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.
Dream To Live
Great Big Sea Lyrics
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From the frozen coves of my island home
To the land of liberty
I have to leave my girl behind
Until I make my way
Oh Molly dear please wait for me
I'll come back for you some day
And I'd never seen the like
A small boat boy from around the bay
In this sea of shining lights
Two days in I got a job
Building towers of high steel
I had to learn, to not look down
And I quickly learned to kneel
All I need is one good nights sleep
In your loving arms, to mend
We sleep to dream
And we dream to live
Will I live to love you again
I saved every cent I could
But the months turned into years
Then a letter came from Molly
And confirmed my deepest fears
She would no longer wait for me,
She'd found a better man
I might have been in America,
But my heart was broken
In Newfoundland
My working days are over now
And my children have all grown
I did the best with what I had
But some days I feel alone
I often wonder where you are
Do you still know my name
Deep inside this old man's heart
There's a love that still remains
Great Big Sea's song "Dream To Live" portrays a young man's journey from his homeland to America, leaving behind his love, Molly. The first stanza sets the scene as the singer embarks on a journey to America, away from his frozen coves on his island home, and his beloved Molly. The lyrics describe how he has promised to return to Molly, who he asks to wait for him. The second stanza describes his arrival in Boston, a new and unfamiliar place for him. His first job is at a construction site, building towers of high steel, which is a daunting experience, but he learns to adapt to the job. The lyrics describe how he longs to be back with Molly and how he needs her love to mend.
The third stanza talks about the passage of time and how he has been saving every penny he could. However, he received a letter from Molly stating that she would no longer wait for him and that she has found someone else. He is heartbroken and even being in America cannot fix his sadness, and he is still mourning his lost love in Newfoundland. In the final stanza, the singer has retired, and his kids have grown up. He thinks about Molly and the love that he still has for her. He speculates about where she is now and wonders if she still knows his name. He reflects on his experiences in America, but his love for Molly still dominates his thoughts.
Overall, the song highlights the sacrifices that are made when undertaking a journey to a new place and leaving behind loved ones. The singer's journey is bittersweet, and in the end, he is left alone at an old age, still haunted by memories of his lost love. It is a poignant and emotional song that reflects on human emotions, the passage of time, and the sacrifices that immigrants make when they move away from home.
Line by Line Meaning
Set off for America far across the ragin' sea
I left my home to go to America, which is far away and dangerous to travel to.
From the frozen coves of my island home
I left my home in a cold, northern island with rocky outcroppings near the shoreline.
To the land of liberty
I went to America because it is seen as a place of freedom and opportunity.
I have to leave my girl behind
I had to leave my significant other in my home country.
Until I make my way
Until I have found success and stability in America.
Oh Molly dear please wait for me
I begged my significant other to wait for me until I returned.
I'll come back for you some day
I promised to return to my significant other once I had found success in America.
We landed hard in Boston
When I arrived in America, it was a jarring experience.
And I'd never seen the like
I had never experienced anything like America before.
A small boat boy from around the bay
I came from a small fishing village.
In this sea of shining lights
The city was full of bright lights and new experiences.
Two days in I got a job
I was able to get work quickly.
Building towers of high steel
I worked in the construction industry building tall structures.
I had to learn, to not look down
I had to learn to not let my fear of heights get in the way of my job.
And I quickly learned to kneel
I learned that sometimes, in order to stay safe, I had to kneel down and secure myself.
All I need is one good nights sleep
I just need one good night's rest to feel better.
In your loving arms, to mend
I need to feel loved and cared for in order to heal.
We sleep to dream
When we sleep, we have dreams.
And we dream to live
Our dreams give us the motivation to keep going in life.
Will I live to love you again
I wonder if I will ever be able to love my significant other again.
I saved every cent I could
I tried to save as much money as I could.
But the months turned into years
I planned to save for a short time, but ended up saving for many years.
Then a letter came from Molly
I received a letter from my significant other, Molly.
And confirmed my deepest fears
The letter confirmed what I was most afraid of.
She would no longer wait for me,
My significant other had found someone else and would no longer wait for me to return.
She'd found a better man
She had found someone who she believes is better for her than I am.
I might have been in America,
Even though I was in America, my heart was still in my home country.
But my heart was broken
I was heartbroken when I found out about my significant other moving on.
In Newfoundland
My home country is Newfoundland, which I still think about often.
My working days are over now
I am no longer able to work.
And my children have all grown
My children are now adults and no longer live with me.
I did the best with what I had
I tried to do the best I could with the resources I had.
But some days I feel alone
Sometimes I feel lonely despite my accomplishments.
I often wonder where you are
I often think about where my significant other is.
Do you still know my name
I wonder if my significant other still remembers me and cares for me.
Deep inside this old man's heart
Despite my age, I still have feelings.
There's a love that still remains
I still have love for my significant other even after all of this time.
Lyrics © LEAN GROUND MUSIC LTD.
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