Fields of Fire (song)

"Fields of Fire"
Single by Big Country
from the album The Crossing
Released 18 February, 1983
Recorded 1982-1983
Genre Folk rock
Length 3:31
Label Mercury
Writer(s) Stuart Adamson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler, Bruce Watson
Producer Steve Lillywhite
Big Country singles chronology
"Harvest Home"
(1982)		 "Fields of Fire"
(1983)		 "In a Big Country"
(1983)

"Fields of Fire" (album version subtitled "400 Miles") is one of the biggest hits by the Scottish rock band Big Country. It was first released as a single in the United Kingdom in 1983 and included on the band's debut album The Crossing.

Contents

Music video

The music video begins with a young boy playing with his toy train set. The members of the band are passengers on a train that has left the railway station and are seen playing their instruments inside their train coach. After going through a tunnel, the train is stopped because a Scotsman is playing the bagpipes on the railway line. The band then leave their carriage and follow the Scotsman to find themselves watching the 1746 Battle of Culloden. [1]

Reception

The song was a big hit, introducing the band to mainstream audiences in the United States in 1984 and reaching the top ten in the UK Singles Chart. On their album review of The Crossing, Rolling Stone Magazine noted that the song was "one of the great, resounding anthems of this or any other year" and praised the "bagpipelike single-string riffs" .[2] Big Country's vocalist and bassist Tony Butler has also claimed this song to be one of his favorites. [3]

Chart positions

Chart (1983-1984) Peak
position
New Zealand Singles Chart 26
UK Singles Chart 10
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 52

[4] [5] [6]

Credits

Compilation album usage

The song has been included on several notable compilation albums since its release. For instance, in 1992, the track was included on the Time Life:The Rock Collection-Hot Rock release, [8] and in 1997, the long-running The Best... Album in the World...Ever! compilation album brand included the song on their The Best Scottish Album in the World... Ever! release.[9]

References

  1. ^ Version 2 of Music Video @ YouTube.com Retrieved May 2009
  2. ^ Review @ RollingStone.com Retrieved May 2009
  3. ^ News Of The World @ BigCountryInfo.com Retrieved May 2009
  4. ^ Big Country Bio @ RetroUniverse Retrieved May 2009
  5. ^ australian-charts.com
  6. ^ Big Country - UMD Music
  7. ^ Music Credits @ Australian-charts.com Retrieved May 2009
  8. ^ Time Life Track Listing @ Australian-charts.com Retrieved May 2009
  9. ^ Compilation Track Listing @ Allmusic.com Retrieved May 2009

External links

Big Country
Studio albums and EPs
Other albums
Singles
  • "Harvest Home"
  • "Fields of Fire"
  • "In a Big Country"
  • "Chance"
  • "Wonderland"
  • "East of Eden"
  • "Where the Rose Is Sown"
  • "Just a Shadow"
  • "Look Away"
  • "The Teacher"
  • "One Great Thing"
  • "Hold the Heart"
  • "King of Emotion"
  • "Broken Heart (Thirteen Valleys)"
  • "Peace in Our Time"
  • "Save Me"
  • "Heart of the World"
  • "Republican Party Reptile"
  • "Beautiful People"
  • "Alone"
  • "Ships (Where Were You)"
  • "The One I Love"
  • "I'm Ashamed"
  • "You Dreamer"
  • "Fragile Thing"
  • "Another Country"
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