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.
Irish Paddy / Festival Reel / Roger's Reel
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Free from Ireland sailed away
Where he was to he was not contended
Made up his mind for to go away
Early next morning the ship was sailing
Queenstown harbour, golden core
Eight long days he was sailing over
Up the street young Paddy wandered
Each big building caught his eye
Looking up at a big shop window,
A bottle of whisky he did spy
Into the bar young Paddy entered
Called for a drink, without delay
Give me a drop of that Irish Whisky,
Four big coppers I will pay
The landlord he jumped over the counter
"Pay me down that bill", he said
Paddy up with a big shillelagh
Laid him on the floor right dead
So the Yankees they came running
When they heard about the row
Trying to kill poor Irish Paddy,
Shouting out, "Where is he now?!"
Irishmen they followed after
Following without delay
Each of them with a big shillelagh,
Made the Yankees run away
May God's success to his Irish people
Many's the country they have roamed
But their courage is far bolder
When they're far away from home
The lyrics of "Irish Paddy / Festival Reel / Roger's Reel" by Great Big Sea tell the story of an Irish man who leaves his homeland and sails to New York, where he gets into trouble after drinking whiskey at a bar. The song is a lament of how the Irish have had to leave their home country and adapt to new places, but also celebrates their courage and determination. The opening verse sets the scene of a restless young man who is not content with staying in Ireland and decides to go away. He sets sail from Queenstown harbor and lands in New York, where he is struck by the grandeur of the buildings.
The story takes a darker turn when Paddy goes into a bar and gets into a fight with the landlord. He uses his shillelagh, a traditional Irish club, to hit the landlord, and the Yankees come running to apprehend him. However, Paddy is not alone, as the other Irishmen in the bar rally to his defense and chase the Yankees away. The song ends on a note of pride for the Irish people and their unbreakable spirit.
Overall, "Irish Paddy / Festival Reel / Roger's Reel" is a tribute to the Irish diaspora and their ability to persevere in the face of adversity. It also highlights the cultural customs that they hold dear, such as the shillelagh, which is a symbol of their strength and resilience.
Line by Line Meaning
Its of an Irishman I'm going to tell you
Let me tell you a story about an Irishman
Free from Ireland sailed away
He left Ireland to start a new life
Where he was to he was not contended
He was not happy with where he was in life
Made up his mind for to go away
He decided to leave and start fresh elsewhere
Early next morning the ship was sailing
He left on a ship the next morning
Queenstown harbour, golden core
He departed from the beautiful Queenstown harbour
Eight long days he was sailing over
The journey took him eight long days by sea
Till he landed in New York
He finally arrived in New York
Up the street young Paddy wandered
The Irishman named Paddy walked up the street
Each big building caught his eye
He noticed every tall building around him
Looking up at a big shop window,
He saw a large shop window
A bottle of whisky he did spy
He saw a bottle of whisky and wanted it
Into the bar young Paddy entered
He went into the bar
Called for a drink, without delay
He immediately ordered a drink
Give me a drop of that Irish Whisky,
He asked for Irish Whisky
Four big coppers I will pay
He said he would pay four pennies for his drink
The landlord he jumped over the counter
The bar owner jumped over the counter
"Pay me down that bill", he said
He demanded payment
Paddy up with a big shillelagh
Paddy grabbed a big stick
Laid him on the floor right dead
He killed the bar owner
So the Yankees they came running
The Americans came running
When they heard about the row
When they heard about the commotion
Trying to kill poor Irish Paddy,
They tried to kill Paddy
Shouting out, "Where is he now?!"
They shouted, asking where he was hiding
Irishmen they followed after
Irishmen followed after Paddy
Following without delay
They followed immediately
Each of them with a big shillelagh,
Each of them had a big stick
Made the Yankees run away
The Irishmen scared off the Americans
May God's success to his Irish people
May the Irish people be successful by God's grace
Many's the country they have roamed
The Irish have travelled to many countries
But their courage is far bolder
But they are bravest when they are far from home
Contributed by Alaina G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Anthony Saverio
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Great Big Sea and all of their music! Saw them in Toronto and hooked ever since.
Jeff M
have seen Great big sea about 4 times always a great show . i did a sea kayak trap a few years ago near Bay Bulls Newfoundland and one of the ladies on the trip grew up with Alan Doyle in Petty Harbour.
gdgest
This variant of a traditional arranged by Great Big Sea (Great Big Sea, trk#8, 1993, NRA Productions, St. John's, NL). Thanks for sharing.
giddycadet
is the festival reel also traditional?
giddycadet
Does anyone know what instrument is being played behind the plucked fiddle at 0:36?
alicia marsden
+Davey R. Thank you
alicia marsden
I'm sorry. What's a shileighley or whatever?
Aaron Phillips
+alicia marsden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shillelagh_(club)
alicia marsden
+Aaron Phillips thank you
Aaron Phillips
+alicia marsden Anytime! :)