Ocean

Oh, sorry, an interpretation? The original (the one up here is the Lou Reed solo version) is about reminiscing while sitting upon the beach, watching the waves. As a treat, I'll post the Live 1969 version's lyrics. That was an awesome rendition:

Here comes the ocean and the waves down by the shore Here comes the ocean and the waves down by the sea

Earth is a hollow hair, part of a bigger head it nearly drives me crazy I am a lazy son, I never get things done mostly made up of water

But here comes the waves down by the shore Washing the eye of the land that has been

Down by the sea down by the sea Down by the sea down by the sea

Here comes the ocean and the waves down by the shore Here comes the ocean and the waves down by the sea

Insects are evil thoughts, thought of by selfish men it nearly drives me crazy I am a lazy son, I never get things done mostly made up of water

But here comes the waves down by the shore Washing the eye of the land that has been

Down by the sea Down by the sea

Here come the waves Here come the waves Here come the waves Here come the waves Here come the waves Here come the waves Here come the waves

these lyrics are WAY off

Hey 'five to one' - there are two versions of this song; the version recorded at the 'Loaded' sessions available on 'Peel Slowly & See' box set (WITH THESE LYRICS), and the earlier 1968 version that appeared on V.U. in 1985.

Both are spooky, but the 'Peel Slowly' version is more so.

Here are the original 1968 lyrics:

OCEAN

The Ocean

Here comes the ocean and the waves Down by the shore Here comes the ocean and the waves Dawn by the sea

birthes a hollow hair Part of a figure head It nearly drive me crazy I am a lazy son My death would get things done Mostly they ho-ho-ho

But here comes the waves Down by the shore Washing the eye of the land That has been

Down by the sea, down by the sea Down by the sea, down by the sea

Here comes the ocean and the waves Down by the shore Here comes the ocean and the waves Dawn by the sea

Insects are evil thoughts Fought off by selfish men It nearly drives me crazy I am a lazy son I never get things done Mostly they ho-ho-holler

But here comes the waves Down by the shore Washing the eye of the land That has been

Dawn by the sea,...

Here comes,...

It's "Mostly...made of water", elephant range. I've heard the 1968 demo.

I think it means being a person without much value. Being swollowd up by life "The Ocean" And that if you were to die, You'd make more changes then living on.

The song to me is about looking back on life, and being ready to die

The solo is the most beautiful thing I have ever herd. It puts my soul at easy and sets me free

love this song wish more people would listen to bands like vu instead of all the sh*tty pop stuff around today

"insects are evil thoughts" .... this line always stood out to me because it seemed pretty silly, and then I read somewhere just by chance, that Lou Reed was a big fan of Alice Bailey's "A Treatise on White Magic," which is a very spiritual book that had a strong effect on Lou and some of his friends that he introduced it to (one of them, I think it might have been Bill Name, locked himself in a room for 5 months because of this book). Anyway, the idea that insects are physical manifestations of evil thoughts is actually directly from the religion of the book.

One version has the line "They have small rubber ducks recording all our actions".