Playlist: Our Favorite Songs About… The Ocean/Sea (With A Few Sailing Tunes)

 

*Beach photo taken by your intrepid blogger… and yes, “The Sea was angry that day…”

Maybe because I was born, raised and still live in the American Midwest, landlocked and far away from the coast, I absolutely love the ocean. We always want what we don’t have. Women with straight hair want curls, women with curls want straight hair. Life’s just like that.

I’ve been thinking about the ocean a lot lately. Maybe that’s because I’ve been listening to the new Bob Marley live LP. I always figured by the time I was an adult I’d be living on a coastline by now, not 20 miles from where I grew up. Oh, well, there’s still time. Maybe I’ve been thinking about the sea a lot because I was just there a couple of months ago.

Recently I got lucky and was presented with a chance to go to Bermuda (pictured above). Of course on the first day, as I waded out into the ocean, and a wave lifted me up in the air, spun me around and slammed me into a giant, submerged boulder, tearing my tricep. I may love the sea, but it doesn’t love me back. It literally spit me out.

It’s always been like that. I remember the first time I swam in the ocean. I was on Cape Cod in the mid-70s. I swam out from the beach to a little floating dock. I jumped off, my body locked in a straight line, like an arrow.

I shot, like a torpedo, straight to the bottom and cut the side of my foot open along the instep on what I believe to be a broken beer bottle. My parents wanted me to get “stitches” which sounded menacing to a kid, so I refused. I walked the Boston Freedom Trail the next day with my foot bound like a Chinese gymnast.

Despite all that, I still love the sea. There’s just something so relaxing about sitting on the beach – or better, in a groovy seaside bar with a colorful cocktail – and listening to the waves roll in. Talk about finding a Zen spot! The smell of the surf, the caress of the sun on your skin, there’s nothing better.

Naturally, my new found obsession with the sea – fueled by my upcoming tricep surgery – led me to thinking about rock songs about the sea. There are so many great tracks about the sea – and quite a few about sailing as well – that I had to do a playlist. I included the sailing tunes because, where do you sail? With all due respect to the Great Lakes, the answer is the seven seas, baby!

I’ll admit that most of these songs that invoke the ocean are using it as a metaphor for either distance (“oceans away”) or immensity (“heavy is the ocean”). Many of the singers in these songs are lost, swimming or drowning in a sea of something. Whether it’s a sea of sorrow, joy, or madness we’ve got it here.

As usual, we swerve wildly in terms of tempo and style. In my mind I hoped to put together a group of songs that a groovy seaside bar might put on during the afternoon shift. Dare to dream! I could have made this all Buffett and Beach Boy songs but I’m not proficient with either act so they each got 1 song.

Hopefully you’ll hear a song you haven’t in a while or better yet something you’ve never heard. If you have a song about the sea/ocean that’s not here – please drop it in the comments and I’ll add it to the playlist. Hopefully you’re somewhere near the ocean as I type this…or planning to go. Cheers!

• The Who, “I Am The Sea” – This is mostly “connective tissue” on the concept album Quadrophenia, but I loved the roar of the ocean that plays through the song. Nice kick off.
• Led Zeppelin, “The Ocean” – What an iconic track… one of the Rock Chick’s favorite Zeppelin tunes.
• The Cult, “Electric Ocean” – I got see them play this song on the Electric tour, what a rocker!
• Neil Young (backed by Pearl Jam), “I’m The Ocean” – “I’m the ocean, I’m the giant undertow…” The song doesn’t have a lot other say about the ocean, but it’s Neil backed by Pearl Jam, I had to include it.
• Alice In Chains, “Sea Of Sorrow” – One of the first songs that made me love this band.
• The Police, “Message In A Bottle” – Classic from the Police. One of the first I thought of.
• The Black Keys, “Oceans & Streams” – I should have included this on my Songs About Dreams playlist. “Oh, I used to dream of oceans and streams…” Their lates, Peaches, is a must hear.
• Ramones, “Havana Affair” – Any chance to include the Ramones… Our hero is on a PT boat headed for Havana… after retiring from the banana groves.
• Blondie, “The Tide Is High” – A metaphor but who doesn’t love this song.
• Blind Faith, “Sea Of Joy” – The Blind Faith album was better than you think.
• Pete Townshend, “The Sea Refuses No River” – Great song, great message.
• Paul McCartney & Wings, “Mull Of Kintyre” – I get standing on a cliff overlooking the ocean vibes here. “Oh mist rolling in from the sea.” I love the sound of bagpipes.
• Styx, “Come Sail Away” – Styx seems to always find a way to my playlists… this one has a twist in the end when aliens show up. It was the 70s.
• The Cure, “From The Edge Of The Deep Green Sea” – This is how I felt in Bermuda.
• Crosby, Stills, Nash, “Southern Cross” – CSN had several avid sailors in the band. This one is from Stills.
• Queen, “Seven Seas Of Rhye” – You have to love early Queen.
• Queens Of The Stone Age, “I Sat By The Ocean” – QOTSA on the album that turned me onto them. They’ve got a new album coming.
• Black Sabbath, “Children Of The Sea” – From the superb Dio Era.
• Iron Maiden, “Rime Of The Ancient Mariner” – While I was in the Heavy Metal section…
• The Who, “Sea And Sand” – More ocean goodness from Quadrophenia. 
• Otis Redding, “(Sittin’ On) The Dock Of The Bay” – One of my all time favorites.
• Stillls-Young Band, “Midnight On The Bay” – Following up on the “bay” theme of the previous tune. That Stills-Young Band LP was better than people give it credit for.
• Looking Glass, “Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl)” – I have always loved this song. The RHCPs covered it on a live LP a few years back. “My love, my lady, is the sea.”
• Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, “Sea Of Madness (Live At Woodstock)” – A bit of a rarity. They never put this track down in the studio to my knowledge.
• Van Morrison, “Into The Mystic” – “Hark now, hear the sailors cry, Smell the sea and feel the sky, Let your soul and spirit fly, Into the mystic.” Beautiful lyrics.
• Crosby, Stills, Nash, “Wooden Ships” – One of my all time favorite of theirs… love Stills’ guitar.
• Gordon Lightfoot, “The Wreck Of The Edmund Fitzgerald” – Gordon’s most famous song about a wreck on Lake Ontario. And yes, it’s Lake Ontario.
• Allman Brothers Band, “Sailin’ Cross The Devil’s Sea” – Great late period Allman Brothers here.
• Jackson Browne, “Rock Me On The Water” – From his fine debut album.
• Robert Plant, “Ship Of Fools” – The first of four songs about ships full of fools. All of which ended up on my Playlist: Songs About Fools, but they’re good here too.
• Blues Image, “Ride Captain Ride” – Another 70s classic.
• Bob Marley & The Wailers, “High Tide Or Low Tide” – A nice Bob metaphor for a relationship and his fealty to it.
• Dirty Heads, “Cabin By The Sea” – How great would it be to live in a cabin by the sea?
• The Doobie Brothers, “Daughters Of The Sea” – A song I only recently became aware of… I dig it too with its Odyssey (the poem) and sirens.
• Led Zeppelin, “Down By The Seaside” – Trippy wonderful Zeppelin from Physical Graffiti.
• Johnny Cash (backed by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers), “Sea Of Heartbreak” – From his second album on American Records, this is a great song. Petty and the boys sound great.
• Jimmy Buffett, “Son Of A Son Of A Sailor” – I didn’t know which Buffet track to pick so I picked this one. I’m sure there’s more.
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Sail Away” – I think this is a very underrated track by Neil.
• Little Feat, “Sailin’ Shoes” – I love Little Feat…”Everyone will start to cheer, When you put on your sailin’ shoes.”
• Bob Dylan, “When The Ship Comes In” – One of my favorites from his early folk era.
• Queen, “Seaside Rendezvous” – The world misses Freddy Mercury.
• Pearl Jam, “Oceans” – Every song on Ten was fantastic.
• Genesis, “Home By The Sea” – A groovy tune from their 80s heyday. Liked this and “Second Home By The Sea,” an instrumental extended jam, as well.
• Bush, “Heavy Is The Ocean” – This is a great, heavy tune from The Art Of Survival. 
• Allman Brothers Band, “Sail Away” – A bit of a rarity but a great little Dickey Betts tune.
• The Beatles, “Yellow Submarine” – It’s funny but Ringo has more than one song on this list. Loved his last solo album, Long, Long Road. 
• The Beach Boys, “Sail On, Sailor” – I have to admit, I hate the Beach Boys. I’ve always liked this song because, as it ends up, it’s Blondie Chaplin who sings it. He ended up doing backing vocals for the Stones. No Mike Love in my ears.
• Neil Young & Crazy Horse, “Through My Sails” – From the fabulous Zuma. 
• Steely Dan, “Home At Last” – Another play on The Odyssey. 
• The Beatles, “Octopus’s Garden” – Ringo hanging out with an octopus, in the creature’s garden.
• Rush, “Red Tide” – The tide here is a metaphor for some disease or ecological disaster but this is a great Rush song.
• Bob Seger, “The Sea Inside” – From Seger’s last LP, I Knew You When. Is it me or does this give “Kashmir” vibes?
• Pearl Jam, “Big Wave” – Eddie Vedder letting us know how much he loves surfing.
• U2, “The Ocean” – Trippy and short, but still a perfect fit here.
• Toad The Wet Sprocket, “Walk On The Ocean” – A track my wife turned me onto. It’s a great song, I’d forgotten about them.
• Randy Newman, “Sail Away” – From one of our great satiric songwriters… an imagined musical recruitment poster for slaves.
• David & David, “Swimming In The Ocean” – We just posted about their LP Boomtown.
• Bob Seger, “Ship Of Fools” – So many fools on board… one might think of our current regime.
• Lyle Lovett, “If I Had A Boat” – Lyle, Tonto and a horse on a boat in the ocean.
• The Doors, “Ship Of Fools” – I love those last few Doors LPs with Morrison.
• Neil Young, “Captain Kennedy” – Beautiful acoustic song originally slated for Hitchhiker. 
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience, “Castles Made Of Sand” – “Castles made of sand, fall into the sea, eventually.”
• Rod Stewart “Sailing” – I saw Rod perform this song in Vegas. Gorgeous tune.
• Robert Plant, “Down To The Sea” – I’m seeing Plant this Saturday and I can’t wait.
• Queen, “Sail Away Sweet Sister” – Another brilliant Queen track.
• The Honeydrippers, “Sea Of Love” – This might be Plant’s biggest hit?
• The Cult, “Sea And Sky” – A bit of a rarity from the Cult from their early days, but a great song none-the-less.
• Grateful Dead, “Ship Of Fools” – From the wonderful From The Mars Hotel. 
• George Harrison, “Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea” – A lovely little ditty from George.
• The Stills-Young Band, “Ocean Girl” – When they recorded this album they were in Miami and clearly their surroundings influenced the subject matter. Great song, though.
• Billy Joel, “The Downeaster Alexa” – The protagonist laments the conditions for fisherman on the East coast.
• 311, “Two Drops In The Ocean” – Just saw these guys open for the aforementioned Dirty Heads.
• David Bowie, “Red Sails” – Deep track from the genius of Bowie. “Thunder ocean, Red sails take me, make me sail along.”
• Norah Jones, “Sinkin’ Soon” – Metaphor for a relationship, but I think I read somewhere it was a metaphor for the W’s leadership in the early 00s.
• Pearl Jam, “Amongst The Waves” – Eddie, once again, out there surfing. Backspacer was an album I really liked..
• Bruce Springsteen, “Seaside Bar Song” – This is the kind of groovy bar I hope plays this playlist… get off the usual stuff.
• The Drifters, “Under The Boardwalk” – A wonderful classic covered by so many artists. Essential listening.
• Bob Seger, “Sailing Nights” – From Beautiful Loser. Seger was on the verge of becoming a huge star.
• The Velvet Underground, “Ocean” – I tried to put the weird stuff at the end of the playlist…
• The Doors, “Horse Latitudes” – “True sailing is dead…”
• Tom Waits, “The Ocean Doesn’t Want Me” – Story about a guy who goes to the beach everyday to decide if he wants to drown himself… Not today, the ocean doesn’t want me…

Those are our favorite songs about the sea. What are yours? Please drop them in the comments and we’ll add them to the playlist on the dreaded Spotify.

I read recently that the oceans are the Earth’s lungs. With all the plastic and garbage we’re dumping into the ocean we’re treating those “lungs” like a four pack a day smoker. We’ve gotta start taking steps to take better care of our oceans, not to go all Earth Day on you. We all want clean air, water and oceans.

Again, enjoy this playlist on maximum volume and hopefully you’re close enough to the sea to hear its roar as you sip something strong! Or if not, hopefully this playlist will put you there in your mind… Cheers!

Editor’s Note: This post and the playlist that accompanies it, is dedicated to the brave and intrepid sailors and crew of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln who were left out to sea for 286 days including 208 consecutive days without a port call, in what can only be described as an abject failure of their current leadership. When the U.S.S. Lincoln finally pulled into port in Thailand the corrosion on the hull could only be seen as a metaphor for what the current regime has done to the United States and the vaunted U.S. military.