"Ships (Where Were You)" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Big Country | ||||
from the album The Buffalo Skinners | ||||
B-side | "Oh Well" | |||
Released | 19 April 1993 | |||
Length | 5:54 | |||
Label | Compulsion Chrysalis | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Big Country | |||
Big Country singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Ships (Where Were You)" on YouTube |
"Ships (Where Were You)" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, written by Stuart Adamson (lyrics, music) and Bruce Watson (music). The song was originally recorded for and included on the band's fifth studio album No Place Like Home (1991). It was then re-recorded for their following album, The Buffalo Skinners (1993), and released as the album's second single on 19 April 1993. "Ships (Where Were You)" reached number 29 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 75 for three weeks.
"Ships" was written by band members Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson. In a 1991 interview for the Big Country fanzine Inwards, Adamson described his lyrics as being "about people that think they get passed by, by things, because everybody does at certain times". [1] The song was originally recorded for the Big Country's fifth studio album No Place Like Home (1991). The first version to be recorded during the sessions for the album was performed in the usual full band format, which bassist Tony Butler later stated "sounded fantastic". When producer Pat Moran introduced the band to keyboardist Ritchie Close, "Ships" was re-recorded by Adamson and Close as a piano-based track, with synthesised strings. Butler recalled, "The version Stuart did with Richie was just spine-tingling. The minute we heard it, we were all blown away." [2]
By the time the band came to record their next album, The Buffalo Skinners, in 1992, they decided to re-record "Ships" and give it the "guitar treatment" as they expressed dissatisfaction with the version which appeared on No Place Like Home. Guitarist Bruce Watson told the Lennox Herald in 1993, "We didn't like how 'Ships' and 'We're Not in Kansas' turned out [on No Place Like Home]. Our relationship with Phonogram Records was at an all-time low and we simply weren't doing justice to some of the songs we'd written, so we decided to go back in and do them again." [3] In a 1993 interview with Simon McKenzie, Adamson stated, "I'll [tell] you how bad things got. When I took the original demo versions of 'Ships' and 'Kansas' to the record company, they didn't even want them on No Place Like Home. They couldn't even hear them as songs." [4]
The re-recorded version was released as the second single from The Buffalo Skinners on 19 April 1993. [5] It reached number 29 in the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their fifteenth top 40 entry in the chart. [6]
The song's music video was directed by Nick Morris and produced by Fiona O'Mahoney for Spudnick Productions. Most of the video captures the band performing the song in a warehouse setting. [7]
Upon its release as a single in 1993, Peter Kinghorn of the Newcastle Evening Chronicle described the song as a "powerful rock ballad" with a "fine performance". [8] Andrew Hirst of the Huddersfield Daily Examiner considered it to be "the quietest track on the noisy Buffalo Skinners album", but added that "it's definitely not the runt of the litter". He praised it "a deeply metaphoric lament which more than deserves its leap into the charts at 29". [9]
In a review of The Buffalo Skinners, Dick Hogan of The Gazette considered the song to be a combination of Eagles' "Witchy Woman" and the Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses". He commented, "Here Big Country varies its straight-ahead driving sound with a softer beginning before kicking into overdrive. The lyric is a dark picture about human despair." [10] Christi Conover of The Daily Herald commented: "...when things slow down for the song 'Ships', the listener discovers a beautiful utilization of piano and keyboards." [11]
7-inch single
CD single
CD single (UK #2)
CD single (UK promo)
Big Country
Additional musicians
Production
Chart (1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Canadian RPM Top Singles [12] | 54 |
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100 Singles) [13] | 68 |
UK Singles Chart [6] | 29 |
The Crossing is the debut album released by Scottish band Big Country in July 1983. The album reached #3 in the UK; overseas, it hit #4 in Canada on the RPM national Top Albums Chart and #18 in the US on the Billboard 200 in 1983. It went on to be certified platinum in the UK and Canada. It contains the song "In a Big Country" which is their only U.S. Top 40 hit single.
Steeltown is the second studio album by Scottish band Big Country. The album was recorded at ABBA's Polar Studios in Stockholm with Steve Lillywhite producing. It was released on 19 October 1984, in the UK and 29 October 1984, in the United States. It was released on CD only in Germany, as well as remastered and reissued there.
The Seer is the third studio album by the Scottish band Big Country, released in 1986. The album featured very traditional Scottish musical settings, reminiscent of the band's debut album The Crossing (1983). Kate Bush worked on the title song in a duet with lead singer and lyricist Stuart Adamson. The album's first single, "Look Away", was an Irish number one, and was also the group's biggest hit single in the UK, reaching #7.
The Buffalo Skinners is the sixth studio album by the Scottish band Big Country, which was released in 1993. Two songs, "We're Not In Kansas" and "Ships", are re-recordings of songs from their previous album. The difference is more noticeable on "Ships" which features heavy use of guitars. The album featured two UK top 30 hits, "Alone" and "Ships".
Without the Aid of a Safety Net is the first live album by the Scottish band Big Country, released in 1994. It contains a portion of the tracks from a concert at The Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow, and was recorded on 29 December 1993. The full concert was released in 2005, labelled as 2CD Expanded Edition: The Complete Concert. This version features eight tracks not on the original release.
Why the Long Face is the seventh studio album by Scottish band Big Country, released in 1995. It was produced by Chris Sheldon and members of the band.
Big Country are a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline, Fife, in 1981.
"Harvest Home" is the debut single of the Scottish band Big Country. It was first released as a single in September 1982, then re-recorded for the band's debut album The Crossing.
"Save Me" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1990 as a single from their compilation album Through a Big Country: Greatest Hits. The song was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Tim Palmer. It reached number 41 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.
"Alone" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1993 as the lead single from their sixth studio album The Buffalo Skinners. It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Big Country. "Alone" reached number 24 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.
"The One I Love" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1993 as the third and final single from their sixth studio album, The Buffalo Skinners. It was written by Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson, and was produced by Big Country.
"Fragile Thing" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1999 as the lead single from their eighth studio album Driving to Damascus. It was written by Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson, and produced by Rafe McKenna and Big Country. "Fragile Thing" reached number 69 in the UK Singles Chart. A music video was filmed to promote the single.
"Republican Party Reptile" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released by Vertigo in 1991 as an extended play from their fifth studio album No Place Like Home. It was written by Stuart Adamson and Bruce Watson, and produced by Pat Moran. The "Republican Party Reptile" EP reached No. 37 in the UK and remained in the charts for two weeks. A music video was filmed to promote the EP.
"Peace in Our Time" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1989 as the third and final single from their fourth studio album Peace in Our Time (1988). It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Peter Wolf. "Peace in Our Time" reached number 39 in the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.
"Beautiful People" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, which was released in 1991 as the second and final single from their fifth studio album No Place Like Home. It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Pat Moran. "Beautiful People" reached No. 72 on the UK Singles Chart, and No. 36 on the BBC's Heavy Metal/Rock chart.
"Heart of the World" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1990 as a non-album single. It was written by Stuart Adamson and produced by Tim Palmer. "Heart of the World" reached number 50 on the UK Singles Chart and remained in the top 100 for three weeks.
"I'm Not Ashamed" is a song by Scottish rock band Big Country, released in 1995 as the lead single from their seventh studio album Why the Long Face. It was written by Stuart Adamson, and produced by Big Country and Chris Sheldon. "I'm Not Ashamed" reached number 69 in the UK Singles Chart.
Non! is an extended play by Scottish rock band Big Country, which was released in the UK in 1995 as an action awareness record for Greenpeace. Non! reached No. 77 in the UK Singles Chart in December 1995.
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