“The Ocean” by Fritz Hager
“The Ocean” by Fritz Hager lyrics available here.
We do not have control over the places where we are born or raised. Instead, they are often inherited from our parents or guardians. Despite this lack of decision, many people still decide to stay or to return to the places they inherit at birth. Whether we see snow-capped mountains, feel the heat of a desert, taste the salt in the air, or hear the bustling of traffic, the geography of the natural world that we inherit becomes a part of us. “The Ocean”, written and performed by artist Fritz Hager, perfectly captures how the geography of a place an individual inherits plays a role in shaping their identity. The song describes Fritz growing up at an ocean beach house with his grandmother and how, despite her passing, the place and the comfort that the ocean provided still are a part of his identity even though he no longer lives there. He vividly sings about the “salt in the air” and running through “the dunes” and “the weeds” of the beach. Doing so allows him to paint a picture of the geography through his voice so the listener can understand what about the ocean attracts him. Fritz is able to do this throughout the entire song, illustrating his memories of the setting through senses, such as hearing the “crashing of the waves” and feeling the “cool breeze swallowing” him. The listener not only hears the song but feels it. The lyric “you’ll give me the ocean” establishes how he inherited the land from his grandmother. This reflects our concept that some portions of your identity, such as the geographical environment that you are born and raised in, are inherited. As the song continues, he tells the story of his grandmother growing old and passing away. The music quiets and his voice becomes soft and slightly shaky, demonstrating grief to gather empathy from the listener. As the music lifts back up and the song ends, Fritz establishes that despite her passing and being far from the coast, he “still [dreams] about the ocean” and “always loves” it. Through this emotional statement, and the song itself, he is telling his grandmother and listeners that his inherited geography is a permanent and valued part of his identity. The ocean is a place to which he will always return to reinforce his relationship and love for his grandma and the values she imparted in him.
Works Cited
Hager, Fritz. Lyrics to “The Ocean”. AZLyrics, 2022.
azlyrics.biz/f/fritz-hager-lyrics/fritz-hager-the-ocean-lyrics/.
Hager, Fritz. “The Ocean”. YouTube, 2022.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JPn9x6gT0mc.