Parked By the Jukebox with Great Big Sea’s “Heart of Hearts”

Great Big Sea is great big fun.

They’ve been described as 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, Scottish, and Cornish heritage,” and that pretty much nails it. Especially the “energetic” part. I can’t remember when I first heard them, though I suspect it was the folks at Pandora who slipped ’em out of the Great Unknown box and into my musical life to wreak havoc. But no matter their origin, I’ve loved them for years. They play the sort of folk-tinged, up-beat music that’s perfect “Outside Working Music” for me. (That’s why the somewhat-similar UpBeatIrish-y groups The Bothy Band and Gaelic Storm find their way into my “Most-Played” list in iTunes.)

Now, I try to avoid working outside as much of possible, so I don’t end up listening to any of these groups as much as I (probably) should…or as much as my wife (I suspect) would like. But when I do finally work my way outdoors, I am very often accompanied by GBS’ tight harmonies and high-octane melodies.

Of late, it’s been their “Heart of Hearts.” I don’t quite understand what the lyrics are getting at (though I think I can’t entirely endorse them, since my heart-of-heart’s got plenty of shame in it) and I have no idea what’s going on in the music video (because NUNS STEALING CARS???), but the melody and the energy get me every time. So here’s a live version, which really helps to showcase the exuberance and humor and personalities that make them so much fun:

That clip comes from a CBCMusic presentation in honor of some GBS anniversary or other, and can be found in more(?) entirety HERE. Also, the group’s lead singer — that’s him below — is named Alan Doyle, and he’s a good friend/frequent collaborator with Russell Crowe. Which helps to explain his role as Allan A’Dayle in Scott/Crowe’s Robin Hood. He’s certainly got the name for it, right? And the background. (…and just look how much fun he’s having!)

In my heart of hearts there is a special place
For every man who shook my hand
Every girl that kissed my face;

Attribution(s): Photo of Alan Doyle courtesy of Getty Images, which allows the use of certain images “as long as the photo is not used for commercial purposes (meaning in an advertisement or in any way intended to sell a product, raise money, or promote or endorse something); “Great Big Sea” trio photo provided by Alex Ramon and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.”