I Sat By The Ocean

So obvious what this is about. I think anyone who has been dumped can relate, especially if they were dumped for someone else.

My opinion is that his girl had a secret lover, who she eventually left him for.

Verse 1 is straightforward, hes drinking his sorrows away. Crying over the loss of the relationship and that their mutual friends pity him, but are ok with her moving on and maybe even accept her new love, pushing him out of the picture. "Your friends all sympathise, maybe I dont need them too"

"You, me and a lie Silence is closer We're passing ships in the night"

The chorus makes it clear that the song is about that transitional phase between breaking up and becoming completely estranged or finding closure. The relationship was a lie, or the third party was the lie (She kept her new lover hidden) "Silence is closer" - Its getting close to the point where they no longer exist in each others lives, so complete silence.

"Were passing ships in the night" - An old saying, two ships that pass each other in the night for a moment become one, a fleeting moment, as soon as they pass each other they disappear onto their own paths again alone.

I guess its a way of saying the relationship is flashing before his eyes to its inevitable death.

Verse 2

I could be completely wrong here but this sounds so damn familiar (own breakup experience):

"There's nowhere to run away" - It lingers, the pain is cant be escapes no matter where he goes.

Said, "Boy if you want love, you'll have to go and find it with someone new" "Do you know who you really are? Are you sure it's really you?"

I believe this is the general advice hes getting from people around him, telling him to find himself and then find love with another person as its too late for this relationship. Most people hear this advice from friends and family during a breakup.

"Lies are a funny thing They slip through your fingertips because they never happened to you Time wounds all the heals as we fade out of view"

I think what this is saying is that his girlfriend had a hard time keeping her lover a secret. In fact it was too easy for her to be caught out. Everyone else knew, he was the last to find out she had someone else. She let it slip from her fingers because she didn't realise the pain and damage that lying to him would cause, as it never happened to her.

Rather than "time heals all wounds", the wounds just get worse in time because of the degree of betrayal. He was made to look like a fool, had his ego bruised.

and finally

"Into the light, left with nowhere to hide"

All the lies are out in the open, they are forced to confront them and end their relationship.

Hope this was somewhat useful!

There is still a part missing between the verse and the chorus...

it's something like Imagine to be the ...... instead of being the lonely one

100% correct lyrics from the ...Like Clockwork LP:

I sat by the ocean and drank a potion to erase you Face down in the boulevard, yet I couldn't face you There ain't no use in crying, I doesn't change anything, so what good does it do? Your friends they all sympathize Maybe, I don't need them too

Imagine I'd be your one and only Instead I'm the lonely one You, me and a lie Silence is closer We're passing ships in the night

There's nowhere to run away Said, "Boy if you want love, you'll have to go and find it with someone new" "Do you know who you really are? Are you sure it's really you?" Lies are a funny thing They slip through you fingertips because it never happened to you Time wounds all the heals as we fade out of view

Imagine I'd be your one and only Instead I'm the lonely one You, me and a lie Silence is closer We're passing ships in the night End to the night, left with nowhere to hide

Closer… And closer… We're crashing ships in the night

Chorus is

"Imagine I'll be your one and only, instead of the lonely one".

Drinking to compensate for the depression of unrequited love.

This is probably not what it is supposed to be about, but to me it sounds like the guy is lying about his feelings to be able to keep the girl around.

"I sat by the ocean And drank a potion baby to erase you Face down in the Boulevard yet I couldn't face you"

He's feeling down, drinking and trying to forget about the girl or maybe trying to man up to tell her how he feels. Maybe she dumped him because she figured out his feelings or maybe he dumped her because he understood he had to before he got in too deep.

"There ain't no use in cryin' It doesn't change anything, so baby what good does it do? Your friends they all sympathize, maybe I don't need them to"

He knew all along that it was never going to work, so he doesn't want sympathy after it's over. Nothing could change the inevitable ending of their relationship.

"Imagine I'd be your one and only Instead I'm the lonely one"

He dreams of being her "one and only", but eventually ends up alone, without her.

"Said, 'Boy if you want love, you'll have to go and find it with someone new' 'Do you know who you really are? Are you sure it's really you'?"

To me this sounds like the girl is asking him to think twice before getting involved with her. Maybe she's just looking for something casual and is making sure he's not going to get feelings for her, that they are on the same page. She's doubting his motives for their casual relationship as it probably doesn't suit his personality to just play around.

"Lies are a funny thing They slip through your fingertips because they never happened to you"

He tells the girl that he's interested in the same she is, just to get to be near her at all, and his lie is that he won't get/doesn't have any feelings for her.

"You, me, and a lie Silence is closer We're passing ships in the night End to the light, left with nowhere to hide"

During their relationship (casual or friends with benefits), he knows it can't last for long, thus the passing ships that will probably cross paths again. He feels the end of it coming, the lie about his feelings coming to the surface ("left with nowhere to hide"). The silence represents the end of their relationship.

"We're crashing ships in the night"

The fact that he loves her becomes obvious or she finally knows for sure, and their mismatching interests collides and ends with heartbreak.

This is only how I hear it, I'm pretty sure most people will interpret it in another way. That's what's so great about good lyrics :)

Either that, or they both headed in the wrong direction simultaneously.. And, ya know..

Passing ships in the night is a very old saying and refers to kindliness between two entities.. Referring to the relationship as such means there wasn't much substance to it. Crashing means that for an instance there was a substantial amount of turmoil.. But briefly.. And one side is absolutely affected.. Faced down in the boulevard!

I think it's about some dude being upset about his girlfriend, and sitting by the ocean drinking, cuz it fuckin' hurts.

It's a song about a man or woman in a relationship who knows they are being cheated on and they are thinking about ending the relationship.

I sat by the ocean And drank a potion, baby to erase you

He/she is drinking alcohol or beer of some kind to forget about their partner.

Face down in the boulevard yet I couldn't face you

He/she is down on their luck and are hurting but can't bring them self to end the relationship.

There ain't no use in cryin' It doesn't change anything, so baby what good does it do?

Complaining won't fix the situation.

Your friends they'll sympathize, maybe I don't need them to

If the partner's friends knew they'd most likely think the partner is wrong, but that won't help him/her with it.

Imagine I'd be your one and only Instead I'm the lonely one

He/she wanted to be the partner's"one and only" but instead they're "alone" in the sense that they feel as though their partner doesn't care about them, or is seing somebody else.

You, me, and a lie

The "lie" represents the fact the partner cheated on him/her.

Silence is closer We're passing ships in the night

He/she is eventually going to have to confess and it's becoming to much for him/her to hold in.

There's nowhere to run away

He/she can't run from the situation. They will have to deal with it.

Said, 'Boy if you want love, you'll have to go and find it with someone new' 'Do you know who you really are? Are you sure it's really you'?

He/she is confronted. Do they really want to stay in the relationship only for it to end badly?

Lies are a funny thing They slip through your fingertips because they never happened to you

He/she never realized they were being cheated on until now. "You wouldn't understand unless it happened to you"

Time wounds all the heals as we fade out of view

Eventually as they stop the relationship, they will look back and wonder where it all went wrong. It will hurt to look back on those memories.

Into the light, left with nowhere to hide

He/she is trying to hide from this but it still isn't working.

Closer and closer We're crashing ships in the night

It's getting harder to hide, and the relationship will have to end eventually.