The Giant is a song by Canadian folk singer-songwriter Stan Rogers

Stan Rogers

Stanley Allison "Stan" Rogers was a Canadian folk musician and songwriter.Rogers was noted for his rich, baritone voice and his finely crafted, traditional-sounding songs which were frequently inspired by Canadian history and the daily lives of working people, especially those from the fishing...

. The Giant referred to is Fingal

Fionn mac Cumhaill

Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...

, an Irish

Ireland

Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...

-Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 mythical giant. The song is set in Nova Scotia's

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

 rugged Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....

, and the lyrics contain enchanting imagery describing the island's landscape. The song also contains quasi-pagan imagery, including the suggestion of worshipping the new moon by dancing around a bonfire, although it may be that characters in the song are using the full moon to have a party. In the album Home in Halifax

Home In Halifax

Home in Halifax is a 1993 live album by Stan Rogers. It was recorded by the CBC during a concert Rogers performed at the Rebecca Cohn Auditorium in Halifax, Nova Scotia in March of 1982, 11 years prior. The concert was put together as a life radio and T.V. broadcast celebrating Rogers' annual...

, Stan Rogers claimed that the song was about Guinness.