Lyric discussion by rammsteingirl 

Cover art for Yer Not the Ocean lyrics by Tragically Hip, The

when i first heard this song i was flying over the ocean for the first iime and it was kind of intimidating, and now whenever i think about it im reminded of myself sitting on the plane letting this song calm me and help me overcome my fear of the plane crashing into the ocean. YOUR NOT THE OCEAN

I think there are three possible interpretations of this:

One, it is in fact Lake Ontario, one of the biggest sources of fresh water in the world and horribly polluted, and this is just a tongue-in-cheek shot at the neglect and ignorance that led to its current state by pretending to be a justification of our attitude. It doesn't matter if we're destroying you. I'm a popstar (Britney Invisible) and you're just a lake, not the ocean.

Two, it could be Canada talking to the United States.

Three, it could be the United States talking to Canada. I think...