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.
Donkey Riding
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
Was you ever in Quebec launching timber on the deck ,where ya
Break a bleeding neck riding on a donkey.
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
Was you ever round Cape Horn where the weathers never warm,
Wish to god you'd never been born riding on a donkey.
Way hey and away we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
Was you ever in Miramichi where they you tie up to a tree,
Have a girl sit on your knee riding on a donkey.
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
Was you ever in Fortune Bay hear the girls all shout hurray,here
Comes dad with dead months pay riding on a donkey.
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
Was you ever in Fredericton seeing the king he does come down,
See the king in his golden crown riding on a donkey.
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
The song "Donkey Riding" by Great Big Sea is a sea shanty that tells the story of various adventures and misadventures while riding on a donkey. Each verse of the song mentions a different location and situation in which donkey riding is involved. The first verse talks about Quebec and launching timber, where the singer suggests that donkey riding is so dangerous that one could break their neck while doing it. The second verse mentions Cape Horn, where the weather is never warm and riding a donkey seems like a terrible idea. In the third verse, the location is Miramichi, where riding a donkey seems romanticized as one can have a girl sit on their knee while doing it. The fourth verse describes Fortune Bay, where the singer hears the girls shouting "hurray" upon their father's return with dead month's pay while riding a donkey. Lastly, the singer imagines being in Fredericton where they see the king in his golden crown riding on a donkey.
The central theme of the song seems to be the dangers and discomforts of traveling and adventuring. The song also seems to suggest that no matter where you go, you'll always find someone riding a donkey, and it's best to avoid that altogether. The repetition of "way hey and a way we go," and "donkey riding, donkey riding," throughout the song serves to emphasize the lighthearted and rhythmic nature of this sea shanty.
Line by Line Meaning
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Let's ride on a donkey!
Way hey and away we go riding on a donkey.
We're off!
Was you ever in Quebec launching timber on the deck ,where ya Break a bleeding neck riding on a donkey.
Have you ever been involved in the dangerous work of launching timber in Quebec, where you risk injuring yourself while riding on a donkey?
Was you ever round Cape Horn where the weathers never warm, Wish to god you'd never been born riding on a donkey.
Have you ever been through Cape Horn's treacherous weather where it never gets warm, making you regret being born while riding on a donkey?
Was you ever in Miramichi where they you tie up to a tree, Have a girl sit on your knee riding on a donkey.
Have you ever been in Miramichi where you tie up to a tree and enjoy the company of a girl sitting on your knee while riding on a donkey?
Was you ever in Fortune Bay hear the girls all shout hurray,here Comes dad with dead months pay riding on a donkey.
Have you ever been in Fortune Bay hearing girls cheer while watching someone bring home their pay on a donkey?
Was you ever in Fredericton seeing the king he does come down, See the king in his golden crown riding on a donkey.
Have you ever been in Fredericton where the king came down to ride on a donkey in his golden crown?
Way hey and a way we go donkey riding donkey riding,
Let's ride on a donkey!
Way hey and away we go donkey riding donkey riding,
We're off!
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: COLLECTED BY THOMAS WOOD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
James Clark
It should be explained that the "donkey" in this song is a steam hoisting engine.
tigris115
See, I always thought it was about people riding actual donkeys
Talitha Suya
Ah. Thanks.
howie9751
The Great Big CD and DVD. My favorite.
Andrew Folgmann
where was this concert held?
icebox90002000
Ottawa I think
icebox90002000
Ottawa I think