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.
General Taylor
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Walk him along, John, Carry him along
Well General Taylor he gained the day
Carry him to his bury'n ground
[Chorus]
Tell me where you're stormy
Walk him along, John, carry him along
Carry him to his bury'n ground
We'll dig his grave with a silver spade
Walk him along, John, Carry him along
His shroud of the finest silk will be made
Carry him to his bury'n ground
[Chorus]
We'll lower him down on a golden chain
Walk him along, John, Carry him along
On every inch we'll carve his name
Carry him to his bury'n ground
[Chorus]
General Taylor he's all the go
Walk him along, John, Carry him along
He's gone where the stormy winds won't blow
Carry him to his bury'n ground
[Chorus]
General Taylor he's dead and he's gone
Walk him along, John, Carry him along
Well General Taylor he's long dead and gone
Carry him to his bury'n ground
[Chorus:Repeat x2]
The song "General Taylor" by Great Big Sea is a traditional American folk song with lyrics that describe the funeral procession of General Zachary Taylor, a prominent military figure in the 19th century who played a significant role in the Mexican-American War. The song is a typical folk song in its use of repetition, with the phrase "Walk him along, John, carry him along" repeated throughout, serving as a somber call to action for the burial procession. The song's melody is simple and haunting, and the lyrics are poignant in their depiction of the solemnity of the funeral.
The opening lines of the song, "Well General Taylor gained the day/Walk him along, John, Carry him along" refer to Taylor's military victory, likely the Battle of Buena Vista, which was a significant victory for American forces during the Mexican-American War. The subsequent verses describe the funeral preparations for General Taylor, emphasizing the finery that will be used in his burial, including a silver spade and a shroud made of the finest silk. The final verses of the song describe the act of burying General Taylor, with the lines "We'll lower him down on a golden chain/On every inch we'll carve his name" highlighting the importance and significance of Taylor's legacy.
Overall, "General Taylor" is a song that serves as a tribute to a military hero, depicting the solemnity and significance of his burial procession, and highlighting the heroism and valor that he represented.
Line by Line Meaning
Well General Taylor gained the day
General Taylor won the battle
Walk him along, John, Carry him along
Let's celebrate his victory
Well General Taylor he gained the day
General Taylor won the battle
Carry him to his bury'n ground
Let's honor him in death
Tell me where you're stormy
Where are the challenges that Taylor overcame?
We'll dig his grave with a silver spade
We'll give him a grand farewell
His shroud of the finest silk will be made
He deserves the best burial garments
We'll lower him down on a golden chain
Even his burial will be majestic
On every inch we'll carve his name
He deserves to be remembered forever
General Taylor he's all the go
General Taylor is the talk of the town
He's gone where the stormy winds won't blow
He's now in a peaceful place
General Taylor he's dead and he's gone
General Taylor has passed away
Carry him to his bury'n ground
Let's honor him in death
Tell me where you're stormy
Where are the challenges that Taylor overcame?
Carry him to his bury'n ground
Let's honor him in death
Lyrics © Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN), BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: SEAN MICHAEL COONEY, DAVID ANDREW EAGLE, MICHAEL THOMAS HUGHES, DP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Karl Mech
Sitting on an island off the coast of Maine RN. Made it a point to listen to every version of this song. Sean (and GBS) are, in fact, THE version. Fookin' inspiring.
TristanandIsolt
Nobody can touch Sean on this.
Jeff Johnson
I'm from the county, used to work as a fisherman on the coast during my summers. I miss Maine.
G Mc
WE NEED ONE MORE GREAT BIG SEA REUNION TOUR. LOVE, FRIENDSHIP & GOOD TIMES FOR EVERYONE. TO SEAN: YOUR PAST DOES NOT DEFINE YOU. TO THE BAND: YOU DON'T NEED ALCOHOL TO HAVE FUN, AND TO ENJOY MUSIC! MUCH LOVE FROM MONTREAL, QC ❤❤❤
J.H. Moncrieff, Author
Love this so much. This song is so haunting.
richie sitarski
I wish I was present for this amazing performance
Stephen Dahlke
This is my new favorite version of this song. I thought the XX era was the best one. I thought seeing them live in 2010 and 2011 was the best. But this blows them out of the water.
Mandolorian1001
You guys and stan rogers are the reason i became a shantyman. Thank you so much
Mandolorian1001
@King Dingaling far too young
King Dingaling
Stan Rogers was taken from us too young