| "In a Big Country" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK and international 12-inch vinyl edition | ||||
| Single byBig Country | ||||
| from the albumThe Crossing | ||||
| B-side | "All of Us" | |||
| Released | 20 May 1983 | |||
| Recorded | 1982–1983 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Mercury | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | |||
| Big Country singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "In a Big Country" onYouTube | ||||
"In a Big Country" is a song by Scottish rock bandBig Country. It was released in May 1983 as the third single from their debut studio albumThe Crossing. The song reached No. 17 on theUK Singles Chart in June 1983.[1] It was released in the US in the autumn of 1983 and peaked at No. 3 on theTop Rock Tracks chart and No. 17 on theBillboard Hot 100 in December of that year. It reached No. 3 on theRPM Top Singles Chart in Canada on 26 November 1983.[2]
Themusic video for the song received heavy airplay onMTV. Directed by Lindsey Clennell, it follows the four band members as they track down an unspecified treasure, while constantly being pursued and bested by a woman who appears to be a rival treasure-hunter.
The first half of the video follows the band as they ride through lush green fields on sports three-wheelers and a motorbike while the woman watches them through binoculars. The group soon locates a black box emblazoned with the band's logo and a map. What is inside the box is never shown. The opening scenes are filmed at the then-derelictCorfe Castle railway station including the 'down' platform shelter and show the ruins ofCorfe Castle in the background. The station is now part of the restoredSwanage Railway.
The woman lures them to her by starting a fire in a barn, the smoke drawing the band members' attention. She (unintentionally and comically) defeats all four with a single punch. They then consult their map and head off again.
The second half of the video takes place at sea inSwanage Bay. The band head towardsSwanage Pier where they don wet suits and scuba gear and set out on a motorized inflatable raft. The woman, who has followed them, overtakes them on ajet ski. The band reach their destination at sea, but have apparently no luck in locating the treasure after attempting some underwater diving (however, since nobody in the band was actuallyscuba-certified, this meant having to stay on the surface).
The video concludes with the woman trapped on a small island surrounded by a cliff with a rescue fire burning. The band appears overhead and lead singer Stuart Adamson tosses a rope down the cliff edge. He and drummer Mark descend. Stuart and the woman embrace (perhaps revealing they knew each other and had an ongoing relationship/rivalry) while Mark discovers the black box floating amongst the seaweed in the inlet.
Interspersed throughout the video, in between the action, the band is shown in flannel shirts and blazers performing the song onstage. The video ends on this note, with Stuart dancing and the rest of the band playing.
The Smashing Pumpkins'James Iha named the song to his "mixtape for dreamers," commenting, "I love this song. I used to watch the video when it was onMTV. When MTV played videos. ... The music is super-anthemic, the guitars are awesome and bagpipe-like, and it's somehow incorporating the band's name, that they're in a big country and then dreams stay with you like a lover's voice. It's sounds likeBraveheart or something."[3]
The song appears, in edited form, in the2023 movieAir.
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| "In a Big Country / You Make My Dreams Come True" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byAmerican Authors andThe Mowgli's | ||||
| Released | 19 April 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2014 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Label | Island Def Jam | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| American Authors singles chronology | ||||
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| The Mowgli's singles chronology | ||||
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"In a Big Country" was covered by Americanalternative rock bandAmerican Authors. The song was recorded by the band for the 2014single "In a Big Country / You Make My Dreams Come True", with American alternative rock bandThe Mowgli's. The single was released byIsland Def Jam onvinyl on 19 April 2014 as aRecord Store Day release. The track appeared as theA-side of the single. It charted onBillboard in 2014–2015.[citation needed]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In a Big Country" (performed byAmerican Authors) | ||
| 2. | "You Make My Dreams Come True" (performed byThe Mowgli's) |
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States[13] | 19 April 2014 | 7" vinyl | Island Def Jam |
