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.
When I Am King
Great Big Sea Lyrics
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Without a care
Your head's not heavy, your conscience clear
Sins are all forgiven here
Yours and mine
Fear is gone without a trace
It's the perfect time in the perfect place
Nothing's hurting, nothing's sore
The doctor found a simple cure
Just in time
All these things if I were king
Would all appear around me
The world will sing when I am king
The world will sing when I am king
Oh, she walks right in
She don't even knock
It's the girl you lost to the high school jock
She shuts the door, turns the lock
And she takes your hand
She says she always felt a fool
For picking the captain over you
She wonders if you missed her
Said she always told her sister
Oh, that you're the best damn kisser
That she's ever had
All these things if I were king
Would appear around me
The world will sing when I am king
The world will sing when I am king
Daylight waits to shine until the moment you awaken
So you never miss the dawn
No question now, you know which road you're taking
Lights all green, the radio plays just the perfect song
Well, the war's been won
All the fights are fought
You find yourself in just the spot
It's a place where everybody's got a song to sing
Just like the final movie scene
The prince will find his perfect queen
The hero always saves the world
The villains get what they deserve
The boy will always get the girl
When I am king
The song "When I Am King" by Great Big Sea is a reflective and uplifting track about a world free from pain, hurt, and fear. The song begins with the reference to the peace and contentment that comes with awakening without any care. The lyrics reveal a world where all sins are forgiven and no one suffers anymore because a doctor found a simple cure just in time. The melody is upbeat and the lyrics are hopeful, painting a world that is perfect in every way. The song tells the story of a girl who walks in and takes the man's hand, expressing regret for choosing someone else over him. The song ends on an optimistic note with everyone finally finding their perfect match, the hero saving the world, and the boy getting his girl - all when the singer ascends to being king.
The song has an underlying inspirational message that lingers for a long time, leaving one hopeful and introspective about their relationships, personal and social life. The chorus repeats twice, bringing an encouraging note to the main verses of the song, that everything will be alright when the singer becomes king. The lyrics suggest that the happiness and peace we seek are within our grasp when we are ready to make positive changes in ourselves and the world around us.
Line by Line Meaning
Wake up
It's time to wake up
Without a care
You don't have anything to worry about
Your head's not heavy, your conscience clear
You don't feel guilty and you're not weighed down by any problems
Sins are all forgiven here
Any mistakes you've made are all forgiven
Yours and mine
Everyone's mistakes and misdeeds are forgiven, not just yours
Fear is gone without a trace
You're not afraid anymore
It's the perfect time in the perfect place
Everything is perfect right now
Nothing's hurting, nothing's sore
You feel great and not in pain
No one suffers anymore
Everyone is happy and no one is in pain
The doctor found a simple cure
Someone has found a solution to all the problems
Just in time
It came just when it was needed
All these things if I were king
If I were in charge of everything
Would all appear around me
Everything I wanted would magically be around me
The world will sing when I am king
Everyone will be happy and singing when I'm in charge
Oh, she walks right in
Someone unexpected comes in
She don't even knock
She doesn't even feel the need to knock
It's the girl you lost to the high school jock
This is the girl you lost to someone you didn't like in high school
She shuts the door, turns the lock
She locks the door behind her
And she takes your hand
She grabs your hand
She says she always felt a fool
She admits to feeling foolish in the past
For picking the captain over you
She feels foolish for choosing someone else over you
She wonders if you missed her
She's curious if you missed her
Said she always told her sister
She's referring to something she told her sister
Oh, that you're the best damn kisser
She thinks you're the best kisser ever
That she's ever had
Out of all the people she's kissed
Daylight waits to shine until the moment you awaken
It's like the sun waits to come up until you wake up
So you never miss the dawn
You never miss the sunrise
No question now, you know which road you're taking
You know what path you're going to follow now
Lights all green, the radio plays just the perfect song
Everything is going perfectly
Well, the war's been won
The battle has been won
All the fights are fought
There are no more fights to be fought
You find yourself in just the spot
You're in the perfect place
It's a place where everybody's got a song to sing
Everyone is happy
Just like the final movie scene
It's like everything is wrapping up and ending perfectly
The prince will find his perfect queen
Everything will work out for the best
The hero always saves the world
The good guys always win in the end
The villains get what they deserve
The bad guys are punished
The boy will always get the girl
The main character always gets the girl
When I am king
If I were in charge of everything
Lyrics © LEAN GROUND MUSIC LTD., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ALAN THOMAS DOYLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind