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Big Country — In A Big Country
Album: The Crossing
Avg rating:
7.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2787









Released: 1983
Length: 4:36
Plays (last 30 days): 2
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Ha

I've never seen you look like this without a reason
Another promise fallen through, another season passes by you

Shock

I never took the smile away from anybody's face
And that's a desperate way to look for someone who is still a child

In a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive

I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered
But you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered

I'm not expecting to grow flowers in a desert
But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime

In a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive

In a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive

So take that look out of here, it doesn't fit you
Because it's happened doesn't mean you've been discarded
Pull up your head off the floor, come up screaming
Cry out for everything you ever might have wanted
I thought that pain and truth were things that really mattered
But you can't stay here with every single hope you had shattered

Shock, 1, 2

I'm not expecting to grow flowers in a desert
But I can live and breathe and see the sun in wintertime

In a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive

In a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive

In a big country, dreams stay with you
Like a lover's voice fires the mountainside
Stay alive

Ha

Shock
Comments (458)add comment
just awesome. from beginning to end!
Posted 3 days ago by andredise    [ Reply ]
 Jayesea wrote:

Will always have a soft spot for this song.  Hearing it instantly brings me back decades.  Music is an incredibly powerful time transporter, even if only for a few minutes.



I'm completely with you, being 21 at that time. 
Posted 4 weeks ago by Pjesnik    [ Reply ]
Bought the Album for this tune 43 years ago.
Time flies ~

Posted 4 months ago by sfyi2001    [ Reply ]
Will always have a soft spot for this song.  Hearing it instantly brings me back decades.  Music is an incredibly powerful time transporter, even if only for a few minutes.
Posted 4 months ago by Jayesea    [ Reply ]
I've been hilwalking in Scotland for over 30 years and it surely is a big country, bigger than it seems on the map. 
Posted 5 months ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
The Crossing spent a lot of time on my turntable in the mid/late 80s.
Posted 5 months ago by Talus1    [ Reply ]
 siqbal wrote:


Wise move. RP's eclectic playlist is not for you. Best to listen to a station that caters to your musical tastes.


That's quite a generalization you assumed about me, based on my opinion of one crappy, mainstream, overplayed, non-eclectic song.  Sadly, though, you are right.  I like an eclectic playlist, but Radio Paradise no longer suits me.  I used to like it, but in my opinion it has gone way downhill the last couple years.  It comes on my FM radio every night around midnight, and I endure it until a song I can't stand like this one inspires me to put something else on.
Posted 2 years ago by ZephyrListener    [ Reply ]
 ZephyrListener wrote:

I can't stand this song.  I'm changing the station.



Wise move. RP's eclectic playlist is not for you. Best to listen to a station that caters to your musical tastes.
Posted 2 years ago by siqbal    [ Reply ]
The talented Stuart Adamson, gone too soon. I don't know if they were the first band that tuned their guitars to sound like bagpipes but they were certainly the first to popularize that sound. Blew my mind when I first heard it. Traditional Highlands meets 80s new wave. Seems like a terrible idea on paper but sounds amazing!
Posted 2 years ago by siqbal    [ Reply ]
I was brought up the the 'burbs listening to Top 40 radio.  When I got to college at UVA, there was an alternative station – WTJU.  I went to check it out, and there was some hippy grad student dude behind the controls playing this song.  My intro to alt-rock over 40 years ago...
Posted 2 years ago by Clark_Novato    [ Reply ]
Brilliant band! excellent tune! Lovely afternoon vibes for me
Posted 3 years ago by tm    [ Reply ]
 mardison wrote:

 

I shall never tire of hearing this one.  Excellent tune.



agree. like it even better than i did when it came out when i was in high school.
Posted 3 years ago by lily34    [ Reply ]
 f1ram wrote:

Great tune. If Rush ever start again then take a look at this drummer!!!


What year do you think it is?
Posted 3 years ago by TLynneHenry    [ Reply ]
I can't stand this song.  I'm changing the station.
Posted 3 years ago by ZephyrListener    [ Reply ]
Great tune. If Rush ever start again then take a look at this drummer!!!
Posted 4 years ago by f1ram    [ Reply ]
 thewiseking wrote:

I recall when they launched they were touted as The Next U2
How'd that work out?


Turns out they were better than U2.
Posted 4 years ago by Edweirdo    [ Reply ]
EXCELLENT!!  Brings back memories.  Thank You RP!   
Posted 4 years ago by eileenomurphy    [ Reply ]
 red wrote:

bought the cassette many years ago.



me too, red.  and i just wanted to reply to a post made 20 years ago.  long live RP!
Posted 4 years ago by Wisconsinrob    [ Reply ]
I recall when they launched they were touted as The Next U2
How'd that work out?
Posted 4 years ago by thewiseking    [ Reply ]
I love this tune!! I don't care what anybody says!! ...I don't care about pronunciations  and dialects! ...Screw that! ...It still is a great tune! If you don't like it, hit the SKIP BUTTON!
Posted 4 years ago by eileenomurphy    [ Reply ]

acferrad wrote:

This song drives me crazy - the word country is pronounced COUNtry not counTRY !!!


 Edweirdo wrote:


Are you from Dunfermline?  Because different dialects have different pronunciations.


After reading this comment, I always hear "in a big cunt tree". WTF!
Posted 4 years ago by MusicManiac58    [ Reply ]
 acferrad wrote:

This song drives me crazy - the word country is pronounced COUNtry not counTRY !!!


Because meter shifts in song lyrics are totally unheard of.

Posted 4 years ago by MattRudely    [ Reply ]
Saw Big Country open for the Pretenders back when this song was BIG. Great concert from both bands, but I got a little close to the speakers while watching the main act...one of two concerts that definitely cost me some hearing... oh well. Music!
Posted 4 years ago by NelsonBlack    [ Reply ]
 acferrad wrote:

This song drives me crazy - the word country is pronounced COUNtry not counTRY !!!



Are you from Dunfermline?  Because different dialects have different pronunciations.
Posted 4 years ago by Edweirdo    [ Reply ]
Love this song!  Takes me back to when I was a junior in college, when life was fine!
Posted 5 years ago by gregskrtic    [ Reply ]
 Only 'crazy' Scots can pull off some tunes like this. Easy 9.
Posted 5 years ago by geonuine    [ Reply ]
Geez, folks; listen to the song without picking it apart! Great beat and melody and a helluva hook. And it makes you yearn for open spaces.
Posted 5 years ago by meatmike    [ Reply ]
This song drives me crazy - the word country is pronounced COUNtry not counTRY !!!
Posted 5 years ago by acferrad    [ Reply ]
Absolute gem. Well I heard it growing up in Canada, so -- a big country, indeed; with winter sun aplenty, especially when it's particularly cold. And lovely Scotland nevertheless has nothing on the mountains of Canada. And we've heard a bagpipe or two up here, too. The song gives me shivers.
Posted 5 years ago by tinypriest    [ Reply ]
Amazing song. Here's Randy Bachman with the origin story of the song: 
Posted 5 years ago by jim15    [ Reply ]
 treatment_bound wrote:



 

And not one of them played on this track. No bagpipe in here.
Posted 5 years ago by justin4kick    [ Reply ]
 jp33442 wrote:
 janac13 wrote:
Saw these guys last July at the Zoo here in Brisvegas and as I said to my missus "fucken Scots" which in Australian means brilliant. What a great live band can't wait for them to come back.
 How much are they paying you to say that 

 
I wish they did
Posted 5 years ago by janac13    [ Reply ]
Nice!
Posted 6 years ago by russelltreacy    [ Reply ]
Proving just how incredibly good these guys actually were. No production, no playback, just the REAL DEAL. Watch this.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tM9I6ZtpThM
Posted 6 years ago by nlarsen1    [ Reply ]
 janac13 wrote:
Saw these guys last July at the Zoo here in Brisvegas and as I said to my missus "fucken Scots" which in Australian means brilliant. What a great live band can't wait for them to come back.
 How much are they paying you to say that 

Posted 6 years ago by jp33442    [ Reply ]
Saw these guys last July at the Zoo here in Brisvegas and as I said to my missus "fucken Scots" which in Australian means brilliant. What a great live band can't wait for them to come back.
Posted 6 years ago by janac13    [ Reply ]
Another overplayed song going to hit the next button
Posted 6 years ago by jp33442    [ Reply ]
This song is so dated; that drum machine sound is unbearable. Never really liked this back in the day and can't stand it now.
Posted 6 years ago by be4con    [ Reply ]
Posted 6 years ago by chix    [ Reply ]
 10
Posted 6 years ago by sonymagellan    [ Reply ]
 tinypriest wrote:

I shall also not. It is quite so.
 

Also I.
Posted 6 years ago by meatmike    [ Reply ]
I also remember adjusting my flanger pedal to get close to that bagpipe sound he gets on the guitar. Great song then and now.
Posted 6 years ago by MrStatenIsle    [ Reply ]
Plenty of RP-worthy songs from this band. Love to hear a wider range of them here.
Posted 6 years ago by ppopp    [ Reply ]
 mardison wrote:
 

I shall never tire of hearing this one.  Excellent tune.

 
I shall also not. It is quite so.
Posted 6 years ago by tinypriest    [ Reply ]
Lovin' the E-bow. 
Posted 7 years ago by rushed    [ Reply ]
We used to have a big country...

Maybe we will again someday.
Posted 7 years ago by marklaw    [ Reply ]
Takes me back to my time in Spokane. I want to live in Canada for some time.
Posted 7 years ago by ExploitingChaos    [ Reply ]
The band '.moe" does a great cover of this song, released on their 2001 album 'Dither'

'In a Big Country'
performed by Big Country
from their album 'Big Country' (it was renamed The Crossing later I believe)

Classic!
Posted 7 years ago by jasonthehead    [ Reply ]
Ah, the days of running into the room when this was on and yelling, 'HOCK'!
Posted 7 years ago by MrStatenIsle    [ Reply ]
 
Probably the other way around - this song came out several years prior to I Am The Man.

Spiderwoman wrote:
The intro made me think "are they playing Anthrax's I'm The Man" ?!?
 

Posted 7 years ago by ppopp    [ Reply ]
More Scottish music!!!
Posted 7 years ago by cavemanleong    [ Reply ]
 MrsTom wrote:
The only thing worse than bagpipes is guitars that sound like bagpipes. 

 
Depends who's playing. Here's a pretty decent player for you by the name of Steve Morse. "Guitars that sound like bagpipes" really get going at the 2 minute mark.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE-JjVowRHI
Posted 7 years ago by fraserji    [ Reply ]
 God's own country. Not Texas... Scotland source of magic music since the 80's

 
Posted 7 years ago by sandymcp    [ Reply ]
Posted 7 years ago by sunflowerbee    [ Reply ]
The intro made me think "are they playing Anthrax's I'm The Man" ?!?
Posted 8 years ago by Spiderwoman    [ Reply ]
I wasn't very fond of this tune when it came out.  My opinion hasn't changed over the years.
Posted 8 years ago by Queue    [ Reply ]

 

I shall never tire of hearing this one.  Excellent tune.

Posted 8 years ago by mardison    [ Reply ]
Shock!
Posted 8 years ago by robertomiller    [ Reply ]
 loop6719 wrote:

dude U2 must have copied them since this was out way before u2 was a thing

 
U2 were 1976, Big Country 1981
Posted 8 years ago by Jota    [ Reply ]
 jbuhl wrote:
Poor man U2

 
dude U2 must have copied them since this was out way before u2 was a thing
Posted 9 years ago by loop6719    [ Reply ]
 jbuhl wrote:
Poor man U2

 
                                           

                                                      U2 should sound so good !


Posted 9 years ago by sfyi2001    [ Reply ]
Poor man U2
Posted 9 years ago by jbuhl    [ Reply ]
We be singin' in the kitchen!
Posted 9 years ago by Grammarcop    [ Reply ]
i finds imma no sauguad  8 +
Posted 9 years ago by slandering    [ Reply ]
Image result for big country, in a big country gif
Posted 9 years ago by melzabutch    [ Reply ]
Yes.  Best bass and drum duo in the 80s.  
Posted 9 years ago by pwilborn    [ Reply ]
Ahhh...the early MTV days :^ )
Posted 10 years ago by dragon1952    [ Reply ]
 Proclivities wrote:

This song (which does not have any sampling at all) came out four or five years before that Anthrax tune.  Anyhow, It's a pretty standard, "rock"  drum beat.

 
ouch.
Posted 10 years ago by oldviolin    [ Reply ]
Unlike many 80's songs (and I'm an 80's music fan), their music holds up quite well. Never get tired of this and other Big Country songs. R.I.P. Stuart
Posted 10 years ago by chyk5    [ Reply ]
Take a look song, artist takes a step further if you please.
Posted 10 years ago by twoplain2sea    [ Reply ]
I remember hearing this (and Owner of a Lonely Heart) advertised repeatedly on the radio. The tag on this: 

GUITARS!!!! 
Posted 10 years ago by Steely_D    [ Reply ]
The only thing worse than bagpipes is guitars that sound like bagpipes. 
Posted 10 years ago by MrsTom    [ Reply ]
 LawDude wrote:
Love the way they made the guitar sound like bagpipes.

 
This.
Posted 10 years ago by Paul_Williams    [ Reply ]
Something about the key means I can't listen to this 
Posted 10 years ago by MrsTom    [ Reply ]
HOLY MEMBERS ONLY!  Love it.
Posted 10 years ago by sieversfam    [ Reply ]
Liked the photo,, found the music album
 
Posted 10 years ago by Whammybar    [ Reply ]
Not a bad song. Not the best on the album. Seriously overplayed in other venues. Not too bad hearing it here.
Posted 10 years ago by Ahnyer_Keester    [ Reply ]
Awesome

 
Posted 10 years ago by melzabutch    [ Reply ]
Loved it then, love it now.
Posted 10 years ago by jmkate    [ Reply ]
I will always stop what I'm doing and listen.  
Posted 11 years ago by ick    [ Reply ]
Love the way they made the guitar sound like bagpipes.
Posted 11 years ago by LawDude    [ Reply ]
Great memories. My brother was working on a radio at that time and was recording me cassettes of his broadcast.
Thanks Bill!
Posted 11 years ago by CoYoT51    [ Reply ]
 fredriley wrote:

On Scots Gaelic, which is a strong interest of mine, sure - see my collection of Celtic language resources. I'm not very good on Scots, sadly but have a search for "scots dictionary" and you'll get plenty of starters. The oral history project Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o' Riches is also a good source of authentic material on Gaelic and Scots. Which, of course, are two very, very different languages, with completely different roots: Gaelic from the Celts, Scots a Germanic language. Or ye could tek a wee donner (trans: go for a walk) in Glasgow and hear Scots in its live form... :)

 
Thanks much, fred! I PMed you a while back about books or resources that explored the Germanic roots of Scots. Would these two sites do the trick or can you suggest other stuff?
Posted 11 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
They nailed it...message and music...
 
Posted 11 years ago by hempmandan    [ Reply ]
 dsd wrote:
When this one comes on I get a jolt of happiness then I think about Adamson and the sadness comes.
 

 
I'm with you there.
Posted 11 years ago by ick    [ Reply ]
Reminds me of when I was 13. Used to Love this song.
Posted 11 years ago by Krispian    [ Reply ]
Always enjoy hearing this.  Played the grooves off of Big Country back in the day ... 'Big Country,' 'Lost Patrol,' 'Fields of Fire' ....
{#Music} 
 
Posted 11 years ago by hallogallo    [ Reply ]
I like this song.  Maybe because the sound reminds me of a bunch of garage bands from western Canada.  {#Mrgreen}
Posted 11 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
Lord, what a vision, what a band.
Posted 11 years ago by WonderLizard    [ Reply ]
Great memories from this one.  This whole album is fantactic.
Posted 11 years ago by wtango    [ Reply ]
 Lazarus wrote:
Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of homeless camps loves this groovy song...  we be dancing in the forests and fields from sea to shining sea like bowlegged gypsy muleskinners...

 
{#Cheers}
Posted 11 years ago by ShaunJ    [ Reply ]
When this one comes on I get a jolt of happiness then I think about Adamson and the sadness comes.
 
Posted 11 years ago by dsd    [ Reply ]
Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of homeless camps loves this groovy song...  we be dancing in the forests and fields from sea to shining sea like bowlegged gypsy muleskinners...
Posted 11 years ago by Lazarus    [ Reply ]
 Webfoot wrote:

Thanks. I just need help with Uigeadail. Good whether I hack the pronunciation or not.

 
I'm not familiar with that word, though apparently it's the name of an Islay loch and Ardbeg whisky. However, the root 'uig' is very common in Gaelic, and is a common placename - have a search for 'uig' at the definitive English-Gaelic dictionary faclair.com.
Posted 11 years ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
I just returned from a short but incredible trip to Scotland, for the first time.  The West Highlands are a Big Country and so beautiful, with people as friendly as the land is amazing!  This song was on my playlist, certainly.
Posted 11 years ago by Shaken_Bake    [ Reply ]
Yea it was over played originally, but I do enjoy hearing it now and again.  Like now.
Posted 12 years ago by xtalman    [ Reply ]
 fredriley wrote:

On Scots Gaelic, which is a strong interest of mine, sure - see my collection of Celtic language resources. I'm not very good on Scots, sadly but have a search for "scots dictionary" and you'll get plenty of starters. The oral history project Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o' Riches is also a good source of authentic material on Gaelic and Scots. Which, of course, are two very, very different languages, with completely different roots: Gaelic from the Celts, Scots a Germanic language. Or ye could tek a wee donner (trans: go for a walk) in Glasgow and hear Scots in its live form... :)

 
Thanks. I just need help with Uigeadail. Good whether I hack the pronunciation or not.
Posted 12 years ago by Webfoot    [ Reply ]
Society has ruined this song for me
{#Snooty} 
Posted 12 years ago by Ed222    [ Reply ]
{#Heartkiss}  Love it, love it, love it
Posted 12 years ago by Peter_Bradshaw    [ Reply ]
Resurrecting distant memories of a day in 1983 at Phoenix Park Racecourse, Dublin with Big Country, Eurythmics, Steel Pulse, Simple Minds and U2.
Big Country were great, unfortunately it was the only time I got to see them live.
Posted 12 years ago by vaiodon    [ Reply ]
 kcar wrote:
Fredriley, can you point us to any good Websites about the Scots language? 

 
On Scots Gaelic, which is a strong interest of mine, sure - see my collection of Celtic language resources. I'm not very good on Scots, sadly but have a search for "scots dictionary" and you'll get plenty of starters. The oral history project Tobar an Dualchais / Kist o' Riches is also a good source of authentic material on Gaelic and Scots. Which, of course, are two very, very different languages, with completely different roots: Gaelic from the Celts, Scots a Germanic language. Or ye could tek a wee donner (trans: go for a walk) in Glasgow and hear Scots in its live form... :)
Posted 12 years ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
Yikes, has it really been 30 years since this was released?  Song always gave/gives me a lift; great for running too. Or crazy ass dancing. {#Bananapiano}  High on the all time favs list.
Posted 12 years ago by Chwkbud    [ Reply ]
Thought this was cheese when it came out in the 80s but like it more with time ....
Posted 12 years ago by sixbladeknife    [ Reply ]
 MackStar wrote:
Saw them supporting David Bowie on his 'Glass Spider Tour' at Wembly.

They were better than Bowie who was very disappointing. 

Shia Ha Cha. 

 
Absolutely right.  Saw it at Cardiff.  Terrible security on the way in to the arena, too.  We were right against one of the gates waiting to get in, being pretty crushed by the crowd behind us.  An ambulance edged its way through and a column of people attached itself to the back of it.  They pushed right into the front.  People were passing out with the pressure and nothing was done about it.

The Blue Messiahs were just foolish.  Bowie's new album was poor to say the least and the concert reflected this.  Appearances by Peter Frampton and Toni Basil couldn't redeem it. 
Posted 12 years ago by DaidyBoy    [ Reply ]
I'll just call this a guilty pleasure song for me. Whoo hoo!!! {#Dancingbanana_2}
Posted 12 years ago by jimmunn    [ Reply ]
 Spiderwoman wrote:
Help! The intro is sampled from Anthrax's I'm The Man. But who did Anthrax sample from? 

 
"I'm the Man" came out in 1987. This song came out in 1983 so I don't think Big Country sampled Anthrax. 
Posted 12 years ago by K_Love    [ Reply ]
 Spiderwoman wrote:
Help! The intro is sampled from Anthrax's I'm The Man. But who did Anthrax sample from? 

 
This song (which does not have any sampling at all) came out four or five years before that Anthrax tune.  Anyhow, It's a pretty standard, "rock"  drum beat.
Posted 12 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
Help! The intro is sampled from Anthrax's I'm The Man. But who did Anthrax sample from? 
Posted 12 years ago by Spiderwoman    [ Reply ]
 fredriley wrote:
I've been hillwalking in Scotland for the past 25 years, and I can assure everyone that it really is a big country, far bigger than it looks on the map. Even if I were able to spend my remaining active years in full-time hillwalking I doubt that I'd manage to climb every mountain and hill in the Highlands, let alone in the Borders. Just 5 million people and scoodles of open space.

 
And there's no way you'd utter all the known Scottish slang in those five years...

Fredriley, can you point us to any good Websites about the Scots language?  

 MackStar wrote:
Saw them supporting David Bowie on his 'Glass Spider Tour' at Wembly.

They were better than Bowie who was very disappointing. 

Shia Ha Cha. 

  
I posted this elsewhere but...I saw them in Sunderland (I think; at least nearish Newcastle) on the same tour. Screaming Blue Messiahs opened. After Big Country finished its set and before Bowie came on, about a third of the audience left. Scotland was well represented that day. 
Posted 12 years ago by kcar    [ Reply ]
 fredriley wrote:
I've been hillwalking in Scotland for the past 25 years, and I can assure everyone that it really is a big country, far bigger than it looks on the map. Even if I were able to spend my remaining active years in full-time hillwalking I doubt that I'd manage to climb every mountain and hill in the Highlands, let alone in the Borders. Just 5 million people and scoodles of open space.

 
like
Posted 12 years ago by Krispian    [ Reply ]
I've been hillwalking in Scotland for the past 25 years, and I can assure everyone that it really is a big country, far bigger than it looks on the map. Even if I were able to spend my remaining active years in full-time hillwalking I doubt that I'd manage to climb every mountain and hill in the Highlands, let alone in the Borders. Just 5 million people and scoodles of open space.
Posted 13 years ago by fredriley    [ Reply ]
 leafmold wrote:




 

But now you are enjoying the sun in OZ.  Next shout of New is on me.
Posted 13 years ago by melzabutch    [ Reply ]
Saw them supporting David Bowie on his 'Glass Spider Tour' at Wembly.

They were better than Bowie who was very disappointing. 

Shia Ha Cha. 
Posted 13 years ago by MackStar    [ Reply ]
 Clark_Novato wrote:
Takes me back to my first year in college and my first exposure to a much wider array of music.  good stuff!

 
Same! Loved it then, still love it now - brings back wonderful memories and emotions {#Dancingbanana}
Posted 13 years ago by stephw    [ Reply ]
Takes me back to my first year in college and my first exposure to a much wider array of music.  good stuff!
Posted 13 years ago by Clark_Novato    [ Reply ]
Ho Ye! ....Crank up that volume boys!!!
Posted 13 years ago by ziakut    [ Reply ]
up & at 'em music. 

 
Posted 13 years ago by CrawdadLA    [ Reply ]
Scots wha hae!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(just a shout out to my guitar-playing Gaelic brothers) 
Posted 13 years ago by grant    [ Reply ]
Not very appropriate with a quiet saturday, at noon. That's probably where the jetlag is the most sensible
Posted 13 years ago by ambrebalte    [ Reply ]
Wow! A real blast from the past. Sad that Stuart Adamson (the lead singer) is no longer with us.
Posted 13 years ago by carr6775    [ Reply ]