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.
Over The Hills
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To leave your troubles far behind.
Enlist and take a soldiers' pay.
Go over the hills and far away!
We'll fight in dry Afghanistan,
To keep the peace in foreign lands.
Learn the real soldiers' way,
Come and join the infantry,
Where the real soldiers fight, you'll see.
Our comrades we will not betray,
Over the hills and far away.
It's safe at home; we'd rather stay,
Watch our children grow and play.
We owe the crown, so now we'll pay,
We're over the hills and far away.
Over the hills we'll march today,
And The Queen has called so we obey.
We'll stand our ground and here we'll stay.
Over the hills and far away!
[Accordion/Flute solo]
The politicians sleep at night,
While out here we will stand and fight.
English, French, we're brothers all,
Remember us if here we fall?
Over the hills we'll march today,
And The Queen has called so we obey.
We'll stand our ground and here we'll stay.
Over the hills and far away!
Over the hills we'll march today,
And The Queen has called so we obey.
We'll stand our ground and here we'll stay.
Over the hills and far away!
The Great Big Sea's song "Over the Hills" is a call to arms for those who are willing to leave their troubles and comfort behind and join the military. It is an appeal to the adventurous spirit of young men and women who seek to take the path of a soldier, to experience a life of duty and honor in faraway lands. The song portrays the sacrifice and bravery of those who serve their country with pride and dedication, even if it means leaving their families and loved ones behind. The lyrics also hint at the sense of isolation and longing that soldiers can experience when they are far away from home, fighting for a cause that they may not fully understand.
The verses of the song are written in a traditional ballad style, with simple phrasing and a repetitive structure that lends itself well to group singing. The chorus is powerful and anthemic, with a soaring melody and evocative lyrics that capture the spirit of adventure and heroism that the song celebrates. The accordion and flute solo that punctuates the middle of the song adds a touch of whimsy and folksy charm, reinforcing the idea that the song is an ode to the simple pleasures of life and to the bonds of friendship that soldiers can form in the midst of adversity.
Overall, "Over the Hills" is a stirring tribute to the courage and dedication of soldiers, and to the role that they play in defending our freedoms and way of life. It is a reminder that sometimes, in times of great peril, we must leave our comfort behind and answer the call to duty and honor.
Line by Line Meaning
Ye boys and girls that have a mind.
Hey everyone who has the spirit to do something adventurous!
To leave your troubles far behind.
To escape from your current problems.
Enlist and take a soldiers' pay.
Join the army and get salary as a soldier.
Go over the hills and far away!
Go far away from here to fight as a soldier.
We'll fight in dry Afghanistan,
We will fight for peacefulness in a foreign, dusty place named Afghanistan.
To keep the peace in foreign lands.
We are trying to bring or maintain peace in different, foreign countries.
Learn the real soldiers' way,
We will learn how to fight like a real soldier.
Go over the hills and far away!
We are going to execute our mission distantly from here.
Come and join the infantry,
If you want to see what real soldiers are doing, join the infantry.
Where the real soldiers fight, you'll see.
Only in the infantry you will be able to experience real fighting.
Our comrades we will not betray,
We will never betray our comrades in the army.
Over the hills and far away.
We will fight far from home and we will continue our journey.
It's safe at home; we'd rather stay,
We know it is safer at home but we decided to go away for a while.
Watch our children grow and play.
Our children grow and play while we are far from home.
We owe the crown, so now we'll pay,
We owe our country, and that's why we are willing to pay the price.
We're over the hills and far away.
We are far away from home, doing our mission.
Over the hills we'll march today,
We will start our journey today to fight in a distant place.
And The Queen has called so we obey.
We are obeying the orders of the Queen.
We'll stand our ground and here we'll stay.
We will defend our position and stay in the place where we are assigned.
Over the hills and far away!
We are still fighting in distant places, far from home.
[Accordion/Flute solo]
Music solo
The politicians sleep at night,
While politicians are sleeping comfortably at night.
While out here we will stand and fight.
We are out here fighting for our country.
English, French, we're brothers all,
We should have a united brotherhood alliance with everyone, no matter their nationality.
Remember us if here we fall?
Will you remember us if we fall here while fighting?
Contributed by Mason H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.