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

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

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 a First World War battle in which the band members themselves are taking part.

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 noted that the song was "one of the great, resounding anthems of this or any other year" and praised the "bagpipelike single-string riffs". Big Country's bassist Tony Butler has also claimed this song to be one of his favourites.

Chas de Whalley of Kerrang! praised "Fields of Fire" as a "reeling rocker" which "whirls by on dervish duelling guitars and a bouncing, bouldering beat". He added that the B-side, "Anglepark", was "another ace track". Cash Box said that "a nod to the homeland discernable in the repetition of a familiar Scottish folk theme in the guitar instrumental segments again positions this band’s offering in its own musical territory."

Chart positions

Credits

• Music and lyrics: Stuart Adamson, Bruce Watson, Mark Brzezicki, Tony Butler
• Production: Steve Lillywhite

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, 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.

References

1. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 56–7. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
3. "Album Reviews and Ratings". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 29 January 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
4. "Greatest Hits (News of the World)". Bigcountryinfo.com. 10 December 2006. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
5. Chas de Whalley (10 March 1983). "Single Kuts". Kerrang!. No. 37. p. 43. ISSN 0262-6624.
6. "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 11 February 1984. p. 7. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
7. "RetroUniverse: Big Country - The Settlement Years". Rqsretrouniverse.blogspot.com. 7 February 2009. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
8. Steffen Hung. "australian-charts.com". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
9. "Big Country". UMD Music. Retrieved 31 March 2012.
10. Steffen Hung. "Big Country - Fields Of Fire (400 Miles)". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
11. Steffen Hung. "Time Life: The Rock Collection - Hot Rock". Australian-charts.com. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
12. "The Best Scottish Album in the World...Ever! - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 April 2014.

External links

• Big Country's Official Website Retrieved May 2009

• 1983 singles
• Big Country songs
• Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite
• Songs written by Stuart Adamson
• Songs written by Mark Brzezicki
• Songs written by Tony Butler (musician)
• Songs written by Bruce Watson (guitarist)
• 1983 songs
• Mercury Records singles