Famous Songs About Sea and Ships

Looking at the water while sailing on a sailboat often reminds us of melodies. Welcome to a musical journey that will make you yearn for a sweet breeze and the seemingly endless horizon.

 

There are certainly thousands of songs written about the sea. It is not possible to include all of them, but let’s get to know some of them.

 

CLASSICAL PIECES

 

Wagner: Der fliegende Holländer

 

The Flying Dutchman is a fabled ghost ship that is destined to travel the seas forever and is unable to dock. The Flying Dutchman’s crew will endeavour to relay messages to land or to persons who have passed away if they are hailed by another ship.

 

After making a choppy voyage from Riga to London in the summer of 1839, Wagner was moved to compose his opera.

 

Classical music’s fierce composer leaves an unforgettable aftertaste for the listener with this composition.

 

Debussy: La Mer

 

 

Claude Debussy famously remarked that he would have been a sailor instead of a musician because he liked the ocean. Debussy once convinced the captain of a ship to take him and his pals out in the face of a violent storm off the coast of Brittany, but it seems to have cured him of the impulse.

 

The sentimental composer immortalized his love for the sea.

 

Ravel: Une barque sur l’ocean

 

 

Two pieces from the original piano suite of Miroirs that Ravel orchestrated are entitled Une barque sur l’ocean. The opening scene of Une barque sur l’ocean is compellingly suggestive of a little boat bobbing around on a dazzling sea—musical impressionism at its finest. Ravel would have personally witnessed this scene numerous times while growing up along the Atlantic coast.

 

The French composer, one of the important representatives of the Impressionism movement, used the elements of nature in many of his works. The motifs of water, sea and ocean are frequently seen in Impressionist composers.

 

Mendelssohn: Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt

 

Meeresstille und glückliche Fahrt, which translates to “Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage,” is based on two poems by the eminent German author Goethe that Beethoven and Mendelssohn both found compelling. The Mendelssohn composition begins as one might anticipate slowly, gracefully releasing its mooring and drifting gradually across calm waters. Passengers would have been anxious in the early nineteenth century given the calm sea because there would have been little progress if there had been no wind. The sea is shown as a heroic figure in the work’s later sections, building up a head of steam and transporting its visitors on the backs of waves.

 

Britten: Peter Grimes

 

“Peter Grimes” immerses the audience in the harsh and merciless surroundings of a seaside town because it is set in the made-up coastal village of The Borough. The unrelenting North Sea acts as both the opera’s setting as well as a character in and of itself, with its waves and tides echoing the characters’ volatile feelings and outcomes.

 

Peter Grimes, the title character of the opera, is a complicated and troubled fisherman. Only his fellow villagers’ mistrust and contempt, who see him as an outsider and hold him responsible for the murders of his trainees, can rival his love of the sea. The symbiotic relationship between sailors and the sea, which is a major motif in maritime literature and art, is highlighted by Grimes’ mental conflict and infatuation with the water.

 

POPULAR MUSIC

 

The Beatles: Yellow Submarine

 

 

Few songs can compare to The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” in terms of famous songs that have permanently altered the face of music. This quirky and contagious song, which was included on their seminal album “Revolver” in 1966, has spanned generations and become a cherished anthem of cooperation and creativity. It is one of the most famous songs about a marine vehicle.

 

Otis Redding:  (Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay

 

‘Sounds so soulful, don’t you agree?’ said Jay-Z in the opening lines of a famous song called Otis sampled Try a Little Tenderness by the legendary soul singer.

 

Just a few days before he was killed in an aeroplane crash, Otis Redding recorded this timeless song in 1967. A man who left his home in Georgia and travelled to San Francisco over 2,000 miles is the subject of the song. His time in California was spent “sittin’ on the dock of the bay, watchin’ the tide roll away.” It is a common topic in songs about the ocean: the sea is a metaphor for our attempts to flee the suffering and difficulties of daily life.

 

The Beach Boys: Sloop John B

 

 

 It would be surprising not to hear a sea song from a band with ‘beach’ in its name.

 

“Sloop John B” is a traditional nautical tune with a catchy melody that was first released in 1966 as a part of their legendary album “Pet Sounds.” The Beach Boys’ version of the Bahamian folk song describes a sailor’s desire to return home following a harrowing expedition. It has become a classic sing-along favourite thanks to its melodic chorus.

 

Led Zeppelin: Moby Dick

 

Led Zeppelin’s monumental rock song “Moby Dick” perfectly encapsulates the passion and force of Herman Melville’s well-known book. During live performances, John Bonham’s thunderous drum solo frequently went on for improbable durations, simulating the unrelenting chase of the enigmatic white whale Moby Dick.

 

The band also have a song called ‘The Ocean Song’ and ‘Down by the Seaside’

 

REM: Nightswimming

 

“Nightswimming” by REM, included on the 1992 album “Automatic for the People,” is a gorgeous song that beautifully expresses a sense of longing and melancholy. Although the song’s lyrics may not specifically mention the ocean, its themes of introspection and the passing of time are in tune with the ocean’s immensity and everlasting quality.

 

The Police: Message in a Bottle

 

The Police’s “Message in a Bottle,” with Sting’s distinctive voice, is one of the few songs that vividly captures the essence of a maritime theme.

 

The haunting sound of waves breaking on a deserted shore in “Message in a Bottle” immediately transports the listener to a far-off island. The illustration depicts a shipwreck survivor who is alone and in need of assistance, writing a note on paper and putting it inside a bottle. The bottle is then thrown into the water, setting up the song’s lyrics about a naval adventure.

 

The Editors: Ocean of Night

 

Just listen to the piano chords in the intro. Wherever you are, you have already reached the ocean.

 

Through its descriptive lyrics and ominous soundscapes, the British indie rock band Editors has established itself as a proficient storyteller. Opening with a cinematic mood, “Ocean of Night” prepares listeners for a musical voyage that is both eerie and reflective. The lyrics of the song, which are sung with frontman Tom Smith’s distinctive vocal style, cover themes of yearning, unpredictability, and the pursuit of meaning in a world that is constantly changing. The unpredictability and size of the wide sea are mirrored in this emotional landscape.

 

Radiohead: Bloom

 

 

An underwater song from ‘probably’ the greatest rock band of all time.

 

In many songs, water plays a significant role in Radiohead songs such as Weird Fishes and Sail Me to the Moon. ‘Bloom’ might initially not be considered as a song about the sea due to its abstractness and polysemy. However, when Radiohead and Hans Zimmer released a clip of their collaboration (Ocean) Bloom, which will be the opening music for the series Blue Planet II, it became evident that the song is as vast as an ocean.

 

It is apparent that “Bloom” is a special hearing experience from the very first notes. A complex and layered arrangement of synthetic and natural sounds that resemble the ebb and flow of water introduces the song. The dreamy sounds of marine life and the soothing currents around them give the impression that the listener has been transported to an underwater world.

 

Crosby, Stills & Nash: Southern Cross

 

The 1982 song “Southern Cross” by Crosby, Stills, and Nash is a modern maritime classic that honours the freedom of the open sea and the allure of distant beaches. The song inspires a sense of wanderlust in both dreamers and adventurers thanks to its poetic lyrics and mellow vocals.

 

The Dropkick Murphys: Shipping Up to Boston

 

 

The Dropkick Murphys’ “Shipping Up to Boston” is one of the best songs that perfectly captures the spirit of maritime adventure and the tenacious drive of life at sea. This rowdy and contagious song, which was included on their 2005 album “The Warrior’s Code,” has developed into an enduring nautical hymn, representing the unflappable spirit of those who have braved the high seas.

 

The song is also one of the favourite anthems of Boston’s sports teams. It is not surprising to hear it sung in unison at a Celtics or Bruins game.

 

SHANTY SONGS

 

Numerous songs and shanties that glorify the lives of sailors, the fascination of the ocean, and the adventures of maritime expeditions have been inspired by the sea.

 

Drunken Sailors

 

“Drunken Sailor” is a traditional sea shanty that has been passed down through generations of sailors and is arguably one of the most famous sailor songs. It was an effective song for coordinating the efforts of sailors during various activities aboard a ship because of its catchy melody and call-and-response format. Today, it is a well-known folk song that evokes feelings of seafaring life and comradery among sailors.

 

Spanish Ladies

 

When the crew sang this well-known sea shanty as they started their hunt for the movie shark in Jaws, it gained new popularity. The song was written in 1789, and it seems as though the lyrics describe its history: a group of British sailors who find love with some stunning Spanish women and lament their orders to return home. It includes lust, laughter, and sailing—everything you could want in a sea shanties.

 

Don’t Forget Your Old Shipmate

 

It is a working-class song that was written by sailors in the British Royal Navy during the Napoleonic era. You’ll notice that this song has more structure if you’ve listened to the first two on our list. Instead of the more riotous everyone-sings-at-will form found in the majority of songs of this type, singers alternate between singing alone and in the chorus.