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.
Jolly Roving Tar
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
As long as the sea does roll.
Each sailor lad just like his dad,
He loves the flowing bowl.
A trip on shore he does adore
With a girl who's nice and round.
When the money's gone
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
[Chorus]
Come along, come along, You jolly brave boys,
There's lots of grog in the jar.
We'll plough the briny ocean
With the jolly roving tar.
When Jack comes in, it's then he'll steer
To some old boarding house.
They'll welcome him with rum and gin,
And feed him on pork scouse.
He'll lend, spend and he'll not offend
Till he's lyin' drunk on the ground
When the money's gone
It's the same old song,
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
[Chorus]
Jack, he then, oh then he'll sail
Bound down for Newfoundland
All the ladies fair in Placentia there
They love that sailor man.
He'll go to shore out on a tear
And he'll buy some girl a gown.
When the money's gone
It's the same old song,
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
[Chorus]
When Jack gets old and weather beat,
Too old to roam about,
They'll let him stop in some rum shop
Till eight bells calls him out.
Then he'll raise his eyes up to the skies,
Sayin' "Boys, we're homeward bound.">br> When the money's gone
It's the same old song,
"Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
[Chorus]
The song "Jolly Roving Tar" by Great Big Sea is about the life of a sailor who loves the sea, drinking, and women. The first verse speaks about the impermanence of a sailor's journey as ships come and go while the sea continues to roll. Every sailor who follows in his father's footsteps loves the camaraderie of sharing a drink. The second verse speaks about a sailor's love for life on land, especially with a girl who is "nice and round" and his willingness to spend all his money on alcohol, leading to his friends telling him to "Get up Jack! John, sit down!" in the same old song. Throughout the song, the chorus praises the braveness of sailors and the joy of living a life full of alcohol, adventure, and love.
The third verse tells about Jack, a sailor who makes his way to Newfoundland. The ladies of Placentia love him and buy him gifts, and even when he is old and weather-beaten, he finds solace at a rum shop until it's time to head home. The song ends with Jack looking up at the skies, happy to be homeward-bound, and repeating the same-line chorus once again.
Line by Line Meaning
Ships may come and ships may go
The sea is always present and constantly changing, but ships will continue to sail on it.
As long as the sea does roll.
The sea will always have motion and waves, creating an unpredictable environment.
Each sailor lad just like his dad,
The profession of sailing often runs in families and is passed down from generation to generation.
He loves the flowing bowl.
Sailors enjoy drinking alcohol, especially when they are on shore leave.
A trip on shore he does adore
Sailors like to spend time on land, especially with women.
With a girl who's nice and round.
Sailors are attracted to women with curvy figures.
When the money's gone, It's the same old song, "Get up Jack! John, sit down!"
When a sailor runs out of money, he will have to ask his friend Jack to lend him some, which is a common occurrence.
Come along, come along, You jolly brave boys, There's lots of grog in the jar.
Let's go! Sailors are going to drink and have a good time.
We'll plough the briny ocean With the jolly roving tar.
Sailors will navigate through the rough waters with their fellow sailor, the jolly roving tar.
When Jack comes in, it's then he'll steer To some old boarding house.
When Jack returns to shore, he will take control and lead them to a boarding establishment.
They'll welcome him with rum and gin, And feed him on pork scouse.
The boarding house will offer Jack alcohol and a hearty meal of pork stew.
He'll lend, spend and he'll not offend Till he's lyin' drunk on the ground
Jack will generously give his money and time to others until he can no longer drink any more alcohol and passes out.
Jack, he then, oh then he'll sail Bound down for Newfoundland
After his night on shore, Jack will set sail towards Newfoundland.
All the ladies fair in Placentia there They love that sailor man.
The women in Placentia are attracted to Jack because of his charm and sailing profession.
He'll go to shore out on a tear And he'll buy some girl a gown.
Jack will go back to shore and spend his money on a woman by buying her a dress.
When Jack gets old and weather beat, Too old to roam about,
When Jack becomes old and worn out from a lifetime of sailing, he will no longer be able to travel.
They'll let him stop in some rum shop Till eight bells calls him out.
Jack will be able to spend his days in a bar and drink rum until the sailor's curfew ends.
Then he'll raise his eyes up to the skies, Sayin' "Boys, we're homeward bound."
When Jack realizes he is near death, he will look up and say that they are returning home.
Get up Jack! John, sit down!
Refrain from sitting down, as there is still more drinking and celebrating to be done.
Chorus
The main message and refrain of the song, emphasizing the enjoyment of sailing and camaraderie among sailors.
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