Sea Fog

Album: Strangeland (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Keane keyboardist and principal songwriter Tim Rice-Oxley took inspiration for this intimate song, "from the fogs that come rolling in off the English Channel down the valley where I live." He added: "Even on a sunny day you'll look out of the window and suddenly you can't see anything apart from blank mist. It's spooky."
  • Rice-Oxley discussed the song's meaning: "The nagging feeling of 'Is there somewhere I'm meant to be?' is a feeling that I think haunts a lot of people as they get a little older," he said, "and the feeling of being 'rolled' along by life is part of being human I think."
  • The song concludes the standard edition of Strangeland. "It's a pretty downbeat song," said Rice-Oxley, "but I like the fact that the album doesn't just end with a nice, neat 'everything's going to be ok' message. Life is not that straightforward, it's unpredictable and uncertain and painted in shades of grey rather than being simple black-and-white."
  • Keane also recorded a version that contained a whole extra section in the middle, with drums and bass and horns and strings on it. However, according to Rice-Oxley, they decided, "there was some magic in the simplicity of the original demo, so we recorded it again in a much simpler arrangement."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Peter Lord

Peter LordSongwriter Interviews

You may not recognize his name, but you will certainly recognize Peter Lord's songs. He wrote the bevy of hits from Paula Abdul's second album, Spellbound.

Jeff Trott

Jeff TrottSongwriter Interviews

Sheryl Crow's longtime songwriting partner/guitarist Jeff Trott reveals the stories behind many of the singer's hits, and what its like to be a producer for Leighton Meester and Max Gomez.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.

Brenda Russell

Brenda RussellSongwriter Interviews

Brenda talks about the inspiration that drove her to write hit songs like "Get Here" and "Piano in the Dark," and why a lack of formal music training can be a songwriter's best asset.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.