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.
Someday's
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some days I feel fine
Some days the clock just ticks too slowly
And I wish away my time
But when you come to me
I realize how wonderful this life can be
With you, you and me
Some days I get so psychotic
And some days I am blue
Some days I sip my gin and tonic
And I wonder what the world will do
[chorus]
Some days I think I just fell from the sky
Some days I see a child and start to cry
But everyday I try
Some days I am virtuous
More days I am bad
Some days I just can't get enough
Of the sweetest thing I've ever had
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Great Big Sea's song Someday's can be interpreted as an expression of the ups and downs of life. The singer expresses the varying emotions and moods that he experiences throughout his life, from feeling sad and lonely to feeling fine, feeling psychotic to feeling blue, and so on. He acknowledges that life can sometimes feel slow and boring, leading him to wish away his time. However, when he has his significant other with him, he is reminded of how wonderful life can be. The chorus serves as a reminder that every day, despite the good and bad, he tries to make the most out of his life.
The emotive depth of the lyrics is underscored by the melody, which plays an important role in communicating the mood of the song. The song starts off with a slow, melancholic tone, which blends well with the opening lyrics that describe sadness and loneliness. As the song progresses and introduces the chorus, the tempo picks up, and the singer's vocals become more upbeat and lively. The shift in melody is a reflection of the singer's mood, indicating that he is trying to be hopeful and optimistic despite the challenges that he faces.
In conclusion, the lyrics to Great Big Sea's song Someday's convey the message that life is full of ups and downs, but it's important to keep moving forward and make the best out of every day.
Line by Line Meaning
Some days I feel sad and lonely
There are days when I feel unhappy and alone.
Some days I feel fine
There are days when I feel content and satisfied with my life.
Some days the clock just ticks too slowly
There are days when time feels like it's dragging on and on.
And I wish away my time
I sometimes wish that time would pass more quickly.
But when you come to me
However, when you are with me,
I realize how wonderful this life can be
I am reminded of how amazing life can be.
With you, you and me
Especially when it's just you and me together.
Some days I get so psychotic
There are days when I feel like I'm losing my mind.
And some days I am blue
There are days when I feel sad and down.
Some days I sip my gin and tonic
I sometimes drink alcohol to cope with my emotions.
And I wonder what the world will do
I sometimes feel uncertain about what the future holds.
[chorus]
The next few lines are part of the chorus of the song.
Some days I think I just fell from the sky
There are days when I feel like I don't quite belong on this earth.
Some days I see a child and start to cry
There are days when I become emotional after seeing a child.
But everyday I try
But every day, I try my best to keep going and overcome my struggles.
Some days I am virtuous
There are days when I act in a morally good way.
More days I am bad
However, most days I don't behave as well as I know I should.
Some days I just can't get enough
There are days when I want more and more of something.
Of the sweetest thing I've ever had
Of something that I consider to be the best thing in my life.
[Chorus]
The final lines of the song repeat the chorus once more.
Lyrics © CARLIN AMERICA INC
Written by: SEAN (CAN) MCCANN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind