1996 and 2000. In 2001, they decided not to submit their name for nomination in order to allow other bands to compete. They have also been nominated for several Juno Awards, including Group of the Year in 1998, 2005, 2009, and 2011.
Darrell Power retired from Great Big Sea in 2003 to spend more time with his family and friends. Supporting members of the band include Canadian freelance drummer Kris MacFarlane (2002) (drums, accordion, guitar, backing vocals) and Murray Foster (2003, formerly of the band Moxy Früvous) (bass, backing vocals).
In late 2005, the band released its long-awaited "traditional" album, The Hard and the Easy, on which they recorded their favourite Newfoundland party songs. The title of the album comes from a line of the song "Tickle Cove Pond", one of two songs on the album about a horse falling through ice.
On June 13, 2007, the band announced they would return to the studio with producer Hawksley Workman. On March 14, 2008, the band announced that the title of the new album would be Fortune's Favour, borrowing a phrase from one of the songs on the album, "England". The album was officially released on June 24, 2008 across all of North America.
On February 23, 2010, band member Séan McCann released his debut solo album Lullabies for Bloodshot Eyes to pleasing critical success.
On July 13, 2010, Great Big Sea released their new album Safe Upon the Shore in North America. Alan's "From the Road" blog on the band's website, originally confirmed its production in an April posting, speaking also of the album's subsequent release in July. "Nothing But A Song" was the first single off the bands' ninth studio recording, with a subsequent tour kicking off at the end of the summer 2010.
Great Big Sea announced a 'greatest hits' album titled "XX" in October 2012, accompanied by a 20th anniversary tour with 32 dates in 28 cities across the US and Canada which kicked off on March 5, 2013 in Los Angeles and finished in St. John's on April 23, 2013.
In 2013, McCann announced that he would be leaving the band at the end of the XX tour, much to the dismay of his bandmates. Struggling to maintain his new sobriety, he told his bandmates in January of 2013 that XX would be his last tour with the band, but the rest of the band and its management refused to announce this publicly. Finally, in November 2013 with XX almost over, McCann announced his departure himself in a tweet, feeling that the fans needed to know. While largely vilified by Great Big Sea fans with little said by the band or management to counter this view, McCann claims he was devastated by how Great Big Sea ended and wishes it could have gone differently.
Following McCann's departure, the remaining band members spent a year or so trying to find an amicable way that they could continue without him. Eventually coming to the realization that they didn’t want to go on like that, and happily retiring the band.
Boston & St. John's
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can we keep the curtains drawn
I haven't given you fair warning
But our ship, she sails at dawn
[Chorus]
It's true I must be going but I swear I won't be long
There isn't that much ocean between Boston and St. John's
I'm a rover. Can you love me anyway?
And if some suitor comes approaching
Will you let him through your door
And what if I return half broken
Will you still want me anymore?
[Chorus]
Close your eyes and dream
Tell me what you see
Tell me what you want
Just tell me that you'll wait for me
Girl, don't tell me that it's morning
Can we keep the curtains drawn
I haven't given you fair warning
But our ship, she sails at dawn
[Chorus]
Great Big Sea's song Boston and St. John's tells the story of a man who must set sail from his lover at dawn because he is a rover, and he is bound to sail away. The lyrics suggest that the man's lover does not want him to leave, as she begs him to keep the curtains drawn and not to tell her it is morning. The chorus repeats the man's promise that he will not be gone for long and that there is not much ocean between Boston and St. John's. He asks his lover if she will still want him if he returns half-broken, and if she will let suitors through her door while he is away.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet expression of the conflict between wanderlust and love, and the decision that must be made between them. The man is torn between his desire to explore the world and his love for his partner, and he seeks reassurance that she will wait for him and still love him if he returns. The lyrics also touch on the theme of home, as the man is leaving for a distant place and asking his lover to wait for him there.
Line by Line Meaning
Girl, don't tell me that it's morning
Don't start the day yet, let's stay a little longer
Can we keep the curtains drawn
Let's stay in this moment, ignore the beginning of the day
I haven't given you fair warning
I haven't told you about my departure
But our ship, she sails at dawn
I have to leave soon because my ship leaves early in the morning
[Chorus]
I have to leave, but I promise I won't be gone for long. The distance between Boston and St. John's is not that far, and I am a free spirit who is destined to keep moving. However, despite my wandering ways, can you still love me?
And if some suitor comes approaching
If someone shows interest in you while I am gone
Will you let him through your door
Will you entertain those advances?
And what if I return half broken
What if I come back emotionally damaged from my travels
Will you still want me anymore?
Will you still love me despite my damaged state?
Close your eyes and dream
Imagine a future with me
Tell me what you see
If you envision a future with me, what does it look like?
Tell me what you want
What are your desires for our future together?
Just tell me that you'll wait for me
Promise me that you will be patient and wait for me to return
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ALAN DOYLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind