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Big Country — Chance
Album: The Crossing
Avg rating:
6.9

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1587









Released: 1983
Length: 4:16
Plays (last 30 days): 0
All the rain came down
On a cold new town
As he carried you away
From your father's hand
That always seemed like a fist
Reaching out to make you pay

He came like a hero from the factory floor
With the sun and moon as gifts
But the only son you ever saw
Were the two he left you with

Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low

Now the skirts hang so heavy around your head
That you never knew you were young
Because you played chance with a lifetime's romance
And the price was far too long

Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low

Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low

Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low

Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low

Oh Lord where did the feeling go
Oh Lord I never felt so low
Comments (198)add comment
Great album!  
Good Tune!
 thewiseking wrote:

Much hyped as The New U2.
Didn't work out that way



Totally different style, totally different sound, Ireland vs Scotland.
 thewiseking wrote:

Much hyped as The New U2.
Didn't work out that way




SO mistaken. When this album dropped, no one was hyping anyone as the "new U2". U2 was barely U2 in 1983.
Much hyped as The New U2.
Didn't work out that way
Such a solid song.  They did deserve more attention than they ever got here in the States.  Really, really good songs from that album.....
 ariadne223 wrote:
One of my favorites. I enjoy all their 80s albums. For all of the 80s revival at the moment, some of the best stuff remains untouched. 
 
Very sad that Stuart didn't make it through to enjoy the later years...
 Sasha2001 wrote:

I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.

 
Please thank Steve for Johnny Thunders So Alone album, the great album he always had in him but for the drugs
One of my favorites. I enjoy all their 80s albums. For all of the 80s revival at the moment, some of the best stuff remains untouched. 
 wtango wrote:

Fields of Fire = another Great B.C. song!  This whole album is great.
 
B.C....before COVID?
One of the sounds of my youth, great memories.
Great segue, Bill:  

"Rivers of Babylon" by the Melodians (The Harder They Come soundtrack)  --> this. 
Hello The Boss!
 NeilBlanchard wrote:
Hello Mark: Mark1970 wrote:
Something other than "In A Big Country".... what a breath of fresh air! Fantastic album!!!
It's my favorite from that album, and probably of their entire catalog. There were a couple of us tripping over each other to get it uploaded -- and I "won"! Neil
 
It is hard to believe I uploaded this 15 years ago! I don't know if Bill got a better file since then, but it does sound great!
Probably maybe definitely my favorite song of the 80’s - so good Love the religious undertones
To my mind, this is among the great debut albums in rock music, one that overshadows a band's later efforts. (See also The Car's debut.) It still sounds great.
Hmmm, I had marked this as one of my favorites.  Tonight, playing my favorites, the opening sounded so much like Bruce Springsteen, (one of my least favorite musicians) I said to self "WTF?" And then it continued and I remembered why I love this so much.  But, the first Springsteen moments might make me consider....something...not sure what...maybe, perhaps, that deep voice can really work if you sing like this sweet man.  Or, Springsteen has hope for the future if he ever decides to chill out.
Loved this when it came out. Still sounds good.
Love this album!  The best of the 80s.
Never a favourite track and not heard it in years but pleasantly surprised to listen to it again after many years.
Wow. Forgot how much I liked this
 zigzag wrote:
Ponderous, plodding, dreary, uninventive pap.

Every now and again it's good to be reminded of how badly the eighties sucked in general. 
 

 zigzag wrote:
Anyone who makes a claim as categorically ignorant as that...

Indeed.
 Keemosahbee wrote:
Big Country did most of the soundtrack to a grand wee film called Restless Natives (1985), an easygoing amusing comedy filmed in Scotland  
 

 
Ha, ha, I haven't seen that in years! 
One of Big County's early members was Pete Whishart, who is now our local politician...!  Incredible how lives can change!  The Crossing is one of my favourite all time albums.  
7 > 8. 
I was cheap. 
 Cynaera wrote:

To which Townsend albums are you referring?  He's done some amazing work, and if he recruited two Big Country musicians, I'd love to check into it further! {#Mrgreen}

 
Replying a mere 7 years later in the hopes that you'll see it:

Big Country's drummer and bass player also served as the rythym section for Townsend's albums "All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes" and "White City." They're quite distinct affairs, but both great. The former is fairly heart wrenching in parts (but definitely honest) with a Pretenders-style early 80s rock feel, and the latter is more pop-ish and polished. Give 'em a listen and report back...before another 7 years passes. 😉
An instant, haunting, classic the fist time i heard it.......
It's been a long, long time since I've heard this one, and it was truly a pleasure to hear it on RP today!
 apd wrote:

didn't Starland Vocal Band win Best New Act at the Grammy's over Elvis Costello? Yikes...
 
Nah, they wouldn't have nominated Costello in 1977, but they did in '79 (A Taste Of Honey won).  Here were the other 1977 nominees according to Wiki: Boston, Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band, The Brothers Johnson, Wild Cherry.  Well, the Bros. Johnson had a few good tunes.
 Aud wrote:


And to think Starland Vocal Band was voted Best New Act at the Grammy's in the late 70's.I can't remember who all the competion was but there were some major. long lasting acts. These bozos won with a stupid song called "Afternoon Delight." I still remember the female with the idiotic grin on her face as she was singing.
Was I disgusted? Yeah. Didn't watch the grammies for years and years.
Last time I watched most of the show was when Prince opened and blew the place apart.  

 
didn't Starland Vocal Band win Best New Act at the Grammy's over Elvis Costello? Yikes...

John Peel (god rest his soul), the font of all musical knowledge etc etc once described Stuart Adamson as the new Hendrix.  Quite an accolade indeed.  He must have seen something to make such an outstanding prediction.  Shame Stuart didn't make it on thru.


Big Country did most of the soundtrack to a grand wee film called Restless Natives (1985), an easygoing amusing comedy filmed in Scotland  
 
Forgotten band / forgotten tune.

Nice to see both resurrected from time to time! 

Only on RP!!

 

What gem will Willbecca segue off this? Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....

 

Springsteen, Tunnel of Love?

Edit: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Dave Mishmash. Time for the PSD!!
 treatment_bound wrote:

EXACTLY!!! And RP should really add "Fields of Fire" here as well. 

Anybody else up for some "bagpipe guitars"?

 
Fields of Fire = another Great B.C. song!  This whole album is great.
 Proclivities wrote:

Good point.  The term originally meant an act who had one hit and then were never heard from again, (i.e., The McCoys, Starland Vocal Band, The Champs, Norman Greenbaum, etc.), not an act which released several albums and had a career lasting several years.

 

And to think Starland Vocal Band was voted Best New Act at the Grammy's in the late 70's.I can't remember who all the competion was but there were some major. long lasting acts. These bozos won with a stupid song called "Afternoon Delight." I still remember the female with the idiotic grin on her face as she was singing.
Was I disgusted? Yeah. Didn't watch the grammies for years and years.
Last time I watched most of the show was when Prince opened and blew the place apart.  
I remember arguing with a kid at the bus stop that Big Country was going to be bigger than U2. Well I was wrong, but I still like this band a lot, ATV videos aside. {#Motor}
Excellent! Sometimes listening to such great songs make me feel a bit ignorant as I didn't know anything bands like Big Country..  
Big Country big sound.
 Sasha2001 wrote:

I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.
 
Holy cow! I think Lillywhite was such an incredible influence on some of the greatest albums of the time. Wow.
Man, I love this album.
That includes this song. 
 apd wrote:
Hell yeah, Bill: hate hearing these guys listed as "One hit wonders" - they had a bunch of hits in UK and this album is excellent.
(Even the term "one hit wonder" bugs me - it's one more hit than I've had. I'd be happy with one!) 

 
Good point.  The term originally meant an act who had one hit and then were never heard from again, (i.e., The McCoys, Starland Vocal Band, The Champs, Norman Greenbaum, etc.), not an act which released several albums and had a career lasting several years.
 msymmes wrote:
Not one hit wonders my any definition.   Solid stuff !

 

 
EXACTLY!!! And RP should really add "Fields of Fire" here as well. 

Anybody else up for some "bagpipe guitars"?
Not one hit wonders my any definition.   Solid stuff !

 
thank you for playing that
 
The better song off their album. The other was the bigger hit.
:-)
 
Used to listen to this album with my neighbor after work on a daily over some Jack Daniel's and a game of Backgammon. Thanks for the relived memory!
 tiggers wrote:

Eh?? He's about the worst producer in music! Listen to the drum sound on this sog for instance..... they sound like carboard boxes and all the U2 albums he produced are compressed and sh1tty sounding! I actually wonder if he's completely deaf to be frank!

 
Twaddle.

Steve Lillywhite is responsible for the thunderous sounds on Psy Furs amazing Talk Talk Talk and the exceptional XTC - Drums and Wires albums just to name a few.

Anyone who makes a claim as categorically ignorant as that clearly has little idea of production. 
Ponderous, plodding, dreary, uninventive pap.

Every now and again it's good to be reminded of how badly the eighties sucked in general. 
Thank you Bill!
Another reason I miss the 80's.  Great song and album.
Hell yeah, Bill: hate hearing these guys listed as "One hit wonders" - they had a bunch of hits in UK and this album is excellent.
(Even the term "one hit wonder" bugs me - it's one more hit than I've had. I'd be happy with one!) 
Remember buying this album the week it came out- great lyrics, unique sound. We need more Scottish rock. 
 DaidyBoy wrote:
Saw this band before Bowie in Cardiff on the Glass Spider tour.  Came on after the Screaming Blue Messiahs, who I can't recall, but Big Country did a better job than Bowie, I thought.  Tons of energy.

 
I saw that tour near Newcastle--Sunderland, I think. The singer for the SBM would pick up the mikestand and spin frantically in small circles while not singing. Can't remember much else about the band. As I've said elsewhere on RP, a lot of the audience came for Big Country...and left before Bowie even came on. They were also great in Sunderland, DaidyBoy. 

That was one of the few rock concerts I've gone to, actually. Some random guy near my friends and me seemed fine before the music started...and the drugs kicked in and they had to carry him out on a stretcher. I've seen this has happen at most of the other concerts I've gone to--that, or the drugged/drunk person is obnoxious. Just cannot stand being around that crap. 
This song never fails to get me tapping my feet and/or butt dancing - and singing along with the chorus.  I love the open chord of the two voices, that fit the feeling of the lyrics ... 

Rest in Peace Stuart.
Saw this band before Bowie in Cardiff on the Glass Spider tour.  Came on after the Screaming Blue Messiahs, who I can't recall, but Big Country did a better job than Bowie, I thought.  Tons of energy.
LOVE this whole album!!!!
Lovin this!
Nice to hear an alternative track from this exceptional album.
 BazH wrote:
Yes Steve Lillywhite is a great producer, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Kite just to name a few.  

 
Eh?? He's about the worst producer in music! Listen to the drum sound on this sog for instance..... they sound like carboard boxes and all the U2 albums he produced are compressed and sh1tty sounding! I actually wonder if he's completely deaf to be frank!
i'm likin' it 
I had'nt heard this song for years... it's so good!
 

tanyhon
wrote:
Love this album. Great memories Of the 80's!
 
Yep, I agree with you for sure.
Love this album. Great memories Of the 80's!
 BazH wrote:
Yes Steve Lillywhite is a great producer, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Kite just to name a few.  

 
Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are listed as the producers for Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. Steve worked on some songs those albums, All That You Can't Leave Behind and No Line on the Horizon.

Lillywhite did produce Boy, October, War and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb for U2. 

Love this song. It's a shame that bands like Big Country got pigeonholed in the States as one-hit wonders. 
 hbs47 wrote:
My LP came with a green cover. Great album.

Sad loss of Stuart  though.

Apparently a great live band. 

 
Back in the day, that green cover was a collectors' item.  It is a great album, green or blue!
7 > 8 - saw BC in Philly 1986 - almost 30 years ago & it was great...still is.
 gaskers wrote:
Saw Big Country on tour with Mike Peters as singer last year at Manchester Academy. Great band, and Peters is a great showman and does the songs justice.

They're on tour in N America shortly and are worth seeing.

 
Thanks for the tip---unfortunately, they ain't coming to the Midwest.

Wah, wah, wah....


 

Big Country U.S. tour dates:

June 6: The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ June 7: Gramercy Theatre, New York, NY June 8: The Paramount, Huntington, NY June 19: Belly Up, Solana Beach, CA June 21: Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, CA June 22: The Canyon, Agoura Hills, CA June 23: St. Rock, Redondo, CA June 28: Wein’s Family Cellars, Temecula, CA June 29: Updtown Theatre Napa, Napa, CA (with Berlin) July 10: Belly Up, Aspen, CO July 13: Belmont, Austin, TX


Saw Big Country on tour with Mike Peters as singer last year at Manchester Academy. Great band, and Peters is a great showman and does the songs justice.

They're on tour in N America shortly and are worth seeing.
Was enjoying this until I read the 30 years comment. Sigh!
Still awesome 30 years later...
Yes Steve Lillywhite is a great producer, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Kite just to name a few.  
Oh yeah, they had other songs.
 Rockit wrote:
Wow what a great album...a time of no worries or responsibilities.
 

Yeah, it instantly takes me back to the fall of '83, when I had a crappy job which didn't pay squat, but I seemed to have way more fun at 24 than I do now at 53...
 Sasha2001 wrote:
I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.
 

...steve lillywhite produced so many landmark albums that's difficult to even measure his influence:  he was integral to the voice of an entire generation of popular music...that's an epic legacy, how often can someone lay claim to that?..
Wow what a great album...a time of no worries or responsibilities.
I will always love this song. It never gets old.

Big stuff.  Great stuff.  Tell me the early 80's were not as good as the late 50's !

 
"Now the skirts hang so heavy around your head
That you never knew you were young
Because you played chance with a lifetime's romance
And the price was far too long..."

Always gives me chills - great lyrics.

My LP came with a green cover. Great album.

Sad loss of Stuart  though.

Apparently a great live band. 
Really like this tune. Always liked Big Country. Nice to hear this.
 Synth80s wrote:
One of my favorite all time songs by any band, and perhaps Big Country's best song.  I have a couple versions of this song and I like them both.

Big Country's output was uneven in parts (mostly the mid-late releases), but you have to give them credit for having their own sound and excellent production on this album thanks to my hero, Steve Lillywhite.  Seriously, who else sounded remotely like this in the early 1980s?  Also, the bassist and drummer from Big Country formed a great rhythm section for two of Pete Townsend's better solo albums.

I really dig this tune!

 
I'll tell him you said that! Steve's a neighbor and he's always surprised to hear about how much fans love the albums he's worked on. I keep trying to get him to listen to RP as well. So much of his influence can be heard here.

Timeless awesomeness
{#Dancingbanana_2} 
Still a great song....another sad loss
 Art_Carnage wrote:
... and that's why they're a One Hit Wonder.
 
Not even close.

 kcar wrote:


Not in the UK. Don't even try saying that in Scotland—you'll wind up losing teeth. 
 
I'm Scottish, I agree....{#Beat}
 hallogallo wrote:

Man ... I played the grooves out of this album when it came out.  Not claiming "all-time top-10" or anything, but sort of like Bat Out of Hell, it was in very heavy rotation on my turntable for quite a while.  It defined a certain period of time and is therefore significant.

 

Amen.  It will always remind me of driving my wife to the hospital at 4 am to have our first child.  I had this cd in the car at that time in my life and so, there it is.
 Art_Carnage wrote:
... and that's why they're a One Hit Wonder.
 

Not in the UK. Don't even try saying that in Scotland—you'll wind up losing teeth. 

Man ... I played the grooves out of this album when it came out.  Not claiming "all-time top-10" or anything, but sort of like Bat Out of Hell, it was in very heavy rotation on my turntable for quite a while.  It defined a certain period of time and is therefore significant.

Wow. The last time I heard this I was in a '78 rabbit doing foolish things on the back way to the mall. Where the hell are you Ric Montoya?
boring group, boring song. there are things that should not be remembered at all
 treatment_bound wrote:

I'm guessing the red & yellow covers were only available in The Great White North, as I only remember it packaged in blue (and I was managing a record store at that time).  However, after the initial U.S. pressings, Polygram "cheaped out" & eliminated the sleeve with lettering which was slightly depressed, which gave it a cool, somewhat "3-D" look.
 
Sorry, I should have clarified: I lived in Britain at the time, so the alternative colours may have only been a local promotion. The cover also had a "grainy" texture, and foil lettering. Pretty fancy. They were huge over there, so I suppose the record company could justify splashing out.
Great choice. Massive song.
Oh, I remember this one. It stirs something in me. Could be my genes... Love it! My cover was blue, too.
 Synth80s wrote:
Also, the bassist and drummer from Big Country formed a great rhythm section for two of Pete Townsend's better solo albums.

I really dig this tune!

 
To which Townsend albums are you referring?  He's done some amazing work, and if he recruited two Big Country musicians, I'd love to check into it further! {#Mrgreen}
Loving hearing Big Country on the radioDance
very moving
 apd wrote:

What colour cover did you get? I think there was three - blue, red and yellow. I bought it the day it was released and it wasn't on the shelves yet so the clerk had to go into the store room to find it. He pulled a yellow cover (at random) for me, and I refused it - I wanted the blue. Made the poor guy sort through the stack to get the right one...
 

That is funny. I didn't know it was issued in 3 colors, but if I had I would have done the same as you. I'm pretty sure I bought my copy at the "Record Bar", if anyone remembers that chain, and it is blue.


I was listening to this on the way to work this morning in the truck... still very much a favorite.

... and that's why they're a One Hit Wonder.
 apd wrote:

What colour cover did you get? I think there was three - blue, red and yellow. I bought it the day it was released and it wasn't on the shelves yet so the clerk had to go into the store room to find it. He pulled a yellow cover (at random) for me, and I refused it - I wanted the blue. Made the poor guy sort through the stack to get the right one...
 
I'm guessing the red & yellow covers were only available in The Great White North, as I only remember it packaged in blue (and I was managing a record store at that time).  However, after the initial U.S. pressings, Polygram "cheaped out" & eliminated the sleeve with lettering which was slightly depressed, which gave it a cool, somewhat "3-D" look.

God, I love(d) Big Country so much. The distinctive sound and vocals. Beautiful.
 chyk5 wrote:
Thanks for helping me rediscover this album, Bill. I hadn't listened to this since high school and I still have my vinyl copy. Simply a beauty.
 
What colour cover did you get? I think there was three - blue, red and yellow. I bought it the day it was released and it wasn't on the shelves yet so the clerk had to go into the store room to find it. He pulled a yellow cover (at random) for me, and I refused it - I wanted the blue. Made the poor guy sort through the stack to get the right one...


One of my favorite all time songs by any band, and perhaps Big Country's best song.  I have a couple versions of this song and I like them both.

Big Country's output was uneven in parts (mostly the mid-late releases), but you have to give them credit for having their own sound and excellent production on this album thanks to my hero, Steve Lillywhite.  Seriously, who else sounded remotely like this in the early 1980s?  Also, the bassist and drummer from Big Country formed a great rhythm section for two of Pete Townsend's better solo albums.

I really dig this tune!

 EssexTex wrote:
Underrated band....sad ending
 

True on both points. Very underrated and very sad.
After Air, Alone in Kyoto, 1:14 am? No, not really.
Underrated band....sad ending
Ha, this song comes into my head every once in a while but I mistakenly thought it was Men at Work.  This is way better than "In a Big Country."

So good and missed...thanks.
 denmom wrote:

Oh, they were so fabulous live!  And they looked so happy performing; no post-adolescent angst with these guys.  Just first rate tunes.

 

Agreed. Saw them in NYC at a small venue - (I think the Cat Club). They were smokin!

I think they would have put on the same show if it was their parents' living room and there were only 3 people present. Clearly - they were having a blast.
Thanks for helping me rediscover this album, Bill. I hadn't listened to this since high school and I still have my vinyl copy. Simply a beauty.
Simply. Awesome.


 le_colonel wrote:
Another album I bought after hearing a song on RP.
 

Good decision, for me it's definitely one of the top 10 albums in Rock History.

Fabulous track cheers me up during nightshift

 Tim_in_N_FL wrote:

Too bad songs like this never got airplay in the U.S. when this was released.  They are largely considered a "one-hit-wonder" here but clearly were a talented group.  Like this song so much better than their "hit".  Thanks for playing it Bill...{#Yes}
 
Yes, other commenters on here from the States say that BC were seen as a 1-hit wonder, but from this side of the Pond be assured that they had many chart hits, this amongst them. Big sound from a big band from, yes, a Big Country (as anyone who hillwalks in Scotland knows only too well).

Another album I bought after hearing a song on RP.
 natanz wrote:
Call me whatever names you like, but i think this is one of the all time great songs, from one of the all time great albums.  I have to check this, but i think it has five stars on my ipod.  I am in a little less generous mood now, so i only gave it a 9.
 
Just bumped it to a 10

 silvergirl wrote:

Couldn't agree more.  A really top-notch album, and it holds up quite a bit better than a number of its contemporaries.  Big Country's live show was something else.

Thanks for the good memories, Bill and Rebecca.

 
Oh, they were so fabulous live!  And they looked so happy performing; no post-adolescent angst with these guys.  Just first rate tunes.

 jjbix wrote:
Sounds like Dave Mason
 
I logged on to write that exact comment and your's was on top. and this is three weeks later.