''The Hard and The Easy'' is the seventh studio album by
Great Big Sea. It was released on October 11, 2005 in Canada and October 25, 2005 in the US. It reached gold status by October 25, 2005.
The album is a compilation of traditional Newfoundland songs, many of which were collected together in the Gerald S. Doyle song books. Its title is derived from a line in the folk song "Tickle Cove Pond", which appears as the closing track on the album.
The album was nominated for
Roots & Traditional Album of the Year by a group at the
2006 Juno Awards.
Track listing
#"
Come And I Will Sing You (The Twelve Apostles)" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 3:42
#"
Old Polina Old Polina is a traditional Newfoundland folk song. It is most likely based on the ship ''Polynia'', built in 1861, of the Dundee Seal and Whale Fishing Company fleet. ''Polynia'' was commanded by Captain William Guy from 1883 to 1891, when she was ...
" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:40
#"The River Driver" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 3:03
#"
The Mermaid" (Phil Hillier, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett, lyrics by Shel Silverstein) 2:49
#"Captain Kidd" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:51
#"Graceful & Charming (Sweet Forget Me Not)" (Bobby Newcome, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 4:18
#"Concerning Charlie Horse" (
Omar Blondahl) 3:13
#"Harbour LeCou" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 3:33
#"Tishialuk Girls Set (Father's Jig / Buffet Double / Tishialuk Girls)" (Baxter Wareham, Rufus Guinchard, Charlie Lloyd) 3:27
#"French Shore" (Lem Snow) 3:48
#"
Cod Liver Oil
Cod liver oil is a dietary supplement derived from liver of cod fish (Gadidae). As with most fish oils, it contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and also vitamin A and vitamin D. Histori ...
" (Johnny Burke, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:57
#"
Tickle Cove Pond {{unreferenced, date=March 2019
Tickle Cove Pond was written by Mark Walker (songwriter), a fisherman and songwriter who lived in Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay in Newfoundland, Canada during the late 19th century. This song is prized locally for the b ...
" (Mark Walker) 5:01
Song information
*"Come and I Will Sing You" is a variation on an English Christian folk song that has been around since early times, popular in the
West Country
The West Country (occasionally Westcountry) is a loosely defined area of South West England, usually taken to include all, some, or parts of the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, and, less commonly, Wiltshire, Glo ...
. It is similar to the version known as "
Green Grow the Rushes, O
Green Grow the Rushes, O (alternatively "Ho" or "Oh") (also known as "The Twelve Prophets", "The Carol of the Twelve Numbers", "The Teaching Song", "The Dilly Song", or "The Ten Commandments"), is an English folk song (Roud #133). It is sometimes ...
."
*"Captain Kidd" is about the infamous pirate
William Kidd
William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...
.
*After the album was released, the band discovered that "
The Mermaid" was actually written by
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, poet, cartoonist, singer / songwriter, musician, and playwright. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before ...
.
*"Graceful & Charming (Sweet Forget Me Not)" was actually composed by Bobby Newcome of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1877.
[ Retrieved October 21, 2007]
Additional information
The album offered through
iTunes came with a digital copy of the booklet. In addition, a live version of "The Old Black Rum" was
offered to those who signed up for the
pre-order
A pre-order is an order placed for an item that has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came because people found it hard to get popular items in stores because of their popularity. Companies then had the idea to allow customers to r ...
.
The CD version of the album came with a bonus DVD featuring back-stories, commentary and informal performances of many of the album tracks.
See also
*
List of Newfoundland songs
This is a list of songs associated with the Canadian Island of Newfoundland.
Songs with an unknown composer/lyricist ("Traditional")
*" A Great Big Sea Hove In Long Beach"
*" Bake Apple Time in Newfoundland"
*" Ballad of the Southern Cross"
*" ...
References
External links
''The Hard and The Easy'' page at the Official GBS Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hard and the Easy
2005 albums
Great Big Sea albums
Warner Music Group albums