Ocean Man by Ween: Lyrics Meaning And Interpretation
The American rock band, Ween, from Pennsylvania was formed in 1984. The band has been very popular among people for their highly eclectic lists of songs among which, Ocean Man is the most popular one. Before understanding the meaning of the song, Ocean Man, you must have a little knowledge about the band and their work.
The band was originally formed by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, also popularly known as Gene and Dean Ween of the Ween. The band released a few albums since its formation in 1984. But from 1989, they got a lot more exposure after signing with the famous label Elektra Records. They released three albums in the next consecutive years, namely, ‘GodWeenSatan: The Oneness’ in 1990, ‘The Pod’ in 1991, and ‘Our Guava’ in the year 1992. Their song ‘Push th’ Little Daisies’ was a big hit and broke all records in Australia and the United States. In the next 8 years, the band released 4 more albums one of which was ‘The Mollusk’ in 1997.
But in 2012, Aaron Freeman decided to leave the band, take a break, and work on his drug and alcohol addiction. Since then, the band has not released any new songs. But they have toured extensively around the whole world and performed on various occasions. Although this band never received proper recognition from the industry, they have a huge fan following.
Ocean man was a part of their sixth studio album, ‘The Mollusk’ which was released in 1997. This song was used by the band to promote their album. Ocean Man lyrics’ meaning succeeds in captivating the attention of the listeners. This song has been loved by people all over the world. The band has also performed this particular song on various notable occasions like – Live at Stubb’s and Live in Chicago.
What Does the Title Mean?
The title of the song ‘ Ocean Man’ has a very deep meaning. If you truly want to understand Ocean Man lyrics meaning, you need to have proper knowledge about the title and what it symbolizes. For a very long time, nobody has tried to understand the meaning of the song. Some believe that this song is very silly. But, Ocean Man lyrics meaning gives a very interesting message to the listeners.
The title of the song is not that special and will not help the listener get any clear idea of what the song is about. Who is the ocean man? What will the ocean man do? Once the audience hears the name of the soundtrack, they will not be able to figure out what the title means. But the meaning of the title will be absolutely clear to them once they listen to the song.
The ‘Ocean Man’ in the song could be a stranger who the singer wants to escape the world with and have fun. He wants to explore the oceans and see what amazing things are waiting down there to get explored. Ocean Man lyrics meaning is truly magical.
Verse 1: What Does it Mean?
Ocean Man lyrics meaning explains the true spirit of freedom. In the first line of the song, we see the singer asking the ‘Ocean Man’ to hold his hand. He takes him to a land that is unknown to the singer but well-known to the ocean man. The singer asks the ocean man to take him to the land that is new and filled with joy and adventure. The singer wants to explore the vast and mysterious world of the oceans with the ocean man. He wants to get out of the monotonous regular life and get a little refreshment. The first line of the song also refers to “Echoes” by Pink Floyd which also speaks about giving someone the right to lead the singer. It takes him to a new place that the singer wouldn’t know about.
The second line of the first verse explains how you can explore every corner of the world, yet, the world being a globe, the waters or oceans have no corner. If you once go on a trip to explore the oceans, that voyage is going to last forever. Oceans will help you explore the entire globe without even stopping for once. That is also why the ocean trip is a real trip.
Chorus 1: What Does it mean?
The chorus of the song is the key to understanding Ocean Man lyrics’ meaning. The chorus of the song describes the look of the ocean man. It explains how the skin of the ocean man has tanned because of the heat and sun. This has also made his skin very crusty. The hot and dry sand is absorbing the man. The ocean man is also soaking up all the thirst of the land because men on the land have become so used to being dry. So, they have almost forgotten that there is life beyond land as well. They are so engrossed in exploring the land that they have no thirst to explore the ocean.
Verse 2: What Does it Mean?
In verse 2 of the song, we come across the term ‘Oberman’. ‘Oberman’ or ‘over man’, was a term coined by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche. Also known as ‘Ubermensch’ in native German, it is referred to as a man who can keep himself away from the general perspective of society. He can then create a new perspective of his own. But, this man will never force his perspective on others, unlike society. A normal man would never be able to see the greatness of an over man, so the singer asks the ocean man if he can see through the wonderful and amazing ‘Ubermensch’.
The second line of the verse also talks about the bitterness of the ocean man who is stuck in the sea. But such a man is also difficult to find who has no bitterness in him. The ocean man is “childlike” as he is trying to stay positive even though things get hard for him.
Chorus 2: What Does it Mean?
In the second chorus, we see how living on the beach and staying in the ocean has had a great impact on the life of the ocean man. His skin tone has tanned due to the heat on the beach, and it looks “lightly fried’ or braised. The last line of the chorus could mean 2 things. The ocean man is soaking up all the thirst of the land means he is sucking all the spirit of freedom from the people living on the land. He is taking it back to the ocean that has no restrictions or does not work on any laws. It could also mean that the ocean man is a wise man who soaks up or observes all the actions of the people he meets on his journey.
Conclusion
Ocean Man lyrics meaning explains why this song was chosen for the movie ‘SpongeBob SquarePants’. This movie shows the influence of Cousteau and Ween. It shows how we are made to think that what we already have is great, that the land that we live in has a lot to offer. But what about the mysteries of the ocean? The land may be beautiful, but exploring the ocean will help us realize how magnificent it is.
