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.
SUMMER
Great Big Sea Lyrics
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She doesn't show no fear at all
Bring on autumn moon or the driving rain
I only hope I see her face again
[Chorus]
Everything is gonna be alright when summer comes
The darkest stars will burn so bright when summer comes
When summer comes
I will wait in the silence until she returns
To melt the frozen prison round this fool who never learns
Every living thing that's born must have its end
What winter takes away, spring brings back again
[Chorus]
Summer doesn't feel the coming frost
And she doesn't yield to pain or loss
Death where is thy victory where is thy string
When every year we hear the birds of summer sing
[Chorus]
The song "Summer" by Great Big Sea is a tribute to the joys of summer, the effects it has on the human psyche and the feelings of loss that arise when it comes to an end. The opening lines suggest that the subject ("she") is oblivious to the reality of seasonal change and seems unafraid of what the future holds. The singer, on the other hand, seems haunted by the knowledge that summer will come to an end, and he fears that he might not see the subject's face again. The chorus suggests that, despite the inevitability of the next season, everything will be all right when summer comes. The summer season is portrayed as a time of great light and energy that will help them survive the darker days that lie ahead.
The second half of the song explores themes of waiting, longing and hope. The singer waits in the silence for the subject to return, hoping that she will "melt the frozen prison" around him. He acknowledges the cyclical nature of life but takes comfort in the fact that with each passing winter, there is a new spring and a chance for rebirth. Summer is portrayed as a force that transcends the fear of death and loss; it is something that has eternal value.
Overall, the lyrics to "Summer" are a poetic meditation on the beauty of the summer season, its power to uplift the human spirit and its ability to connect us with something greater than ourselves.
Line by Line Meaning
She doesn't see the coming fall
The girl is unaware of the approaching end of her happy times
She doesn't show no fear at all
The girl is unfazed by anything that might happen in the future
Bring on autumn moon or the driving rain
The singer is willing to face any obstacle that might arise in the future
I only hope I see her face again
The singer wants to see the girl who brings happiness in his life, again
Everything is gonna be alright when summer comes
The singer believes that everything will be okay when happy times return
The darkest stars will burn so bright when summer comes
Even the worst situations will turn positive when happy times return
We will open up our bodies to the warming of the sun
The singer is excited to embrace good times and enjoy it to the fullest
I will wait in the silence until she returns
The singer is patient and waits for the happy times to return
To melt the frozen prison round this fool who never learns
The singer hopes to be freed from his unhappy life by the girl's return
Every living thing that's born must have its end
Everything in life has a beginning and an end
What winter takes away, spring brings back again
Even when unhappy times come, happy times will follow again
Summer doesn't feel the coming frost
When times are good, people tend to overlook the eventual end of the good times
And she doesn't yield to pain or loss
People tend to be resilient and bounce back from difficult times even when they do come
Death where is thy victory where is thy string
Even death cannot fully take away the memories and happiness of the past
When every year we hear the birds of summer sing
Every year brings a new opportunity for happiness and joy to return
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: SEAN (CAN) MCCANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Nguyen Hoang Thanh Cao
My friend brought me here :)