[dar-list] The Ocean

[Sander Meier]

That's funny, I was thinking on asking the same thing...

I wonder for some time now if the way I see this song is actually how she 
meant it. I went to the archives of this list to the date Mortal City came 
out. I've read one that was pretty close to my take on this song. I've also 
read several that were quite different. Well, here's how I see this song...

The voices in this song are me, you and the ocean. Some say you is a lover, 
but I don't think it is. I think the three voices are all three inside one 
persons head. Sometimes I think the ocean is not a voice, but an imaginary 
place. A place that is made up by me, but a place many people feel. Me is 
you and you is me. It's one and the same, but me is the depressed portion of 
you. The town in this song is the everyday life. A life me is not happy 
with.

"When I went to your town on the wide open shore,
Oh I must confess, I was drawn, I was drawn to the ocean,
I thought it spoke to me, it said, look at us,
Were not churches, not schools, not skating ponds, swimming pools,
And we have lost people, haven't we though?"
--When you get drawn into a feelings of worthless, meaningless, giving up, 
everything is the same and you just don't care anymore you are depressed. 
Unfortunately, some people who are depressed are lost forever and are no 
longer with us.

"Oh, that's what the ocean can know of a body,
And that's when I came back to town, this town is a song about you.
You don't know how lucky you are, you don't know how much I adore you,
You are the welcoming back from the ocean."
--Before you can get back into loving yourself again you have to realize you 
are depressed.

"I went back to the ocean today,
With my books and my papers I went to the rocks by the ocean,
But the weather changed quickly, oh the ocean said,
what are you trying to find, I don't care, I'm not kind,
I've bludgeoned your sailors, I've spat out their keepsakes,
Oh its ashes to ashes, but always the ocean,
But the ocean cant come to this town, this town is a song about you.
You don't know how lucky you are, you don't know how much I adore you,
You are the welcoming back from the ocean."
--Sometimes the path you're walking, towards happiness, seems to have a 
death end and you get back to your old feelings, only this time you KNOW you 
won't find anything that will make you feel good and the thoughts of what 
you already found on your survival are for you to SEE. But there is a road 
between the ocean and this town; you can't be at both places at once.

"And the ones that can know you so well are the ones that can swallow you 
whole."
--Depression can also come with or be social anxiety, but you try to 
disguise that. People who see you through are in total control of you, 
because you are not able to fight the things they say to you.

"I have a good and I have an evil, I thought the ocean, the ocean thought 
nothing,
You are the welcoming back from the ocean."
--The evil thoughts and your soul.

"I didn't go back today,
I wanted to show you that I was more land than water,"
--Most of the time you feel good.
"I went to pick flowers. I brought them to you,
Look at me, look at them, with their salt up the stem,
But you frowned when I smiled and I tried to arrange them,
You said, let me tell you the song of this town,
You said, everything closes at five. after that, well, you just got the 
bars,
You don't know how precious you are, walking around with your little shoes 
dangling,
I am the one who lives with the ocean,"
--Days you feel energized. You think you can conquer the world and that they 
are waiting for you to do that. Soon you will find that you have to aim 
lower, but you are so worth that too.

"Its where we came from, you know, and sometimes I just want to go back,
After a day, we drink till were drowning, walk to the ocean, wade in with 
our workboots,
Wade in our workboots, try to finish the job.
You don't know how precious you are, I am the one who lives with the ocean.
You don't know how I am the one. You don't know how I am the one."
--Sometimes it just feels like giving up again and you go to the place the 
ocean bludgeoned it's sailors. BUT you should never forget how precious you 
are...

Ok, this is my take on this song. If someone knows things Dar said about 
this song I would also appreciate it a lot if you would share that. I'm also 
interested in reading other views to this song.

Sander


>From: jeffebner at comcast.net
>Reply-To: Dar Williams Discussion List <dar-list at folkserv.net>
>To: dar-list at folkserv.net
>Subject: [dar-list] The Ocean
>Date: Tue, 20 Mar 2007 17:51:05 +0000
>
>I love the song "The Ocean" and have heard Dar introduce it several 
>different ways.  Many of the lyrics speak to me, but I was interested if 
>anyone knew Dar's story behind the song.  Once she said, "this song has a 
>you, and I, and a them"  or something close to it.
>
>I am very curious about the story behind "The Ocean"  Can anyone help?
>_______________________________________________
>dar-list mailing list
>dar-list at folkserv.net
>http://folkserv.net/mailman/listinfo/dar-list

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