Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)

Album: Zion (2013)
Charted: 83
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song by the Australian worship band Hillsong United tells the story, as recounted in Matthew 14 v22-33, of Peter being called by Jesus to walk on the water. The disciple did so, but temporarily lost faith and started to sink, so he was forced to call on Jesus to rescue him. According to Hillsong it's, "about stepping into the unknown and a song about faith and trust."

    For another song with a similar theme, check out Britt Nicole's "Walk on the Water."
  • The vocalist is Taya Smith, a newcomer to the Hillsong team. She sang the whole song in one take.
  • This debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 dated February 2014. It wasn't the first Hillsong song to reach the US singles chart – a version of Darlene Zschech's "Shout to the Lord" was performed by the by the remaining eight contestants of American Idol and a gospel choir on the reality singing show in 2008 and debuted at #43 on the Hot 100 the following week.
  • This won Song of the Year at the 2014 Gospel Music Association's Dove Awards. Hillsong United took five honors in total at the ceremony, including artist of the year.
  • The song spent a record-breaking 45 straight weeks at #1 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs survey until it was bumped from the summit by Carrie Underwood's "Something in the Water." The previous best had been Mercy Me's "Word of God Speak," which spent 23 weeks at #1 in 2003. "Oceans" spent 61 non-consecutive weeks in total at the top of the chart.

    Their record was superseded by Lauren Daigle's "You Say," which spent its 62nd week at #1 on the chart dated October 5, 2019.
  • Before stepping into the ring for his April 22, 2023, bout against Gervonta "Tank" Davis, lightweight fighter Ryan Garcia used "Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)," as his walkout music. This choice caused an uproar among fans who were surprised by the selection, as well as new listeners who were unfamiliar with the track.

    Despite Garcia's defeat, "Oceans" emerged victorious in terms of streaming numbers. The song saw a healthy 56% increase in daily streams the following day.

Comments: 5

  • Lw Oct 2023 from The Uki have just discovered this song, and it moves me to floods of tears each time i listen to it. it moves me in such a big way, especially the live Taya Smith version. so very moving i wish i could explain the feeling.
  • Vera Muloongo from ZambiaThe song is a blessing and will heal me
  • Friday Murphy from Fct, Abuja When ever I listen to ocean song I fall deep in spirit
  • Tongle Ibrahim John from Kaduna State, Nigeria.I'm blessed whenever I listen to oceans. It's keeps me connected to Jesus and lifts my spirit to worship.
  • Anonymous from Zambiayou song makes me feel heaven
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New Words

Facebook, Bromance and Email - The First Songs To Use New WordsSong Writing

Where words like "email," "thirsty," "Twitter" and "gangsta" first showed up in songs, and which songs popularized them.

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie Combination

Stand By Me: The Perfect Song-Movie CombinationSong Writing

In 1986, a Stephen King novella was made into a movie, with a classic song serving as title, soundtrack and tone.

Adele

AdeleFact or Fiction

Despite her reticent personality, Adele's life and music are filled with intrigue. See if you can spot the true tales.

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"

Ian Anderson: "The delight in making music is that you don't have a formula"Songwriter Interviews

Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."

John Lee Hooker

John Lee HookerSongwriter Interviews

Into the vaults for Bruce Pollock's 1984 conversation with the esteemed bluesman. Hooker talks about transforming a Tony Bennett classic and why you don't have to be sad and lonely to write the blues.

Al Jourgensen of Ministry

Al Jourgensen of MinistrySongwriter Interviews

In the name of song explanation, Al talks about scoring heroin for William Burroughs, and that's not even the most shocking story in this one.