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.
Old Polina
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're sailing from Dundee
Manned by British sailors
That take them o'er the sea
On a western ocean passage
We started on the trip
We flew along just like a song
On a gallant whaling ship
Just after leaving port
We met a heavy sou'west gale
And washed away our boat
It washed away our quarterdeck
Our stanchions just as well
And so we set the whole shebang
A-floatin' in the gale
[Chorus]
For the wind was on our quarter
The engines working free
There's not another whaler
That sails the arctic sea
Can't beat the Old Polina
You need not try my sons
We challenged all both great and small
From Dundee to St John's
Art Jackman set his canvas
Fair Weather galloped steam
And Captain Guy, the daring boy
Came plunging through the stream
And Mullins in the Husky
Tried to beat the bloody lot
But to beat the Old Polina boys
Was something he could not
[Chorus]
There's the noble terra Nova
A model without doubt
The Arctic and Aurora
They talk so much about
Art Jackman's model mail boat
The terror of the sea
Tried to beat the Old Polina
On a passage from Dundee
[Chorus]
Now we're back in old St John's
Where rum is very cheap
We'll drink a health of Captain Guy
Who brought us o'er the deep
A health to all our sweethearts
And to our wives so fair
Not another ship could make the trip
The Polina I declare
[Chorus: x2]
The song "Old Polina" by Great Big Sea is a tribute to the gallant whaling ship called Old Polina. The song begins by describing the whaling ship as a part of a noble fleet of whalers that are sailing from Dundee manned by British sailors. The crew is going on a western ocean passage, and the ship is flying along just like a song. However, their journey soon turns rough as they meet a heavy sou'west gale just after leaving the port, washing away their boat and quarterdeck along with their stanchions. Despite the setbacks, they set the whole thing floating in the gale.
The song then continues to describe how various other ships try to outdo the Old Polina, including Art Jackman's canvas, Fair Weather's steam, Captain Guy's daring maneuvers, and Mullins' Husky, but nobody could beat the Old Polina. The song describes the other ships' attempts to defeat the Old Polina but ultimately failing to do so. Finally, the song concludes with the crew of the Old Polina back in St. John's, where they are drinking to their captain and their wives, declaring that not another ship could make the trip.
This song is a tribute to the Old Polina, an actual whaling ship that belonged to one of the band member's families. The Old Polina was a wooden-hulled sailing vessel built in 1908 by A. McMillan and Son of Dumbarton, Scotland.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a noble fleet of whalers
A group of majestic whaling vessels is present
They're sailing from Dundee
Departing from Dundee, Scotland, the fleet embarks
Manned by British sailors
British sailors are on board these vessels
That take them o'er the sea
These sailors navigate the vast ocean
On a western ocean passage
The fleet sails across the Atlantic
We started on the trip
The journey has begun
We flew along just like a song
The voyage was effortless and soothing
On a gallant whaling ship
These are courageous ships that also engage in hunting whales
Was the second Sunday morning
The time was the second Sunday morning of their departure
Just after leaving port
They had just departed from the harbor
We met a heavy sou'west gale
A mighty southwest wind caught up with them
And washed away our boat
A big wave washed away their previous small boat
It washed away our quarterdeck
Also, their quarterdeck was lost
Our stanchions just as well
The stanchions of their vessel were not spared
And so we set the whole shebang
The crew made arrangements for a replacement ship
A-floatin' in the gale
They sailed on the ocean, undeterred by the weather conditions)
[Chorus]
The chorus repeats the song's theme
For the wind was on our quarter
The wind was blowing favorably for them
The engines working free
The ship's machines were running effortlessly
There's not another whaler
There was no other ship better than theirs
That sails the arctic sea
No other ship dares to sail the treacherous icy waters of the Arctic
Can't beat the Old Polina
The Old Polina is unbeatable
You need not try, my sons
There's no need to attempt to surpass them, as they're unbeatable
We challenged all both great and small
They had challenged all the other ships- big and small
From Dundee to St John's
They had challenged all the ships steaming between these two ports.
Art Jackman set his canvas
Art Jackman set sail
Fair Weather galloped steam
Fair weather conditions were present
And Captain Guy, the daring boy
Captain Guy was a bold captain
Came plunging through the stream
He maneuvered his ship skillfully in the ocean
And Mullins in the Husky
Mullins was leading a ship called Husky
Tried to beat the bloody lot
Mullins was trying to outmaneuver them
But to beat the Old Polina boys
However, they were deliberately overpowered by the Old Polina's crew
Was something he could not
Mullins couldn't match the Old Polina's crew
[Chorus]
The chorus repeats the song's theme
There's the noble terra Nova
The terra Nova is just as impressive
A model without doubt
It's a true model of excellence
The Arctic and Aurora
The Arctic and Aurora ships were also remarkable
They talk so much about
People talk a lot about them
Art Jackman's model mail boat
Art Jackman's ship, which transported post and parcels
The terror of the sea
It instilled fear amongst other ships
Tried to beat the Old Polina
It was also no match for the Old Polina
On a passage from Dundee
As it sailed from Dundee to some other destination
[Chorus]
The chorus repeats the song's theme
Now we're back in old St John's
They're back in St John's, their home port
Where rum is very cheap
Here, rum is readily available and cheap
We'll drink a health of Captain Guy
They'll toast to Captain Guy's health
Who brought us o'er the deep
He led them through the vast ocean
A health to all our sweethearts
They also toast to their loved ones
And to our wives so fair
And, to their beautiful wives
Not another ship could make the trip
No other vessel could achieve a similar feat as the Old Polina
The Polina I declare
The Old Polina is a remarkable ship indeed
[Chorus: x2]
The chorus repeats the song's theme twice
Lyrics © LEAN GROUND MUSIC LTD., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: TRAD, Alan Thomas Doyle, Robert Bruce Hallett, Shawn McCann
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jourell1
According to wiki, the song most likely refers to the Polynia, a ship for the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company, which was captained by William Guy from 1883 - 1891 when she was sunk by ice. The other ships mentioned in the song- the Arctic, Aurora, Husky, and Terra Nova were also ships in the company fleet. In fact, the Aurora rescued the Polyna's crew when she sunk.
Every year, the fleet would make a passage from Dundee Scotland to Newfoundland where they would pick up whalers and then go out to sea to hunt. Since the first ships to make port would have the pick of the most experienced men, there was a competition among the captains to see who could make the fastest time.
Matthew Mackenzie
Thank you Lad the stories sometimes more cool than the song!!
Bolero Forté
Thanks, wikibot
Madame Kilbourne
That is so freakimg cool!!!
STONECRUSHER420
Way to go man! That fills in a ton of info in the song.
FrightNight123
Awesome song!!!! Such a Newfoundland folksong.
Skyril
THANK you for uploading this song. I loved it, but it wasn't on youtube which was insanely annoying
Inner Demon
I think part of why I love this is that they don't say there's not another whaler that COULD, they're saying there's not another whaler that can. Could means they're just talking about when it was still making trips. Can? Can means right now at the least, and until the end of time at the most. So they could be saying that no other ship will EVER do it faster
Eric Stix
It’s the ship that made the Dundee Passage in less than twelve parsecs.
Kaged Birdd
US citizen, but I listened to this album constantly when I was a kid.