Great Big Sea UK

ALBUMS

Great Big Sea

The band's first album came as a complete surprise to me, when I found it on a shelf in HMV in Vancouver. It didn't stay there for long!

A very interesting album, especially when listened to back-to-back with Sea Of No Cares! The evolution of a band......



Great Big Sea/Gone By The Board
Trad/arr. Hallett

Great big sea hove in Long Beach
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
Great big sea hove in Long Beach
Granny Snooks she lost her speech
To me right fal diddle fal day

Great big sea hove in the harbour
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
Great big sea hove in the harbour
Hove right up to Keough's Parlour
To me right fal diddle fal day

Mother, dear I wants a sack
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
Mother, dear I wants a sack
With beads and buttons all down me back
To me right fal diddle fal day

Me boot is broke, me frock is tore
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
Boot is broke, me frock is tore
But Granny Snooks I do adore
To me right fal diddle fal day

Fish is gone and the flower is high
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
Fish is gone and the flour is high
Granny Snooks she can't have I
To me right fal diddle fal day

She will have me in the fall
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
If she don't I'll hoist my sail
Hove right up to old Canaille
To me right fal diddle fal day

Great big sea hove in Long Beach
Whack fal lora taddle tiddle i do
Great big sea hove in Long Beach
Granny Snooks she lost her speech
To me right fal diddle fal day



Someday Soon
(Doyle)

They keep talking of the things they'd do if we'd only vote them in
Send one more dollar and all the bickering and suffering would end
If you'd sign your 'X' in favour it's three jobs for every man
You can burn your boats, that's what they said - it seemed they had it planned
And I hope they haven't forgotten the promises they made

'Cause they said they'd stop the fighting and they said they would bring peace
And they said they'd find a serum that can cure all our disease
And they said they'd house the homeless and put black and white in tune
And they said they'd feed a hungry child, and I hope it's someday soon

Saw a man sleep in an alley laying with a paper for his bed
And the headlines showed beneath the man and this is what they read
"If elected there would be no persons living in the street"
But the paper couldn't even provide shelter for his freezing feet
And I hope they haven't forgotten the promises they made

Well they said it would be so different, if we'd would only play their games
But I've been playing for so long and I swear its still the same



This one also appears on the one and only Rankin Street tape.

Excursion Around The Bay
(Trad)

Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife cry
Oh me, oh my, I think I'm gonna die
Oh me, oh my, I heard me old wife say
I wish I had never taken this excursion around the bay

'Twas on one Sunday morning, and the day being calm and fine
To the Harbour Grace excursion with the boys to have a time
Then just before the sailor took the gangway from the pier
I saw some fella haul me wife aboard of the Volunteer

Well we had full three hundred souls on board, oh what a splendid sight
Massed strong and regimental to make our spirits bright
And meself being in the double, when the funny things they'd say
They'd choke themselves from laughing when they'd see us in the bay

My wife she got no better, she turned a sickly green
I fed her cakes and candy, fat pork and kerosene
Castor oil and sugar of candy, I rubbed pure oil on her face
And I said she'll be a-dandy when we reaches Harbour Grace

My wife she got no better, me wife, me darling dear
The screechers from her truly you could hear in Carbonear
I tried every place in Harbour Grace, tried every store and shop
To get her something for a cure or take her to the hop

She died below the brandies as we were coming back
We buried her in the ocean, wrapped up in a Union Jack
So now I am a single man, in search of a pretty face
And the woman that says she'll have me, I'm off for Harbour Grace



The traditional Newfoundland greeting.

What Are Ya' At?
(Doyle)

Well I was walking in a mainland city and I was feeling so alone
I was looking for someone or thing to remind me of my home
What I wouldn't give to have somebody nod or wink at me
'Cause thats the way we say hello in my home down by the sea

We never say "Hello" or "How's it going?", "Good day" or any of that
We just look at them and nod our heads or wink and say "What are ya at?"

What are ya at? How's she going buddy, What are ya at today?
What are ya at? How's she going buddy, What are ya at today?

But then I walked into a shopping mall and much to my surprise
An old friend from my hometown was a sight for my sore eyes
And of all the people I met there in the city or in the mall
I think I like my hometown friend the best one of them all

Because he didn't say "Hello" or "How's it going?", "Good day" or any of that
My old friend he just looked at me and smiled and said "What are ya at?"

Let this be a lesson to all our people who go away
Remember if you meet someone the special words we say
We don't ever say "Hello" or "How's it going?", "Good day" or any of that
You just look at them and nod your head and wink and say "What are ya at?"



A beautiful ballad, originally written as a poem by Séan's father.

Fisherman's Lament
(Ed & Séan McCann)

I stand in my doorway as the moon rises high
Over glorious ocean, reflects the bright sky
My heart it is aching so much I could die
I've known only the ocean since I was a boy

And I spent my whole life out there on the sea
Some government bastard now takes it from me
It's not just the fish, they've taken my pride
I feel so ashamed that I just want to hide

I fished with my father so long, long ago
We were proud of our trade, and in us it did show
We held our heads high, there was lots of fish then
That was a time when we were proud men

We challenged great storms and sometimes we won
Faced death and disaster, we rose with the sun
We worked and we toiled, we strained our man's brain
We were a proud people, will we e'er be again

My father is gone now, and the fish are gone too
Abused and mis-managed, oh what can we do
I'm too old to change, but what of my sons
How will they know that we weren't the ones?

DFO regulations permitted the rape
Of our beautiful ocean, from headland to cape
They brought in big trawlers, they tore up our twine
Politicians don't care for what's yours or what's mine

You brave Newfoundlanders, now listen to me
Shove the package to hell, go back to the sea
If we don't stand our ground we will fade away
And the bones of our fathers will turn in the clay

Back to the sea....



Appears in a very different form on the Rankin Street tape.

I'se The B'y
(Trad)

I'se the b'y that builds the boat
And I'se the b'y that sails her
I'se the b'y that catches the fish
And brings 'em home to Liza

Hip your partner Sally Tibeaux
Hip yer partner Sally Brown
Fogo, Twillingate, Morton's Harbour
All around the circle

Sods and rinds to cover your flake
Cake and tea for supper
Cod fish in the spring of the year
Fried in maggoty butter

I don't want your maggoty fish
They're no good for winter
Well I can buy as good as that
Way down in Bonavista

I took Liza to a dance
As fast as she could travel
And every step that she could take
Was up to her knees in gravel

Susan White she's outta sight
Her petticoat wants a border
Well old Sam Oliver in the dark
He kissed her in the corner

I'se the b'y that builds the boat
And I'se the b'y that sails her
I'se the b'y that catches the fish
And brings 'em home to Liza



"She's got knees of different sizes....."

Drunken Sailor
(Trad)

What do you do with the drunken sailor
What do you do with the drunken sailor
What do you do with the drunken sailor
Earlie in the morning

Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Way hay and up she rises
Earlie in the morning

Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Shave his belly with a rusty razor
Earlie in the morning

Put him in the hold with the Captain's daughter
Put him in the hold with the Captain's daughter
Put him in the hold with the Captain's daughter
Earlie in the morning

What do you do with a drunken sailor
What do you do with a drunken sailor
What do you do with a drunken sailor
Earlie in the morning

Put him the back of the paddy wagon
Put him the back of the paddy wagon
Put him the back of the paddy wagon
Earlie in the morning

Throw him in the lock-up 'til he's sober
Throw him in the lock-up 'til he's sober
Throw him in the lock-up 'til he's sober
Earlie in the morning

What do you do with a drunken sailor
What do you do with a drunken sailor
What do you do with a drunken sailor
Earlie in the morning



This song is followed by two reels, Roger's and Festival.

Irish Paddy
(Trad/Benoit/Guinchard)

It's of an Irishman I'm going to tell you, free from Ireland, sailed away
Where he was to he was not contented, made up his mind for to go away

Early next morning the ship was sailing, Queenstown Harbour, Cobh in Cork
Eight long days he was sailing over 'til he landed in New York

Up the street young Paddy wandered, each big building caught his eye
Looking up at a big shop window a bottle of whisky he did spy

Into the bar young Paddy entered, called for a drink without delay
Give me a drop of that Irish Whisky, four big coppers I will pay

The landlord he jumped over the counter: "Pay me down that bill" he said
Paddy up with a big shillelagh, laid him on the floor right dead

So the Yankees they came running when they heard about the row
Trying to kill poor Irish Paddy, shouting out, "Where is he now?"

Irishmen they followed after, Following without delay
Each of them with a big shillelagh made the Yankees run away

May God's success to his Irish people, many's the country they have roamed
But their courage is far bolder when they're far away from home



Time Brings...
(McCann)

Hearken to me both high and low
I'll sing for you a song
Of Kings and Queens, and rose-lipped maidens
Courting light-foot lads

Now love is grand when love is new
The heart blood it runs strong
There's nothing a doting lad won't do
To keep his princess warm

He'll tease her with poems and promises
He'll ask her out to dance
He'll cajole and he'll beg and he'll always win
In bitter-sweet romance

For time it comes, and time it goes
It makes the strongest tree to bend
Kings and Queens have no defence
Time brings all things to an end

But he goes out with his drinking pals
His eyes begin to roam
He forgets all about the brown-eyed beauty
Who now sits home alone

There's no more walks down Lover's Lane
There's no more wine in the sun
All that's left is a hollow pain
Time, alas, you've won

Now all who wish for love to stay
And last your whole life through
Keep ahead of time, my boys
And never be untrue



A song from Alan's childhood!

Berry Picking Time

Well I spied a berry bush as I was strolling home one day
And somehow it brought back the bygone days
Of when you and I were berry picking many years ago
In a little county not so far away
How well I do remember the day when we first met
It leaves a picture in my mind I never can forget

We were picking berries at old Aunt Mary's when I picked a blushing bride
As we strolled home together, I just wondered whether I could win you forever if I tried
Then at love's suggestion, I popped the question and asked you to be mine
By your kisses I knew, you'd picked me and I'd picked you at berry picking time

Well how sweet you were that day in your simple gingham gown
To me you were as lovely as a queen
When from underneath your bonnet popped a pair of golden curls
And the bluest eyes that I have ever seen
Your lips were red as cherries, the taste was twice as sweet
It only took one kiss to make my happiness complete



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