ock, Newfoundland's Great Big Sea are able to convey the light-hearted, personal and friendly way of life enjoyed in the east. Though generally known as being one part of Canada's "hinterland" and suffering province-wide problems with unemployment due to the declining fisheries industry, Newfoundland is somehow still able to produce music that attempts to see the silver lining around the cloud that sometimes seems to hang above the province.Great Big Sea can be classified as a classical East coast band as they try and work the sound of their homeland into each and every song. Even though their songs are often fast-paced they are not a rock band- far from it, actually. Their sound is birthed from the very land that surrounds them, a land that seems to have little to do with modern technology. Therefore Great Big Sea are mainly an acoustic band; putting aside wailing guitars, heavy drums and synthesizers in favor of acoustic guitars, whistles, and traditional Celtic sounds. The lyrics to their songs also live and breath as a tribute to the area from where they came.I've got a smile on my faceI've got four walls around me.The sun in the skyThe water surrounds me.I'll win now but sometimes I'll loseI've been battered but I'll never bruise.It's not so bad.Taken from their song Ordinary Day, these lyrics summarize all that Great Big Sea, the province of Newfoundland and the East Coast represent. The sound of the song is as light-hearted and whimsical as the lyrics. This type of song not only reflects the type of band Great Big Sea is, it also works as an accurate reflection of the kind of people who live in this area. The type of attitude conveyed in the song matches the type of attitude you would have to have if you lived in Newfoundland where jobs were scarce. The narrator of the song is telling the listeners to be glad for what they have ("four walls around" them) and to enjoy the beauty of the natural surroundings (sun, sky and ...
