Introduction

9 May 2008

When I started this site, I wrote in Microsoft Front Page. It is a very basic program and served its purpose well. However, I decided to rewrite the entire site in Adobe Dreamweaver. (I did do a LOT of copying and pasting, though) Why? It is a bit more pleasing visually and does allow more freedom to change things around and to add features down the road. One of the features that I like the most is the navigation helper. When browsing through the site, hover over <prev or next> and it will indicate what that page is....
...To quote a great man: “I hope you like it.”

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1 August 2007

Geez. I really haven’t changed this page in a LONG time. Well, this summer starts a new chapter for Big Country. Bruce Watson, Tony Butler and Mark Brzezicki have reformed Big Country and have begun to tour again and are working on songs for a new album. I was lucky enough to see them in Glasgow and Aberdeen this July and I am so excited for the future of the band.

This coincides with making this site a bit more intuitive in respects to its URL. While jfng.com is near and dear to my heart, it is less than obvious for those looking for Big Country info. So I had a thought. Why not bigcountryinfo.com. Now THAT’S a bit more obvious. Of course I’m keeping a mirror of the site at jfng.com....just because.

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18 July 2005
Well here it is. For a long time, I’ve been looking for something to do with this site. I really haven’t updated it much until this point. The music of Big Country has always been near and dear to me. The ‘Book of Lyrics’ originally  started at the vastly comprehensive ‘Steeltown’ website. That site (click here) is probably the most comprehensive Big Country fan site there is. Unfortunately, in 2000 the site owner was no longer able to continue updating. It is amazing that even after five years, even without being updated, it is still the starting point when researching all that is Big Country.

Michael Wallack took over the project and continues to do so in amazing fashion. I would say that my contribution here is dwarfed by the time and effort he has put into it. I contributed to his compilation by transcribing some songs and  I know what kind of time that I put into organizing this site. I can only imagine the hours he has put into it over the years.

Well, I had some time on my hands and wanted to contribute to the ‘cause’ of promoting the music Big Country. For a long time, I have traded shows with other fans and had a site dedicated to that (Now that page is part of this one). I loved Mr. Wallack’s compilation of the Book of Lyrics so much, I wanted to somehow adopt it to this site. Mr. Wallack was gracious enough to allow me to make an HTML version of his Book of Lyrics. I hope that what I have put together here can fill the gap until he is able to put together his iteration.

Frankly, even after putting this site together, I still prefer the PDF version of the Book. Maybe I’m old fashioned, but there still is nothing like curling up with a book.The PDF format also allows for more ‘stable’ graphic formatting than does HTML . Each person’s computer views websites slightly differently. I learned THAT the hard way, putting this site together. I hope that you can view this site properly. :-p

I have never accused myself of being that creative or artistically inclined and I hope that my small contribution does it justice. While a bit on the plain side, I think the site is still informative. I am also including the foreword to Mr. Wallack’s Book here as there is sooo much I’ve left out here in terms of giving proper credit.

Cheers,

jfng

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FROM THE BIG COUNTRY BOOK OF LYRICS
(COMPILED BY MICHAEL S. WALLACK) v2.01

Introduction

Project History

This project is truly a labor of love. Big Country’s music has played a very important part in my life over the last twenty years and this project is, in part, my way of giving something to those who share my love of Big Country. The Big Country Book of Lyrics was originally offered online as a PDF file on a web site that later grew into the remarkable Steeltown site. Unfortunately, the real world intruded and the original compiler decided to stop further updates after the release of the “Somebody Else” CD singles. At that point, I stepped in and decided to assume the responsibility for the Big Country Book of Lyrics. Alas, the real world also delayed my ability to keep up with new releases and the Book of Lyrics fell into limbo. Now, however, it is finally time to resurrect the Big Country Book of Lyrics.

Dedication

The Big Country Book of Lyrics is, of course, dedicated to Bruce Watson, Tony Butler, Mark Brzezicki, and to the memory of Stuart Adamson. May the music they made inspire us for generations to come. Stay alive! Driving home from work shortly after posting v2.00 of the Book of Lyrics, I realized that I had forgotten the most important dedication of all: To my wife; the first girl that I dated who liked Big Country. She has put up with my obsession all these years, and, since I began this project, has never once laughed at me or told me that I was wasting my time.

Special Note Concerning Copyrights

I do not claim ownership of the copyright of any of the lyrics and cover art contained in this document; they belong to the respective artists, record labels, and recording companies. I have prepared this document under the provisions of the Fair Use clause of the copyright laws of the United States. This document may not be sold or distributed as part of a work for which any fee is charged. In addition, in the event that Big Country should someday release a book similar in scope and content to this one, then all copies of this book should be destroyed. It is my sincere desire that this book in no way deprive Big Country (or the related artists referenced herein) of any royalties that they should be entitled to and I encourage them to make this book obsolete by releasing a definitive and “official” book of lyrics. If you appreciate this book, I strongly encourage you to purchase those Big Country recordings (and the recordings of the related artists included in this book) that you do not have. I will not accept payment; however, I am always happy to receive additional Big Country material (e.g., bootleg recordings or unreleased material) that add to my collection.

Acknowledgments

From original Big Country Book of Lyrics: Thanks to Jonathan Berkey, Michael Bickley, Todd Carrier, Mattias Engvall, Tony Dennison, Svein B. Hjorthaug, Jeff Cetola, Lewis Crow, Ian Ingham, Christian Jennings, Thomas Kercheval, John Lewis, Simon McKenzie, Allard Mosk, Eric Mossfeldt, Erle Mundle, Martin Powell, Brady Severns, Valeri Shaw, Jeroen Sprenkeler, Bas van Giesen, Michael Wallack and Greg Ziegler. Special thanks to Oliver Hunter.

Additional acknowledgments: Michael Crosson, Lewis Crow, Andrew Cullum, Mattias Engvall, Jules Erickson, John R. Gouveia, Oliver Hunter, Thomas H. Kercheval, Simo Neiglick, Jeff Patterson, Hans Reiter, Jeroen Zuiderhoek, Ben, Sue, and Kjartan (sorry, but I can’t find your last names). (I apologize to those who helped with this project that I have inadvertently omitted.) Special thanks to Robert Oliver and everyone who has been involved in the various incarnations of the Big Country mailing lists over the last few years.

What’s with the symbol?

The lyrics for many of the songs in this book were transcribed by myself and members of the Big Country internet community by careful listening and discussion. Nevertheless, without definitive written lyrics from the songwriters it remains nearly impossible to be sure that all lyrics presented are correct. Songs for which “official” lyrics have never been made available are indicated by the question mark icon. Sources for “official” lyrics are the liner notes to the albums, Big Country Words by Stuart Adamson, the music book for “Wonderland”, and Country Club magazine (the old official magazine for Big Country). Lyrics have recently been posted on the official website for the “No Place Like Home + Peace in Our Time” release. Some revision to songs marked with the icon is still needed.

What’s with the miniature album pictures?

Big Country released eight studio albums. For the sake of chronological categorizing, all of Big Country’s songs have been assigned to an “era” associated with the album for which the song was recorded or, in the case of unreleased songs, approximating the time that the song was recorded. A timeline of the eight studio album is used to show where each song fits chronologically, with the appropriate album image shown in color and all other albums shown in greyscale. Thus, a reader can simply glance at the album timeline to get a rough idea of where that song fits within the Big Country chronology.

When no timeline appears for a given song, it means that chronological information for the song is not available.
 

Future Revisions & Plans

I hope to be able to offer updated versions of the Big Country Book of Lyrics as additional songs are (hopefully) released and as more information becomes available. Please send suggested changes, corrections, or enhancements to bcfan@wallack.us. In addition, if you would like to volunteer to assist with some of the larger enhancements presently planned for this book, please let me know! In future editions of this book, Some of the plans for future editions include:

 
Big Country on the Internet

For more information on Big Country and to purchase Big Country merchandise, please visit the official Big Country web site: http://www.bigcountry.co.uk. Tony Butler maintains a website through his record company, Great West Records: http://www.greatwestrecords.co.uk. Bruce Watson’s personal website http://www.bruce-watson.co.uk. To join the Big Country internet mailing list (where many of the contributions for this book originated), please visit: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bigcountry. The current version of the Big Country Book of Lyrics can be downloaded from http://www.wallack.us/bc (my brand new website for the Big Country Book of Lyrics).

Final Notes

In the present version of the Book of Lyrics I have included separate pages for alternate versions of songs only when there is a fairly substantial change in the lyrics. I have not included a separate page for minor changes (e.g. a single word, a repeated chorus), but I do plan to add more information about different song versions in the future. At present, the single live release by Bruce Watson’s Buffalo Skinners has not been included.