From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"The Ocean" is the seventh track of U2's debut album, Boy. The song is U2's shortest, at just over a minute and a half in length. Adam Clayton's bassline is one of the most notable elements of the song.
[edit] Inspiration
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.[1] Bono has described the song as "comic megalomania".[2]
[edit] Live history
The first known performance of the song was on 16 September 1980 at a concert in Plymouth,[3] although due to incomplete and missing setlists 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.[4] 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 setlist 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[5] before making several surprise appearances during the Vertigo Tour.[3] The Vertigo Tour performances of "The Ocean" segued out of "Gloria" or "The Electric Co." Currently, the last recorded performance of the song took place on December 9, 2005 in Buffalo.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- U2.com - Lyrics to "The Ocean"
