This Is The Sea

so much this songs tells...but basically it tells about changes in life..once you were a small river and "This is the sea" is a new opportunity u get to get things cleared and move into a wider and less restrainted world, a world without bondaries just like an ocean. Your past scares you, you're tethered by it, doesnt let you go on living without shame and pain knowing that "you once held the key"... The train is the final metaphor for changes...it moves from place to place, new people, new stories, new jokes to laugh at,new summer beaches and everything good that life can offer, and this time u dont have to sacrifice anything (material or emotional) to make that change. The final verse is missing:"Behold the sea", and then the song finishes

Awesome song..just great.

There's actually an acoustic version of this song which has different lyrics. It's mostly the same but the changes give a good indication of the meaning. The main difference is in the 3rd verse

These things you keep You better throw them away Turn your back On all your old ways Once you were tethered Now you are free Once you were tethered Now you are free That was the river This is the sea

If you're feelin' weary Maybe you been up too long maybe you're sufferin' from A few too many Plans that have gone wrong Don't try to remember How good it all used to be Don't try to remember how good life used to be Because that was the river This is the sea

Now you say you got trouble You say you got pain You say you've been so confused Seeing all your lies Again and again and again Say your lost lover He was nothin like me Say your old lost lover He was nothing like me Well he was the river This is the sea

Now I can see you wavering As you try to decide There's a war in your head And it's tearin' you up inside Just forget all your schoolin' It won't give you the key Just forget all your schoolin' It won't give you the key But that was the river... This is the sea

(last verse the same)

I think the lyrics of this song are so good because you can relate them to them with so many things, growing up/new relationships etc I don't agree with the spiritual interpretation but it just shows that the meaning can be interpreted in so many ways.

My personal thoughts are about the singer trying to appeal to a girl to forget her old troubles and lovers and be with him. pAll rivers lead to the ocean and (particularly in the acoustic version of the lyrics) he says that her old lover is the 'river' and that he is the 'sea'...ie he is her destination. The line about the train says i'm yours if you want me no questions asked 'you don't ay no fee'

Finally i think just the driving inspirational melody of this tune is so uplifting but strong at the same time.

cool song. heard it on riding giants surf doc film. watch it!

cool song. heard it on riding giants surf doc film. watch it!

I have heard that this song can be interpreted as spiritual. If so, here are my thoughts: "You better throw away these things you keep" meaning-old addicitons, habits, sinful behaviors. Turn your back on your days of sinning-you "soulless days" when life was shallow. Once you were tethered [like a monkey on your back] but now you are free from your sins and your former way of life. You're tired; this former way of life [which leads to nothing but misery] lead you to lonliness-and everything "has gone wrong" and you're "trying to remember" when you were younger and everything in your life was fine...That was the [River] smaller part of your life-when you didn't know Jesus. Now you've been introduced to the "Sea"- this whole new way of thinking... And yes, people will let you down-but God never will even though you feel like he is/may. "You keep scouring your concience" thinking of where did it all go wrong? Now I can see you're wavering: this whole verse refers to whether or not you are ready to make the change in your life and put your trust in Jesus. "You're trying to make sense of something that you just don't see/ You've got war in your head"-which is the devil telling you that "you once held the key" and you thought everything was fine then... But is all the River...[your former way of life] The train is your opportunity to accept Jesus into your heart and change your life around. You don't need to pay a price-he paid it for you- you just need to jump on! Behold the Sea!

tomasino nailed it. This has been my favorite song for a long time and I was misguided in my original interpretation until I heard the acoustic version that is shown in tomasino's post. My original understanding was that the lyrics were directed at a general "you" and that the song was a general commentary on change and leaving old baggage behind.

But not so.

As Tomasino explains, this is a song written for a current lover who is struggling to shred her scars and pains of her past. She needs to leave her lost lover behind as he was nothing like the singer.

I have always loved the song. Firstly because of the melody, but more significantly as the metaphor for change. The river depicts the turbulent prior relationship that flows into the maturity of the sea - the current affair. My 8th grade english teacher once told me that the ultimate image for change in the river to sea metaphor is the final touch point between river and sea. That touch point is the climacted change and is appropriately labelled the delta.

Such a pity that Mike Scott checked out on us.

onewayup is spot-on.

Love this one. Love comments. I always feel this song is about growing up. About getting out to the wild ocean from the sheltered river. It's the way he sings the main line. It's he is in know and he's telling another they need to buck up as things have got real. And there's no going back. The sea is frightening exciting and awe inspiring.