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.
Demasduit Dream
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Standing by the strand
Waiting for her people
To come in from the land
Waiting there for seven days
She built a fire in the sand
Waiting for her people
She had the look of a refugee
Hiding in her eyes
And when I tried to talk to her
She answered with a cry
And pointed to the water
Out beyond the harbor line
Where a thousand ships lay waiting
They lay waiting for my sign
[Chorus]
I remember days of sunlight
With my father by my side
And the children, ran before us
Like the foam upon the tide
We ran like frightened partridge
When the strangers came to talk
Bringing sickness 'round them
And the thunder in their walk
We ran into the valleys
And we ran into the hills
They only ran before us,
Driven by the strangers' will
[Chorus]
I'm waiting by the land wash
Giant standing near
I see them coming always
Children in their fear
I'm waiting on my blanket
And the giant waits with me
And I will wait here always
As they fill the endless sea
The lyrics of Demasduit Dream by Great Big Sea tell the story of a woman waiting on the shore for her people to come in from the land. She waits for seven days, building a fire in the sand. The woman has the look of a refugee in her eyes, and when the singer tries to talk to her, she answers with a cry and points to the water where a thousand ships lay waiting for the singer's sign. The singer remembers days of sunlight with his father by his side and children running before them like the foam upon the tide. However, when the strangers came to talk, they brought sickness and thunder in their walk. The singer and his people ran into the valleys and hills, driven by the strangers' will.
The chorus of the song further emphasizes the theme of nostalgia and longing for better times. The singer remembers the days of sunlight with his father and how the children ran before them like the foam upon the tide. However, things have changed, and they have become refugees waiting for their people. The singer waits by the landwash, and the giant waits with him, watching as the children come in, always full of fear. The singer vows to wait here always, as they fill the endless sea.
Overall, the song Demasduit Dream speaks to the universal experience of displacement, injustice, and the longing for better times, even as one faces the uncertainties of the present and the future.
Line by Line Meaning
I dreamt I saw a woman
The singer had a dream where they saw a woman
Standing by the strand
The woman was standing on the beach
Waiting for her people
The woman was waiting for her community
To come in from the land
Her community was out on the land
Waiting there for seven days
The woman waited for seven days
She built a fire in the sand
The woman made a fire on the beach
She had the look of a refugee
The woman looked like someone who had been displaced
Hiding in her eyes
Her fear and trauma were visible in her eyes
And when I tried to talk to her
The artist attempted to speak with her
She answered with a cry
The woman responded with a cry
And pointed to the water
She gestured towards the ocean
Out beyond the harbor line
Where the ships could be seen in the distance
Where a thousand ships lay waiting
There were many ships waiting
They lay waiting for my sign
The ships were waiting for the singer's command
[Chorus]
The chorus repeats multiple times throughout the song
I remember days of sunlight
The artist recalls happy times
With my father by my side
The artist was with their father during those happy times
And the children, ran before us
The singer and their father were with children who ran ahead of them
Like the foam upon the tide
The children moved like the foam on the ocean
We ran like frightened partridge
When the strangers arrived, the artist and their group ran away in fear
When the strangers came to talk
When the newcomers arrived, they attempted to speak with the original community
Bringing sickness 'round them
The new people carried diseases
And the thunder in their walk
The new people walked with authority and power
We ran into the valleys
The original group fled into the valleys and hills
And we ran into the hills
Fleeing into the hills was one way the community tried to protect themselves
They only ran before us
The newcomers were always ahead of the original community
Driven by the strangers' will
The newcomers were controlled by their own desires and intentions
[Chorus]
The chorus repeats multiple times throughout the song
I'm waiting by the land wash
The artist is waiting near the ocean
Giant standing near
There is a giant nearby
I see them coming always
The singer always sees newcomers arriving
Children in their fear
Some of the newcomers arrive with children, who are also scared
I'm waiting on my blanket
The artist is sitting on a blanket
And the giant waits with me
The giant also waits with the artist
And I will wait here always
The singer will continue to wait here indefinitely
As they fill the endless sea
As more and more newcomers arrive, they fill the ocean
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BOB HALLETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind