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

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: Tarantino EditionMusic Quiz

Whether he's splitting ears or burning Nazis, Quentin Tarantino uses memorable music in his films. See if you can match the song to the scene.

Jimmy Jam

Jimmy JamSongwriter Interviews

The powerhouse producer behind Janet Jackson's hits talks about his Boyz II Men ballads and regrouping The Time.

Song Cities

Song CitiesMusic Quiz

Nirvana, Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen are among those who wrote songs with cities that show up in this quiz.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Guy Clark

Guy ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris and Lyle Lovett are just a few of the artists who have looked to Clark for insightful, intelligent songs.

Steely Dan

Steely DanFact or Fiction

Did they really trade their guitarist to The Doobie Brothers? Are they named after something naughty? And what's up with the band name?