Big Country - The Crossing (Stuart and Bruce, 1981)

When Stuart Adamson first got together with Bruce Watson and started writing songs in May and June of 1981, a room in the Townhill Community Centre in Dunfermline was used as a makeshift studio. There as just a duo and armed with guitars, drum machine, keyboard and a Tascam 4 track portastudio, they wrote and recorded the first 9 songs that would set the foundation of the new collaboration that would come be known as Big Country.
Harvest Home, Heart and Soul, Angle Park, Wake, Lost Patrol, We Could Laugh, Echoes, The Crossing and Inwards were those first 9 songs written and recorded.
Officially, only Harvest Home, Angle Park and We Could Laugh have been released. (The Crossing 30th Anniversary Deluxe CD)
The Crossing - the original first recording of one of Big Country's most loved b-sides. The idea for the music of the song came from Bruce and his band The Delinquents, the very original instrumental version of which can be found here:
• Big Country - The Cros...
There are also some minor lyrical differences between the finished Steve Lillywhite version and the demo version found on Rarities IV, which can be found by searching bigcountryinfo... where you'll find both versions.
This version also has some minor variations to both of those and being the earliest, you can see what was changed over time to the final version that adorned the Chance 12” single.
I have transcribed as best as possible what I believe is correct for this version but if you hear anything else or have suggestions, please leave a comment.
Also, a little frustratingly, the intro and first two stanzas are missing from this clip. Asterisks mark where the song picks up in the lyrics below. ****
Maps on the back of your hands point to the cross
Scratches on walls in a room draw out your loss
Your islands are conquered and
You are returned to the throne
Martyrs take penance and
Fill up the mattress with stones
Pull straws with holy men
Stain all the atlas pink
And let us find a beach
**** In some small fishing town
Stand in the wind if the carousels spin
Wear out your welcome again
Stand on the shore of mountains
And take your rib down to the sea
Stand in the wind if the carousels spin
Wear out your welcome again
Mornings hit hard with an uncontrollable light
Piercing the senses that click deep in the night
Crouched in a pillow of straw feet on the floor
Creeping a path to the mat that holds back the door
Pull straws with holy men
Stain all the atlas pink
And let us find a beach
In some small fishing town
Stand in the wind if the carousels spin
Wear out your welcome again
Stand on the silence of mountains
And take your rib down to the sea
Stand in the wind if the carousels spin
Wear out your welcome again
Build up great railways that run
Through the horns of the moon
Line a new city with cast iron museum walls
Explain your machines to the lords feed them with tools
Bring out the skill in your skin polish your hair
Pull straws with holy men
Stain all the atlas pink
And let us find a beach
In some small fishing town
Stand in the wind if the carousels spin
Wear out your welcome again
Stand on the silence of mountains and
Take your rib down to the sea
Stand in the wind if the carousels spin
Wear out your welcome again
Celebrating 40 years of Big Country - 1981 to 2021.
Stay Alive!

[@davidcraig1930]

Just wow. At 53 I am continually stunned at how good these guys were as kids. Many thanks Andy!

[@porroh869]

Superb

[@kippax67kippax14]

Thanks for your hard work in putting this together.So good to hear this.Important to keep BC legacy alive.As the current incarnation seems intent on doing the opposite

[@kippen64]

Thanks for uploading this. Seriously enjoyed the video description and urge other people to go read it.

[@tadada90125]

Thank you, Andy! I am also enjoying this.

[@robcox8585]

Awesome BC..always in my top 10...slight melody change and bass line made this demo morph into the anthemic track it became...truely magical

[@CFarnwide]

Tony’s bass and contribution with melody were crucial to every BC song IMO. They were four highly gifted musicians that when combined, created complex, magical songs.

[@robcox8585]

@@CFarnwide totally agree..

[@ZeroChannelZero]

More clues?? "In some small fishing town" makes me wonder if Stuart had a specific place in mind, as with "a new city with cast iron walls" (Corby, the setting for Steeltown?). Thanks for another puzzle piece!

[@stevebullman4698]

Thanks again for putting up the (at first) missing two... & then there were THREE... ! ;-) Any more likely to emerge (or the first bit of "The Crossing") ?

[@BC1000Stars]

That was simply me overlooking Wake initially! 😂 I’d love the start of The Crossing to reveal itself somehow, I don’t fancy our chances though.

[@padraigsisk4057]

Bruce ( malcolm young) Watson.