The Ocean (U2 song)

"The Ocean" is a song by U2 and the seventh track from their debut album, Boy. The song is one of U2's shortest, at just over a minute and a half in length.

"The Ocean"
Song by U2
from the album Boy
Released20 October 1980
RecordedJuly–September 1980
StudioWindmill Lane Studios, Dublin
GenreRock, post-punk
Length1:34
LabelIsland
Songwriter(s)U2
Producer(s)Steve Lillywhite
Audio sample
U2 – "The Ocean"
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Composition and lyrics

One of U2's shortest songs, "The Ocean" runs for 1:34. It is played in common time at a tempo of 85 bpm.[1] The song is played in the key of E♭. The Edge uses a soft guitar delay of 10 ms at 4–5 repeats.[2] Adam Clayton's bass line is one of the most notable elements of the song. The instrumentation of the song attempts to emulate the sound of an ocean.[3]

The lyrics take inspiration from the story of The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, as well as from Bono's holidays as a child in Rush, Dublin.[4] Because it depicts a young rock star about to become an adult who looks at the world ("the ocean") in front of him and wants to change it,[5] Bono has described "The Ocean" as "comic megalomania".[6]

Live performances

The first known performance of the song was on 16 September 1980 at a concert in Plymouth,[7] although due to incomplete and missing set lists from the band's early career, it is likely that the debut of "The Ocean" took place at an earlier date. During the Boy Tour, "The Ocean" opened concerts 45 times, the most of any song on the tour.[8] The song was frequently played twice per concert, along with the songs "I Will Follow" and "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", often opening and closing the set list on the same night. The last performance of "The Ocean" was on December 15, 1982 during the War Tour. Following that performance, "The Ocean" was not played for over 22 years[9] before making several surprise appearances during the Vertigo Tour.[7] The Vertigo Tour performances of "The Ocean" segued out of "Gloria" or "The Electric Co. "

On 28 May 2015, during a several day break in the Innocence + Experience Tour, U2 played "The Ocean" during a performance at The Roxy Theatre, which was a "makeup show" for their cancelled appearance at KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas in December 2014. The song opened the show. "The Ocean" was next played at the opening night of the Experience + Innocence Tour at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 2 May 2018.

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References
  1. "Find the BPM for any song | songbpm.com". songbpm.com. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  2. "A Study of The Edge’s Guitar Delay (U2)". amnesta.net. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  3. McCarthy, J.M.J. U2 - Uncensored On the Record. Coda Books Ltd. ISBN 9781781580172. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  4. Stokes, Niall, (2005). U2: Into The Heart - The Stories Behind Every Song, page 16. Avalon Publishing Group Incorporated. ISBN 1-56025-765-2
  5. "U2MoL - Boy - The Ocean". muorji.se. Retrieved 2014-11-30.
  6. McCormick, Neil (ed), (2006). U2 by U2, page 101. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-719668-7
  7. U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, All times The Ocean played live
  8. U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, Boy Tour Statistics
  9. U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, Review of 2005
  • U2.com - Lyrics to "The Ocean"
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