"Big River" is a song written and performed by English singer and actor

Jimmy Nail James Michael Aloysius Bradford (born 16 March 1954), known as Jimmy Nail, is an English singer-songwriter, actor, film producer, and television writer. He played the role of Leonard "Oz" Osborne in the television show '' Auf Wiedersehen, Pet'' ...

, included on his fourth studio album of the same name. The song was released as a single on 16 October 1995, reaching number 18 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 10 in Hungary. In 2011, it was recorded by

Joe McElderry Joseph McElderry (; born 16 June 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He won the sixth series of the ITV show ''The X Factor'' in 2009. His first single " The Climb" reached number one on both the UK Singles Chart and the Irish Singl ...

for the DVD, ''Big River Big Songs: The Tyne''. McElderry also performed it for '' Sunday for Sammy'' in 2012.

Background

The big river referred to in the title is the River Tyne that runs through Nail's home town,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

. The song is an elegy to the days when

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to befo ...

and industry in general were at their height in Newcastle and laments the later decline of the industry and therefore the decline of the importance and activity of the Tyne itself. However, in the last chorus, the song takes a more hopeful turn, declaring that, "the river will rise again". The guitar work on the song was provided by Dire Straits frontman

Mark Knopfler Mark Freuder Knopfler (born 12 August 1949) is a British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Born in Scotland and raised in England, he was the lead guitarist, singer and songwriter of the rock band Dire Straits. He pursued a s ...

, who features in the music video. The song was adopted as an anthem by female workers in Liverpool during a lockout the following winter.

Track listings

UK 7-inch single :A. "Big River" – 5:59 :B. "Bitter and Twisted" (live version) – 4:08 UK and European CD single # "Big River" – 5:59 # "Bitter and Twisted" (live version) – 4:08 # "What Kind of a Man Am I?" (live version) – 5:32 UK CD single 2 # "Big River" – 5:59 # "Bitter and Twisted" (live version) – 4:08 # "What Kind of a Man Am I?" (live version) – 5:32 # "Big River" (radio edit) – 4:17

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Big River (Jimmy Nail Song) 1995 singles 1995 songs Jimmy Nail songs Songs about rivers Songs related to Newcastle upon Tyne