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.
Sally Ann
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hanging on Her every word
Kings and Queens never saw such a fuss
Her Servants are waiting to serve
Sally Ann Sally Ann
Oh when you dance
Every move that you make is amazing.
Hey Sally Ann
Life will be all that you make it.
I must have got caught in your hair so bright
Got lost in your eyes so blue
I followed around in circles all night
For a chance to dance with you
It breaks my heart to hear her cry
I'm a Fool for Her for sure
See me swallowing my pride
She got me crawling on the floor
The song Sally Ann by Great Big Sea is an ode to a woman whose beauty and grace captivates the attention of everyone around her. The lyrics paint a picture of a woman who commands attention and respect, with all eyes on her from dawn till dusk, hanging on her every word. She's described as being so captivating that even kings and queens have never seen such a fuss, and her servants are constantly waiting to serve her.
The chorus of the song is an expression of admiration for Sally Ann, with the singer proclaiming that every move she makes when she dances is amazing. He then offers his heart and hand to her, telling her that life will be all that she makes it. The second verse describes the singer's own attempts to get close to Sally Ann, getting lost in her eyes and following her around in circles for a chance to dance with her.
The final lines of the song reveal the singer's heartbreak at seeing Sally Ann cry, and his willingness to swallow his pride and crawl on the floor for her. Overall, the song is a celebration of the power and allure of a woman who commands the attention and admiration of everyone around her.
Line by Line Meaning
All eyes on Her from dawn till dusk
Everyone is fixated on Sally Ann throughout the day.
Hanging on Her every word
Everyone listens intently to everything that Sally Ann says.
Kings and Queens never saw such a fuss
Even royalty have never seen so much attention and excitement as Sally Ann receives.
Her Servants are waiting to serve
Sally Ann has servants eagerly waiting to do her bidding.
Sally Ann Sally Ann
The singer is addressing Sally Ann.
Oh when you dance
The singer is commenting on Sally Ann's dancing abilities.
Every move that you make is amazing.
Sally Ann's dance moves are awe-inspiring and incredible.
Take my Heart Take my Hand
The singer is offering Sally Ann his love and companionship.
Hey Sally Ann
The singer is getting Sally Ann's attention.
Life will be all that you make it.
Sally Ann has the power to shape her own life and destiny.
I must have got caught in your hair so bright
The singer is mesmerized by the brightness of Sally Ann's hair.
Got lost in your eyes so blue
The singer is captivated by Sally Ann's bright blue eyes.
I followed around in circles all night
The singer spent the entire night trying to get near Sally Ann.
For a chance to dance with you
The singer just wants to dance with Sally Ann.
It breaks my heart to hear her cry
The singer is upset to hear Sally Ann cry.
I'm a Fool for Her for sure
The singer acknowledges that he's a fool for Sally Ann.
See me swallowing my pride
The singer is humbling himself in front of Sally Ann.
She got me crawling on the floor
The singer is willing to do whatever it takes to please Sally Ann.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ALAN THOMAS DOYLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind