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.
Wave over Wave
Great Big Sea Lyrics
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On a three-masted schooner from Twelingate Isle
I've been the world over North, South, East and West
But the middle of nowhere's where I likes it best
Where it's wave over wave sea over bow
I'm as happy a man as the sea will allow
There's no other life for a sailor like me
There's no other life but to sail the salt sea
Well I leave my wife lonely ten months of the year
For she built me a home and raised my children D'ere
She never come out to bid farewell to me
Or can why a sailor must sail the salt sea
Where it's wave over wave sea over bow
I'm as happy a man as the sea will allow
There's no other life for a sailor like me
Than to sail the salt sea boys to sail the sea
There's no other life but to sail the salt sea
Oh the work it is hard and the hours are long
But my spirit is willing my back it is strong
And when the works over the whisky will pour
We'll dance with the girls upon some foreign shore
I've sailed the world over for decades or more
And oft times I wonder what I do it for
I don't know the answer it's pleasure and pain
But with life to live over I'd do it again
Where it's wave over wave sea over bow
I'm as happy a man as the sea will allow
There's no other life for a sailor like me
Than to sail the salt sea boys to sail the sea
Where it's wave over wave sea over bow
I'm as happy a man as the sea will allow
There's no other life for a sailor like me
Than to sail the salt sea boys to sail the sea
There's no other life but to sail the salt sea
Ohh ohhhh
The song "Wave over Wave" by Great Big Sea tells the story of a sailor who takes pride in his job and feels a sense of belonging while sailing the seas. He introduces himself as a share man on a schooner from Twelingate Isle who has traveled to different parts of the world. Despite seeing different cultures and landscapes, his favorite place in the world is the middle of nowhere. The sailor uses the metaphor of "wave over wave, sea over bow" to describe the rhythm of the waves crashing against the boat and taking it to exciting places. Despite the dangers of the job and the long periods away from home, the sailor feels content and happy to be doing what he loves.
The sailor talks about leaving his wife for ten months a year and how she's built him a home and raised his children. Despite this, she doesn't understand the call of the sea and never comes to bid him farewell. The sailor acknowledges that the life of a sailor is tough, with long hours and hard work, but he finds solace in the fact that when the job is done, he can relax and dance with the girls on some foreign shore. He wonders why he's chosen this life, but he concludes that he would do it all over again if given the chance.
Line by Line Meaning
Only name Table Rogers a share man am I
I am a share man named Table Rogers and that's all there is to know about me
On a three-masted schooner from Twelingate Isle
I sail on a three-masted schooner that originates from Twelingate Isle
I've been the world over North, South, East and West
I have traveled to all corners of the world, north, south, east, and west
But the middle of nowhere's where I likes it best
I prefer being in the middle of nowhere over any other location
Where it's wave over wave sea over bow
I am most content when the waves are rolling over and the sea is crashing against the bow
I'm as happy a man as the sea will allow
The sea makes me truly happy, as happy as it can possibly allow me to be
There's no other life for a sailor like me
There is no other life that suits a sailor like me
Than to sail the salt sea boys to sail the sea
There's nothing more fulfilling for me than to sail the sea, boys
Well I leave my wife lonely ten months of the year
I leave my wife alone for ten months out of each year
For she built me a home and raised my children D'ere
Despite building me a home and raising our children, she understands my passion for sailing
She never come out to bid farewell to me
My wife never comes out to say goodbye to me when I leave
Or can why a sailor must sail the salt sea
She doesn't understand why a sailor must sail the salt sea
Oh the work it is hard and the hours are long
The work is difficult and the hours are long
But my spirit is willing my back it is strong
But I am willing and able to do the work
And when the works over the whisky will pour
After the work is done, we will drink whisky
We'll dance with the girls upon some foreign shore
We'll celebrate by dancing with girls on some foreign shore
I've sailed the world over for decades or more
I have been sailing the world for decades, if not more
And oft times I wonder what I do it for
At times, I question why I continue to do it
I don't know the answer it's pleasure and pain
I don't have the answer; the reason is most likely a combination of pleasure and pain
But with life to live over I'd do it again
If given the chance to live life again, I would choose to sail the sea again
There's no other life but to sail the salt sea
For me, there's no other life besides sailing the salt sea
Ohh ohhhh
This is a musical interlude with no particular meaning
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind