Big River (Jimmy Nail song) Big River (Jimmy Nail song) "Big River" is a song written and performed by Jimmy Nail and released on the album "Big River". It was released as a single in 1995. In 2011, it was recorded by Joe McElderry for the DVD, "Big River Big Songs: The Tyne". McElderry also performed it for "Sunday for Sammy" in 2012. The big river referred to in the title is the River Tyne that runs through Nail's home town, Newcastle upon Tyne. The song is an elegy to the days when shipbuilding and industry in general were at their height in Newcastle and
New River Gorge National River and recreational opportunities. President Jimmy Carter signed legislation establishing New River Gorge National River on November 10, 1978 (Public Law 95-625). As stated in the legislation, the park was established as a unit of the national park system "for the purpose of conserving and interpreting outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects in and around the New River Gorge and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the New River in West Virginia for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations." Flowing water is the creative force shaping the geologic features of the New River