The Hard and The Easy is an album by Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea

Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...

. 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.

The album was nominated for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year by a group

Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group

The Juno Award for Roots & Traditional Album of the Year - Group is presented annually at Canada's Juno Awards to honour the best album of the year in the roots and/or traditional music genres...

 at the 2006 Juno Awards

Juno Awards of 2006

The Juno Awards of 2006 were held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the weekend of 31 March to 2 April 2006. These ceremonies honour music industry achievements in Canada during the previous year....

.

Track listing

1. "Come And I Will Sing You (The Twelve Apostles)" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 3:42
2. "Old Polina
   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. The Polynia was commanded by Captain William Guy from 1883 to 1891, when it was sunk by ice in Davis Strait...
   
   " (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:40
3. "The River Driver" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 3:03
4. "The Mermaid
   The Mermaid (song)
   "The Mermaid" is a song about a whaler falling in love with a mermaid, but despairs because the mermaid has fish parts below her waist. It was written by Shel Silverstein and recorded on his album I'm So Good That I Don't Have to Brag, in 1965. In December of 1966, "The Mermaid" was published in...
   
   " (Phil Hillier, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:49
5. "Captain Kidd" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:51
6. "Graceful & Charming (Sweet Forget Me Not)" (Bobby Newcome, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 4:18
7. "Concerning Charlie Horse" (Omar Blondahl) 3:13
8. "Harbour LeCou" (Traditional, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 3:33
9. "Tishialuk Girls Set (Father's Jig / Buffet Double / Tishialuk Girls)" (Baxter Wareham, Rufus Guinchard, Charlie Lloyd) 3:27
10. "French Shore" (Lem Snow) 3:48
11. "Cod Liver Oil
    Cod Liver Oil (song)
    "Cod Liver Oil" is a song about a traditional medicinal drink for many Newfoundlanders. Cod liver oil in the traditional way of manufacture was sun cured and served in bottles in its raw form. The song was written by Johnny Burke , a balladeer from St. John's, Newfoundland...
    
    " (Johnny Burke, Arranged Alan Doyle, Séan McCann, Bob Hallett) 2:57
12. "Tickle Cove Pond
    Tickle Cove Pond
    Tickle Cove Pond was written by Mark Walker , a fisherman and song-writer who lived in Tickle Cove, Bonavista Bay in Newfoundland, Canada during the late 19th century. This song is prized locally for the beauty and wit of the lyrics, which turn a mundane event into an act of heroism...
    
    " (Mark Walker) 5:01

Song information

• "Come and I Will Sing You" is a variation on a song that has been around since early Islamic times. It is similar to the version known as "Green Grow the Rushes, O
  Green Grow the Rushes, O
  Green Grow The Rushes, Ho , is a folk song popular across the English-speaking world. It is sometimes sung as a Christmas carol...
  
  ."

• "Captain Kidd" is about the infamous pirate William Kidd
  William Kidd
  William "Captain" Kidd was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer...
  
  .

• After the album was released, the band discovered that "The Mermaid
  The Mermaid (song)
  "The Mermaid" is a song about a whaler falling in love with a mermaid, but despairs because the mermaid has fish parts below her waist. It was written by Shel Silverstein and recorded on his album I'm So Good That I Don't Have to Brag, in 1965. In December of 1966, "The Mermaid" was published in...
  
  " was actually written by Shel Silverstein
  Shel Silverstein
  Sheldon Allan "Shel" Silverstein , was an American poet, singer-songwriter, musician, composer, cartoonist, screenwriter and author of children's books. He styled himself as Uncle Shelby in his children's books...
  
  .

• "Graceful & Charming (Sweet Forget Me Not)" was actually composed by Bobby Newcome of Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1877..

Additional information

The album offered through iTunes

ITunes

iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....

 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

Pre-order

A pre-order is an order placed for an item which has not yet been released. The idea for pre-orders came when people found it hard to get popular items in stores due to their popularity. Companies were then given the idea to allow people to reserve their own personal copy, before the release, ...

.

The CD version of the album came with a bonus DVD featuring back-stories, commentary and informal performances of many of the album tracks.

The title of the album comes from a line in the final track "Tickle Cove Pond".

External links

• The Hard and The Easy page at the Official GBS Website