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.
The Chemical Worker's Song
Great Big Sea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And its go boys go
They'll time your every breath
And every day in this place your two days near to death
But you go
Well a process man am I and I'm tellin' you no lie
There's thunder all around me and there's poison in the air
There's a lousy smell that smacks of hell and dust all in me hair
[Chorus]
Well I've worked among the spitters and I breathe the oily smoke
I've shovelled up the gypsum and it neigh 'on makes you choke
I've stood knee deep cyanide, got sick with a caustic burn
Been working rough, I've seen enough, to make your stomach turn
[Chorus]
There's overtime and bonus opportunities galore
The young men like their money and they all come back for more
But soon your knocking on and you look older than you should
For every bob made on the job, you pay with flesh and blood
[Chorus]
Well a process man am I and I'm telling you no lie
I work and breathe among the fumes that tread across the sky
There's thunder all around me and there's poison in the air
There's a lousy smell that smacks of hell and dust all in me hair
[Chorus 2x]
The Chemical Worker's Song by Great Big Sea is a hauntingly powerful illustration of the toll that the chemical industry takes on the workers within it. The chorus, repeated throughout the song, speaks to the harsh reality of working in such an environment - every breath is measured as the workers are constantly exposed to poisonous fumes that fill the air around them. The lyrics go on to paint a picture of the daily struggle of a "process man", detailing the physical and emotional toll that this type of work takes on a person. From the toxic fumes to the dust and grime that coats the workers' hair, the song describes the sheer danger and unpleasantness of the job. Despite this, the lure of "overtime and bonus opportunities galore" keeps the workers coming back for more, even though it causes them to age prematurely and pay with their own flesh and blood.
Line by Line Meaning
And its go boys go
Keep moving forward despite the challenges
They'll time your every breath
The job can be dangerous and every breath counts
And every day in this place your two days near to death
The job takes a toll on your health and life expectancy
But you go
Despite the dangers, the workers persevere on
Well a process man am I and I'm tellin' you no lie
I work in a chemical plant and what I say is true
I work and breathe among the fumes that tread across the sky
The air is polluted with hazardous chemicals
There's thunder all around me and there's poison in the air
The noise and air pollution make it unpleasant and dangerous to work
There's a lousy smell that smacks of hell and dust all in me hair
The chemicals leave a bad smell and residue
Well I've worked among the spitters and I breathe the oily smoke
I've worked with equipment that releases oil and smoke
I've shovelled up the gypsum and it neigh 'on makes you choke
I've had to handle gypsum which is dusty and can be suffocating
I've stood knee deep cyanide, got sick with a caustic burn
I've worked with dangerous substances like cyanide and been injured
Been working rough, I've seen enough, to make your stomach turn
The job is tough and can be nauseating
There's overtime and bonus opportunities galore
Workers are offered extra pay and incentives to work longer hours
The young men like their money and they all come back for more
Younger workers are attracted to the money but may not fully understand the risks
But soon your knocking on and you look older than you should
The job takes a physical toll and workers age faster
For every bob made on the job, you pay with flesh and blood
Workers sacrifice their health and safety for the money they earn
And its go boys go
Despite the risks, the workers keep moving forward
They'll time your every breath
The risks are constantly present and can't be ignored
And every day in this place your two days near to death
The job greatly reduces life expectancy
But you go
The workers have to keep going to make a living
Well a process man am I and I'm telling you no lie
I've experienced firsthand the dangers of working in a chemical plant
I work and breathe among the fumes that tread across the sky
The chemicals released affect both the air and the workers
There's thunder all around me and there's poison in the air
The working environment is constantly hazardous
There's a lousy smell that smacks of hell and dust all in me hair
The job is unpleasant and leaves workers physically affected
And its go boys go
Despite the adversity, the workers keep pushing forward
They'll time your every breath
The risks are ever-present and must be considered
And every day in this place your two days near to death
The job takes an enormous toll on your health
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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