I saw you dancin' out the ocean
Runnin' fast along the sand
A spirit born of earth and water
Fire flyin' from your hands

In the instant that you love someone
In the second that the hammer hits
Reality runs up your spine
And the pieces finally fit

And all I ever needed was the one
Like freedom fields where wild horses run
When stars collide like you and I
No shadows block the sun
You're all I've ever needed
Baby you're the one

There are caravans we follow
Drunken nights in dark hotels
When chances breathe between the silence
Where sex and love no longer gel

For each man in his time is Cain
Until he walks along the beach
And sees his future in the water
A long lost heart within his reach

And all I ever needed was the one
Like freedom fields where wild horses run
When stars collide like you and I
No shadows block the sun
You're all I've ever needed
Baby you're the one

And all I ever needed and was the one
Like freedom fields where wild horses run
When stars collide like you and I
No shadows block the sun
You're all I've ever needed
Baby you're the one

All I ever needed was the one
Like freedom fields where wild horses run
When stars collide like you and I
No shadows block the sun
You're all I've ever needed
Baby you're the one


Lyrics submitted by Novartza, edited by PDXGuy96

The One song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +6
    General Comment

    "There are caravans we follow Drunken nights in dark hotels When chances breathe between the silence Where sex and love no longer gel"

    To me this means how many times do we not go after someone because our friends don't encourage us (they have the wrong look, want you to go after someone else) or we mess a good thing up.

    Usually "The One" isn't a once in a lifetime chance, but may reappear several "silent" moments that you never realize.

    I think this portion of the song is maybe not taking the chance on someone or messing it up - but if that person is "The One" there should be a second chance.

    Disaster Chickon January 22, 2008   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    Wow...only 1 reply to this song. That really shocks me. This is one of my favorite Elton John songs. The lyrics are so powerful and beautiful.

    It's not really hard to understand the meaning of this song...its about "the one"...the person who you can't stop thinking about, the person you HAVE to be with, the person who makes your heart beat really fast, the person who your destined to be with

    I love the fire metaphor in the first stanza "fire flying from your hands"...to me it means love at first site...when he first saw her...he saw the flames..the embers..the sparks of what their relationship could be

    and in the next stanza thats what he says...he instantly fell in love with this girl..and everything seemed to fit...all his worries went away...and everything...makes sense

    and the chorus perfectly written... he says that all he ever needed was "the one"...thats what everyone wants....hopes for in life...they want "the one" for them...the one who makes them feel free. I love the simile "like freedom fields where wild horses run"...it just means being happy, free, content... "No shadows block the sun"- when they "collided" and when they fell in love they believed in what they had...they had hope...there were no doubts(shadows) because they felt in their heart and followed it... then the last part of the chorus "Your all I ever needed...oh baby your the one" - thats all that needs to be said...

    I also the love the line...in the last stanza "He walks along the beach and sees his future in the water, a long lost heart within his reach"...that is very symbolic...in many books...poems...etc... water...or the ocean symbolizes a persons life...because when you look out in the ocean you see water the continues forever...it becomes more distant and distant...thats what life is...even when you die your spirit continues forever and ever...and when he look out in the water...he sees her..."the one"...meaning she is his future...

    It's a great song...a timeless love song that will never get old

    steel07on March 10, 2006   Link
  • +3
    My Opinion

    Nice comments, I think there are a few more "adult" themes here that are being overlooked. "In the instant that you love someone, in the second that the hammer hits, reality runs up your spine" - I have always thought they were talking about orgasm here. Maybe I just have a dirty mind but it makes sense, after that "instant" is over, you suddenly see things a lot differently and maybe some things that seemed extrememely important just a few "instants" ago no longer do.

    Also the stanza about the drunken nights in dark hotels is just basically talking about having meaningless sex with no emotional connection. He is contrasting that with the experience of being truly in love.

    acirvinon August 31, 2010   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Elton has 2 songs I love...this one and "The way you look tonight." If you listen to a line in the latter, you will see a connection to this song: he says, "...when you found me, I was feeling like a cloud across the sun..." In this one, he says "...no shadows block the sun..." I understand what he is saying because I've felt the same...through love, there is no darkness. Both these songs are inspiring, because you can tell that he is writing from experience--from the experience of true love.

    Now, I do have to say that I don't get some of the expressions he uses in this song, which I how I landed on this website! E.g., what does, "For each man in his time is Cain" mean? Or how about "There are caravans we follow Drunken nights in dark hotels When chances breathe between the silence..."

    Nevertheless, I can relate to the overall message of deep, enduring, true love that he sings about in these songs.

    DJenningson April 05, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    "For each man in his time is Cain"

    Cain was a figure in the Bible - he killed his brother Abel, thus committing the first murder. As punishment, he was sentenced to wander the world as an outcast, presumably forever alone and unloved. The lyrics speak of a man cursed in the way Cain is - wandering the world alone - but then finding love he never thought he'd have.

    yggdrasillionon April 17, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    Wonderful song. Truly amazing music and lyrics. It's all about real, deep love, and believing in it... Really, it's all written up there, what else could we say?

    rumion June 19, 2006   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation

    The song is only about finding that one true love of your life.

    During my first marriage, I always felt that love was something that wasn't truly that fantastic. As the years droned on, I thought that as a marriage continued on, it was supposed to be two people existing in the same space and nothing more. After my divorce, I wasn't sure was dating would be like again.

    This song reminds me of what real love is all about. It is a feeling that gives a person the courage to do things they may have never thought about doing before.

    The first stanza is about finding someone that is a person that is free. "Fire flying from your hands" is a free spirit. Someone not afraid to take chances.

    "There are caravans we follow, Drunken nights in dark hotels. When chances breathe between the silence, Where sex and love no longer gel" Is about the meaningless sex and relationships that we have until we find that person that brings tears to our eyes just thinking about them because of the sheer happiness and joy they have brought to our lives.

    ccjockeyon July 06, 2012   Link
  • +1
    Song Meaning

    THE most moving and beautiful love song out there. No sappy, flowery drivel here.

    First, I think it's "how freedom feels" (not fields) where wild horses run. "No shadows block the sun" (nothing can darken the light of his love for this person) "There are caravans we follow, drunken nights and dark hotels" (let's not forget that Elton is a recovering alcoholic that spent nearly every night on the road drunk in a lonely hotel room) "Each man in his time is Cain" (everyone walks this earth alone, until they find "the One, until they walk along the beach, a long lost heart within his reach" I agree that the ocean is probably a metaphor for his life, reaching seemingly forever. His "lost" love has been found and is in his reach finally.

    joelchipon February 20, 2019   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Truly great lyrics. It bascailly means that destiny has a play in all love stories.

    syoungon December 27, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    truly amazing song. i felt like this once. now it's gone. so powerful.

    XxjupiterxXon July 02, 2007   Link

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