Big Country (In Memory of Stuart Adamson)

I read a post the other day that referred to an old Big Country song and I started reminiscing about all the good times in my life I had associated with their music. Their first big hit in the U.S. "In A Big Country" was my first exposure to the group and I thought it was fantastic. It was 1983 and music was in a holding pattern as far as I was concerned because there didn't seem to be any new bands that wanted to "rattle the cages" so to speak, and step outside the normal boundaries. Then along came this band of four unique and multi-talented musicians who had the stones (That's British slang for balls) to enlighten us with a mixture of traditional Scottish Gaelic sounds and a variable rock styling meshed at times within a blues based core.

Big Country's unique sound was their early virtuoso use of the e-bow, a device that allows a guitar to sound more like strings, synthesizer, and even bagpipes. That plucky sound has often been confused with a xylophone. The e-bow was a traditional Gaelic instrument, which Stuart incorporated into their sound, and I admired that immensely. I admired them for their innovative musical styles and keeping with traditional sounds while playing rock and the way they paid homage to Scotland in the many ballads they made and naming their first hit "In A Big Country.

I have been a "Big Country" fan from the beginning. I was fortunate enough to see them perform live during their "Why The Long Face" tour in Cambridge England in 1993 while I was stationed at RAF Mildenhall. I was also privileged to meet and talk with them after the concert. He was an affable character, highly intelligent, and well spoken. The latter of which came as no surprise seeing I was in awe of his music and lyrical writing capabilities. As I considered myself somewhat of a "poet", I envied the seemingly ease to which he could express his emotions lyrically. His writing was and still is the purest form of poetry to me.

They only had one other big hit in the U.S. in 1986 called "Look Away" from "The Seer" album. This album showed the band's loyalty to Scottish Nationalist themes; with "The Seer" being about a woman who tells a traveller about the tyranny of William of Orange upon the Jacobites movement coming to an end soon. The song "The Red Fox" was based on "Kidnapped" by Robert Louis Stevenson, a ballad about the assassination of Colin Roy Campbell, a Tory who was hated by many in Scotland around 1752 and whose murder in Appin in western Scotland went unsolved. James Stewart, known as James of the Glen, was a Scotsamn famous for being wrongfully accused and hanged for the killing of Campbell (a.k.a. "The Red Fox"). The murder is famously dubbed the Appin Murder. The song "Eiledon" below is a battle cry for this wrong doing.

Music with a message and history was virtually non-existent so maybe you can see why I was so attracted to the intelligent verse that was bestowed upon me in the form of Big Country's music. This was my siren song and the fact that I am Scottish from the Clan of Stewart is more fuel for my fire so to speak. Big Country's music, in a way, helped me get in touch with my heritage and I made frequent excursions to Scotland while stationed in Europe where to this day I feel very much at home. Their music makes me long for the moors and beauty of my distant homeland

Big Country remained active and toured until May 31, 2000 and performed a "Final Fling" farewell tour in Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom, culminating in a sold-out concert. Although that marked the end of Big Country as a touring band, they were always adamant that they would appear together again.

Sadly this would not come to pass. Adamson had suffered with severe depression and had on several occasions disappeared for long periods of time. In November 2001, Adamson disappeared again. Numerous appeals were put on the Big Country website asking for Adamson to call home and speak to anyone in the band, the management company, or his ex-wife. The website also requested that any fans who might have been 'harbouring' the singer to contact the management company and alert them to his whereabouts. Band members had indicated they were concerned but the reason Big Country had lasted so long was they stayed out of one another's personal lives, and later noted they were unaware of the extent of Adamson's problems. He was found dead in a room at the Best Western Plaza Hotel in Honolulu Hawaii on December 16, 2001. The official autopsy revealed that he had hanged himself.

Stuart Adamson's songwriting was amazing but at the same time so sad. Towards the end of his career you could feel the pain in his lyrics.

Sleep softly Stuart. I hope you found peace at last.

Wade A.

Eiledon

The eagle soared above the clouds
The deer ran in the hills
And I may walk in cities
Where the wolf once had his fill
Here is strength for us to find
To turn the old to new
And wipe our eyes of misty years
And see the future through

I choose this place to call my own
The only grace I've ever known
I never tire of legends grown
We dream too much and time has flown

Eiledon, I will be there
Eiledon, my dream is there

So let me fill my children's hearts
With heroes' tales and hope it starts
A fire in them so deeds are done
With no vain sighs for moments gone

So let me soar up with the eagles
In wild country among the deer
And wake the wolf in every city
And reckoning is drawing near

Stuart Adamson & Big Country
"The Seer" 1986

Alone

The midday sun was grey and purple
At least it wasn't blue
I want the sky to be the way I am
And what I do
For I have been a lost and lonely
Sailor on your sea
Run aground by trusting signals
You were sending me

The streets are filled with empty faces
Nothing here is new
It's just the same in other places
I have journeyed to
I was the first to walk across the water
Last upon the land
I walked out of the silver mine
My pockets full of sand

Alone inside my head
Alone inside my room
I feel alone inside my head
Alone inside my tiny little world

It's not my life in those old pictures
Ones you threw away
For I was always someone else
And always far away
Walking in the darkest places
Where the mission meets
Waiting for the ground to open up
Beneath my feet

Alone inside my head
Alone inside my room...

Stuart Adamson & Big Country
"The Buffalo Skinners" 1991