Great Big Sea UK

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I had my first encounter with Great Big Sea at the Cambridge Folk Festival in 1997, whereupon I had an urge to buy this album. Unfortunately I couldn't immediately follow my urge, as the band's shipment of CDs had gone astray! Luckily, they arrived before the end of the Festival, and sold out shortly thereafter. I was first in the queue.......



The original is by Slade, but I prefer the b'ys version - even if oral transmission did warp the words a little!

Run Runaway

(N Holder/J Lea)

I like black and white, three men in black in white
You like black and white, run runaway

See chameleon lying there in the sun
All things to everyone, run runaway

If you're in the swing, money ain't everything
If you're in the swing, run runaway

If you got it sussed, don't beat around the bush
If you got it sussed, run runaway

Oh now can't you wait? No no come on and wait
Oh now can't you wait? run runaway

I like black and white, three men in black in white
You like black and white, run runaway

To see the original Slade lyrics, go to Another Verse...... You can hear the Slade version at MrScsi



I saw about 30 seconds of the video for this over in Vancouver. My friend wondered why I screamed...... though it was 2 am at the time......

Goin' Up

(Doyle)

Well come gather all around me, there is something you should know
There is no place quite like this place if we get it on the go
So, pile your boots up in the corner, hang your jacket from the door
There's thirty people in the kitchen and there's always room for more

Oh oh oh, come on now, let's lock the world outside
Oh oh oh, come on I tell you now, she's goin' up tonight

Well there'll be music all around you, you should see the way it feels
Come on off we go now, heel and toe now, to the jigs and reels
'Cause somebody's got a fiddle, someone else bought a guitar
And we got Bobby on the squeezebox, grab a chair and raise a jar

Well there'll be smilin', there'll be laughin' and that's good enough for me
There'll be dancing all around you, this is where you want to be
So pile your boots up in the corner, hang your jacket from the door
There's thirty people in the kitchen and there's always room, yes there's always room...



Fast As I Can

(Doyle)

From the first hello you gave to me I've done nothing else but smile
And I know you're in a hurry, but it's gonna take a while
So forgive me if we go slow, but there's something I think you should know

I'm going fast as I can, please don't make me rush
This feeling's coming on way too fast
I'll tell you all of the things that you'll never forget
But I'm not ready say, "I love you" yet
I'm not ready to say "I love you" yet

Don't push me in too deep, I've always been the fool who rushes in
You've got to take the pieces one by one before you've got everything
So forgive me if we go slow but there's something I think you should know

There'll be times when I'm mistaken, there'll be times when we're gonna fight
but you needn't doubt we can work it out and in time we'll get it right
So forgive me if we go slow but there's something I think you should know

From the first hello...



Truly a manic performance from Séan. What IS that man on?

Mari-Mac

(Trad: arr GBS)

There's a neat little lass and her name is Mari-Mac
Make no mistake, she's the girl I'm gonna track
Lots of other fellas try to get her on her back
But I'm thinking that they'll have to get up early

Mari-Mac's mother's making Mari-Mac marry me
My mother's making me marry Mari-Mac
Well I'm going to marry Mari for my Mari's taking care of me
We'll all be feeling merry when I marry Mari-Mac

Now Mari and her mother are an awful lot together
In fact you hardly see the one without the other
And people often wonder if it's Mari or her mother
Or both of them together I am courting

Well up among the heather in the hills of Banoffee
I had a bonnie lass sitting on me knee
A bumble bee stung me right above me knee
Up among the heather in the hills of Banoffee

Well a certain bonnie lass and me, we're going to spend the day
Sat among the heather in the hills of Banoffee
Where all the boys and girls are making out so free
Up among the heather in the hills of Banoffee

The wedding's on a Wednesday, everything's arranged
Soon her name will change to mine unless her mind be changed
And making the arrangements, I'm feeling most deranged
Marriage is an awful undertaking

Sure to be a grand affair, grander than a fair
Going to be a fork and plate for every man that's there
And I'll be a bugger if I don't get my share
If I don't I'll be very much mistaken

There's a neat little lass and her name is Mari-Mac
Make no mistake, she's the girl I'm gonna track
Lots of other fellas try to get her on her back
I'm thinking that they'll have to get up early



Something To It

(McCann)

I'm sorry if I ruined your day
I really hope that you understand
I'm a million miles away
Looking for a place to land

My father phoned me yesterday
Your time has come, well done my son
Tried to think of what to say
When words came, he'd already gone

I don't know how I got here,
There must be something to it.
I think I need some time alone
To work my way through it

The moon is in the sky tonight
Not very warm but it sheds some light
Ask me now and I just might
Let the morning come and tell me if it's right

Soon initial bliss will pass
This precious time might be our last
Like dew upon the morning grass
Good intentions can vanish with the sun

I'm sorry if I ruined your day
I really hope that you understand
But I'm a million miles away
Looking for a place to land

Well I'm a million miles away
Looking for a place to land



They don't seem to do this live anymore, unfortunately....

Buying Time

(Hallett/McCann)

I stayed awake for hours again last night
Searching for a reason to keep up the fight
I've made choices I don't regret
I've got problems I don't get

I didn't want to carry the heavier load
You can't always take the middle road
There comes a time when you make up your mind
And the point get left behind

Oh let's wait one more day for the conversation
One more day to make it right
Let's get away from the confrontation
One more day just buying time

For years and years you can drift along
And write another verse to an endless song
Wait one more day 'til the time is right
Hoping that you both see the light
You won't see the light!

I'm not afraid to sleep alone
I'm not afraid to be alone

Stayed awake for hours again last night
Just searching for a reason to keep up the fight
I've made choices I don't regret
But I've got problems and problems and problems and problems and problems



Great Big Sea have done a fantastic version of this with The Chieftans, on the Fire In The Kitchen album.

Lukey

(Trad: arr GBS)

Well old Lukey's boat is painted green, ha me boys
Lukey's boat is painted green, the prettiest boat that you've ever seen
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Well Lukey's boat's got a fine fore cutty, ha me boys
Lukey's boat's got a fine fore cutty, and every seam is chinked with putty
Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Well I says "Lukey the blinds are down", ha, me boys
I says "Lukey the blinds are down" - "Me wife is dead and she's underground"
Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Well "I" says Lukey, "I don't care", ha me boys
"I" says Lukey, "I don't care, I'll get me another in the spring of the year"
Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Well old Lukey's rolling out his grub, ha me boys
Lukey's rolling out his grub, one split pea in a ten pound tub
Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Well, Lukey's boat's got high-topped sails, ha me boys
Lukey's boat's got high-topped sails, and she was planched with copper nails
Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Lukey's boat is painted green, ha me boys
Lukey's boat is painted green, it's the prettiest boat that you've ever seen
Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day

Aha, me boys a riddle i day
Aha, me boys a riddle i day



There seems to be something shady going on in Bob's past......

The Old Black Rum

(Hallett - based on trad)

I drank sixteen doubles for the price of one
Trying to find the courage to talk to The One
I asked her for a dance - not a second glance
My night had just begun

Well I drink to the father and the holy ghost
I'm kneeling at the altar of my nightly post
So I'll raise a glass, not the first or last
Come join me in this toast

Because the old black rum's got a hold on me
Like a dog wrapped around my leg
And the old black rum's got a hold on me
Will I live for another day?
Will I live for another day?

Well the queen of George Street just went walking on by
Walking on by with some guy who don't care
That she stood in line since half past nine
And spent three hours on her hair

Well her friend is looking at me with an evil grin
I think a bloody racket might soon begin
I must have said something to the George Street queen
And her boys are joining in

So I drank all of my money and I slept out in the rain
Everyday is different but the nights they're all the same
You never see the sun on the old black rum
But I know I'm gonna do it again



Otherwise known as Process Man - Séan's bodhrán goes right through you on this one.....

The Chemical Worker's Song

(R Angel)

And it's go boys go - they'll time your every breath
And every day you're in this place you're two days nearer death
But you go

Well a process man am I and I'm telling you no lie
I work and breathe among the fumes that trail 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

Well I've worked among the spinners and I've breathed the oily smoke
I've shovelled up the gypsum and it nigh on makes you choke
I've stood knee deep in cyanide, got sick with the caustic burn
And working rough I've seen enough to make your stomach turn

There's overtime and bonus opportunities galore
The young men like their money and they all come back for more
But soon you're knocking on and you look older than you should
For every bob made on the job, you pay with flesh and blood

Well a process man am I and I'm telling you no lie
I work and breathe among the fumes that trail 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



Wave Over Wave

(J Payne/J Spence)

Oh me name's Able Rogers, a shareman am I
On a three masted schooner from Twillingate 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
Then to sail the salt sea boys, sail the sea
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 dear
She never came out to bid farewell to me
Or ken why a sailor must sail the salt sea

Ah, the work it is hard and the hours are long
But my spirit is willing, my back it is strong
And when the work's over the whisky we'll 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



The introductory tune is known as "The Sook" a Newfoundland term for a whiner. The song itself is easier to sing along to if you've had a few ;o)

Billy Peddle

(Trad: arr GBS)

Billy Peddle, Billy Peddle have you seen Tom White?
Billy Peddle, Billy Peddle have you seen Tom White?
Billy Peddle, Billy Peddle did you see Tom White?
Gone around the harbour gonna stay all night
Gone around the harbour gonna get a dose of beer
Gone around the harbour gonna get away from here
Gone around the harbour gonna have a cup of tea
If you see him, Billy Peddle, tell him I wants he

and if you want to know how to recognize Tom White, go here.



Nothing Out Of Nothing

((McCann)

I left my home and my family by the ocean
Out on my own, to seek my fortune
But there's no work to occupy these young hands
So look out boy, you're heading for the mainland

And what do you do? You can't make nothing out of nothing
Everybody needs a start
And what do you do? You can't make nothing out of nothing
Give my country back its heart

Now I was born on a St John's street
Where all my hopes could meet with defeat
I hired my days through higher education
Now I'm so smart I could rue this comdenation

Now I'm alone but I'm working everyday
I'm getting stoned and blowing all my pay
Just to survive I'll do whatever I can
Now I'm alive, but I cannot be a real man



The Jolly Butcher

(Trad: arr GBS)

Oh won't you come along with me love, come along with me
Come for one night and be my wife and come along with me

Well it is of a jolly butcher as you might plainly see
As he roved out one morning in search of company
He went into a tavern and a fair girl he did see
Ah come for one night, be my wife, come along with me

He called for liquour of the best
And he made such fortune play
Come have a drink, it will make us think
That it is our wedding day

Well he called for a candle to light their way to bed
And when he had her in the room these words to her he said
"A sovereign I will give to you, for to embrace your charms"
And all that night that fair young maid lied in the butcher's arms

Oh, early the next morning, be sure it went his way
He looked unto that fair young maid and unto her did say
"That sovereign that I gave to you, now do not think me strange
Well that sovereign that I gave to you - will you give me back me change?"

Well about a twelvemonth later he roved out once more
And he went into the tavern where he'd often been before
He wasn't in there very long when this fair maid he did see
And she brought forth a baby three months old and placed it on his knee
And when he saw the baby, he began to curse and swear
And he said unto that fair young maid, "Why did you bring him here?"
"Well he is your own, kind sir", she said, "Do not think me strange
That sovereign that you gave to me, well I gives you back your change"



Better known traditionally as "Bob Pittman"....

Rant and Roar

(Trad: arr GBS)

We'll rant and we'll roar like true Newfoundlanders
We'll rant and we'll roar on deck and below
Until we strikes bottom inside the two sunkers
When straight through the channel to Toslow we'll go

I'm a son of a sea cook, I'm a cook and a trader
I can dance, I can sing, I can reef the main boom
I can handle a jigger, I cuts a fine figure
Whenever I gets in a boat's standing room

Farewell and adieu to ye young maids of Valen
Oderin and Presque, Fox Hole and Bruley
I'm bound for the westward to the wall with the hole in
I can't marry all or it's chokey I'll be

Versions of this popular tune abound around the world. There are Australian and English versions, as well as the original "Bob Pittman" and some history notes, on Another Verse.....



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