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.
Excursion Around the Bay
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the day be calm and fine
A harbor grace excursion
With the boys who had the time
And just before the sailor
Took the gangway from the pier
I saw some fellow haul me wife
Aboard as a volunteer
[Chorus]
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife cry
Oh me, oh my, I think I'm gonna die!
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife say,
"I wish I'd never taken this excursion around the bay"
We had fourteen hundred souls aboard, oh what a splendid sight!
Left strong and regimental to make our spirits bright
And meself being in the double, when a funny things they'd say
They choke themselves from laughing when they'd see us in the bay
[Chorus]
Me wife she got no better, she turned a sickly green
I fed her cake and candy, fat pork and kerosene
Castor Oil and sugar of candy, I rubbed pure oil on her face
And I said she'll be a dandy when we reaches Harbor Grace!
[Chorus]
My wife she got no better, my wife me darling dear
The screeches from her trolley could hear in Carbonear
I tried every place in Harbor Grace,
Tried every store and shop,
To get her something for a cure or take her to the hop
[Chorus]
She died below the brandy's as we were coming back
We buried her in the ocean, wrapped up in a Union Jack
So now I am a single man, in search of a pretty face
And the woman that says she'll have me, I'm off for Harbor Grace!
[Chorus]
The Great Big Sea's song Excursion Around the Bay narrates the story of a group of men who, on a calm Monday morning, decide to take a Harbor Grace excursion. They board a ship also carrying the singer's wife. Just before the ship's departure, the singer notices some guy pulling his wife aboard as a volunteer. She soon starts feeling sick and cries out that she wished she had never taken this excursion around the bay. With 1,400 passengers on board the ship, they begin the venture, and the singer finds himself doubled for a funny experience. As the journey progresses, he tries to heal his wife's illness by providing her with food, castor oil, sugar of candy, rubbing pure oil on her face, etc. but to no avail. As they reach Harbor Grace, she dies, and the singer is left as a single man who decides to look for a pretty face.
The song, on the surface, depicts the tale of a group of men taking a boat ride on the bay. However, the underlying context reveals a disastrous trip that leads to the death of one of the traveler's wives. The song's lyrics invoke a dramatic experience of humor, love, tragedy, and death, revealing the struggles of the voyagers as they tried to find remedies for the wife's worsening health condition. The song's somber ending adds weight to the story, making it just more than a humorous narrative.
Line by Line Meaning
Well it was on this Monday morning
The song starts by describing the beginning of an excursion around the bay that takes place on a Monday morning.
And the day be calm and fine
The weather was good on that day.
A harbor grace excursion
The excursion takes place in the Harbor Grace area.
With the boys who had the time
The excursion is being taken by men who had some free time.
And just before the sailor
Right before the sailor was about to depart.
Took the gangway from the pier
The sailor was preparing to leave the pier.
I saw some fellow haul me wife
The singer saw a man taking his wife aboard the ship.
Aboard as a volunteer
The man took his wife aboard voluntarily.
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife cry
The chorus of the song describes the artist's old wife crying.
Oh me, oh my, I think I'm gonna die!
The chorus describes how sick the artist's wife was feeling.
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife say,
The chorus continues with the singer's old wife saying that she wished she'd never gone on the excursion around the bay.
We had fourteen hundred souls aboard, oh what a splendid sight!
The artist describes how many people got aboard the ship and how impressive it was to see.
Left strong and regimental to make our spirits bright
The people aboard the boat were in high spirits.
And meself being in the double, when a funny things they'd say
The singer was a part of the group and heard the funny things people were saying.
They choke themselves from laughing when they'd see us in the bay
People were laughing so hard they would choke when they'd see them in the bay.
Me wife she got no better, she turned a sickly green
The artist's wife didn't feel better and turned very sick.
I fed her cake and candy, fat pork and kerosene
The artist tried different remedies to make his wife feel better, including feeding her cake, candy, fat pork, and kerosene.
Castor Oil and sugar of candy, I rubbed pure oil on her face
The singer continued to try different remedies for his sick wife, such as rubbing castor oil and sugar of candy on her face.
And I said she'll be a dandy when we reaches Harbor Grace!
The singer remained hopeful that his wife would feel better when they reached Harbor Grace.
My wife she got no better, my wife me darling dear
Despite the artist's attempts to cure his wife, she continued to feel unwell.
The screeches from her trolley could hear in Carbonear
The artist's wife was in so much pain that she was screaming and people could hear her from far away places like Carbonear.
I tried every place in Harbor Grace,
The artist tried every place in Harbor Grace to find a cure for his wife.
Tried every store and shop,
The singer went to every store and shop in Harbor Grace.
To get her something for a cure or take her to the hop
The artist was looking for anything that would cure his wife or be taken to the hospital.
She died below the brandy's as we were coming back
Despite the singer's attempts to cure his wife, she died on the way back home.
We buried her in the ocean, wrapped up in a Union Jack
The singer and others buried his wife in the ocean and wrapped her body with a Union Jack.
So now I am a single man, in search of a pretty face
The chorus ends the song by describing the singer as a single man in search of a new woman.
And the woman that says she'll have me, I'm off for Harbor Grace!
The artist says that he's ready to go to Harbor Grace if he finds a woman who is willing to be with him.
Lyrics © LEAN GROUND MUSIC LTD., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: TRAD, Alan Thomas Doyle, Darrell Power, Robert Bruce Hallett, Shawn McCann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@daniellewhite3415
They are the most entertaining live. Best concert I've been too
@KillianLikeTheBeer
I want to know how many pints this man had before the show, because he is having the time of his life and I'm here for it.
@j_siple5017
Wish I could see these guys again. Miss the newfoundland boys
@jalenbrandsoy2577
Saw them when I was 10 and have always listened to them since
@jasonamato2153
A good friend of mine turned me on to GBS and I've been a fan ever since. Saw them live 4 times, including my ATF show. Also got the pleasure of being in an irish pub after one of their shows when the band walked in, and got to have several beers with them. They might have stayed because I was with a group of very attractive women, but I was there too ;)
@angelinaballerina742
Saw Alan Doyle when I was little
@lourdesbaby964
Great band!Great accent,amazing how it still has inflections from the old world, especially Irish.Newfoundlanders seem to be a proud people who never forgot their roots.Would love visit there one day, being Irish.Might even have distant relations there, who knows!
@leahpower1314
P
@brandonebolhuis1721
i immediately started chair-dancing 😅 great tune! 😄
@coreyhill681
Yeah, who wants to go first