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.
Greenspond
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And so is Pinchard's Island
Mom will buy me a new fur coat
When Da' gets home from swilin'
Here he comes as white as ghosts
Children and their little boats
Women in their petty coats
The first thing to note about the lyrics of Great Big Sea's "Greenspond" is their simplicity. The song paints a picture of rural Newfoundland, with references to various places, people, and activities. The opening lines describe Greenspond and Pinchard's Island as "pretty places," perhaps suggesting that the singer is from one of these communities or has visited them.
The second line provides some context: the singer's mother has promised to buy them a new fur coat once their father returns from "swilin'." This refers to the practice of fishing for squid, which was an important industry in many Newfoundland communities. The fact that the mother is waiting for the father to return from this activity suggests that the family's livelihood is dependent on it.
The rest of the song consists of a chorus that is repeated multiple times, with slight variations each time. The chorus mentions "little boats" and "petty coats" and ends with the line "down from Petty Harbour." This imagery suggests that the singer is observing people returning from a fishing trip, perhaps gathering at a harbor or wharf. The repetition of the chorus reinforces the idea that this is a regular occurrence in Newfoundland life.
Line by Line Meaning
Greenspond is a pretty place,
Greenspond is a beautiful location,
And so is Pinchard's Island
Pinchard's Island is also a nice place
Mom will buy me a new fur coat
My mother promised to purchase a new fur coat for me
When Da' gets home from swilin'
She will buy me when my father returns from fishing
Here he comes as white as ghosts
Father returns from fishing cold and pale
Children and their little boats
The kids play in their boats on the water
Women in their petty coats
The women wear their everyday clothing
Down from Petty Harbour
They're returning home from Petty Harbour
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: TRAD, Alan Thomas Doyle, Darrell Power, Robert Bruce Hallett, Shawn McCann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Luke Wilson
Newfoundland's U2