“Ocean Eyes” by Billie Eilish
“Ocean Eyes” is a love song recorded by singer Billie Eilish when she was only 14 years old. In this song, the narrator (Eilish) talks directly to her love interest. She compares his eyes to the beauty of the ocean and tells him how deeply she keeps falling into it.
“Ocean Eyes” isn’t a self-composed song since Eilish didn’t write it. It was written by songwriter and producer Finneas O’Connell. Finneas, who is Eilish’s real brother, initially composed this song for his Los Angeles based band The Slightlys. However, he let Eilish record it.
Billie Eilish talks about “Ocean Eyes”
Speaking with Teen Vogue, Eilish revealed how her brother gave her the song to record. Here is a portion of that interview:
Song’s Lyrics
This is a love song in which Billie Eilish portrays the role of someone who, from her own perspective, we can say is in a toxic relationship. In other words, her lover tends to get her emotional and ‘knows how to make her cry’. But his most-outstanding attribute, again from her viewpoint, would rather be his “ocean eyes”.
Now said characteristic is both a physical and to some extent metaphorical one. In terms of the former, the implication is that the color of his eyes are what people refer to as deep-blue. And yes, some may liken said pigmentation to the hue of the ocean.
But dude’s “ocean eyes” are also symbolic of his ability to seduce the singer, so to speak. It is that particular quality of his which makes her weak in the knees. So even though he has “left her lonely” on top of apparently mistreating her in other ways, “those ocean eyes” keep her enraptured in his love. And they also encapsulate the whole idea of the vocalist being so smitten with the addressee to the point that her feelings for him, in her mind, have become a cause for concern.
Now it must be noted that Billie Eilish was only 13 or 14 years old when she dropped this track. And even the writer of the song, her brother Finneas, would have only been about 17. And at points, the lyrics do reflect their youthfulness. Or stated otherwise, the sentiment(s) being relayed may not be done so from the most-comprehensive, easy-to-understand manner. But all it ultimately boils down to is the singer being caught up in the “ocean eyes” of her lover, despite his less-than-ideal personality.
Summary
The singer’s lover may be a toxic partner, but she is still caught up in his “ocean eyes”.
Facts about “Ocean Eyes”
Finneas is not only the sole writer of this song, but also its sole producer.
“Ocean Eyes” was the second single of Eilish’s career. It was also her breakthrough song since its success turned her into a household name across America. The first single of her career was the song called “Six Feet Under“.
This song was dropped on November 19, 2015. It was one of the outstanding singles on the EP Don’t Smile at Me (Eilish’s debut EP). The songs “Bellyache” and “Idontwannabeyouanymore” were also released as singles from that EP.
Two music videos were released for this track. The first video, which is the official one, came out in March 2016. Music video director Megan Thompson directed that clip. The second one, which is actually a dance performance video, came out in November 2016. In that video, Eilish mainly performs a dance to the track.
As of 2018, this track had sold over a million copies in the United States. It was subsequently certified platinum.
This was Eilish’s first song to chart in the United States. It made it into the US Billboard Hot 100, where it reached number 96 in 2018. Also, it also charted in other countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland and Sweden. Furthermore, it reached number 2 in Sweden. It also gained official chart status in the United Kingdom, actually charting within the top-100 of the the country’s official singles chart.
Considering how successful the song has been over the years, it has been a permanent fixture on the setlists of Billie’s world concert tours.
Are any samples used on “Ocean Eyes”?
No. Finneas produced this song from scratch without adding any samples to it. Actually no song on Don’t Smile at Me makes use of samples.
That being said, it’s important to mention that this song was sampled on the late rapper XXXTentacion’s song “Touch Eem Body” (ft. Bass Santana, Kin$oul and Reddz SoFly).
The “Don’t Smile At Me” EP
Spanning twenty-six minutes, the EP “Don’t Smile at Me” was released by Billie on 11th August, 2017.
The album came out through the labels Darkroom and Interscope.
The title of the album was inspired by Billie’s attitude of self-love and respect, where she doesn’t do stuff (as little as smiling) to impress people, but does so to make herself happy.
Most songs on this EP were written by Billy and her older brother Finneas. Majority of the songs on the EP belong to the Electropop genre with certain elements of R&B and Jazz mixed into them.
The EP was very successful across the globe. For example it was a top 20 hit on the US Billboard 200 as well as the UK Albums Chart.
The following singles were released in support of the EP:
- “Ocean Eyes”
- “Bellyache”
- “Watch”
- “Copycat”
- “Idontwannabeyouanymore”
- “My Boy”
- “Party Favor”
In terms of who sampled who, I’d like to know which song came first… Ocean eyes or ‘Stay with me’ by Roo Panes. Has anyone listened to the similarities between the two songs, in terms of melody and sound?
Stay with me came out in 2014 march 27 and Ocean eyes came out in 2016 November 18 so Stay with me came first
i never knew that the song was written by her brother, i don’t know how it would have sounded using someone else, I’ve had this song stuck in my head for months, always wondered what it meant after my friend introduced me to Eilish’s songs, I’m hooked and I won’t let go
Me either I thought Eilish wrote that song…….btw (i’m a huge fan of Billie Eilish) and I listen to “Ocean Eyes” a lot LOVE YOU BILLIE 💖💕😍🌊👀
I love Billie so much she is my hero she is so good as a person and as a singer!
Someone said that Ocean eyes song depicts me that’s why i searched this song btw its amazing.
I LOVE BILLIE SOOO MUCH
Much love billie elilsh. i fell in love with you since the day i heard the song Ocean eyes…
This is such an incredible song so meaningful
Big fan. Old enough to be her grandma.
I LOVE BILLIE SO MUCH SHE IS THE BEST
This song means the world to me. I love Billie Elish. It reminds me of my eyes and the love of my lifes eyes. Victor Stuban. Maybe one day we can be together. This song is so beautiful and Billie has the most beautiful voice for this song.
Billie Eilish has an amazing voice. This song has a special meaning for me for the most amazing man I know. Victor Stuban. Billie is the perfect artist to sing this song
Sounds to me like her brother is in love with her! Or is it just me?
I agree! Maybe not traditional romantic love but strong attachment and inspiration
Haha I think I’m literally the last person to hear this song. Been on replay ever since I heard it💓💙
#1 biggest fan of you I love your songs
love your songs but I just wish billie eilish would come to nl
What’s with the blue coloring on her fingers?
biggest fan
This is not what it seems. It might appear to be about love or a ‘toxic’ relationship and hey she might even believe that herself. I must warn you though that Billie is singing openly about the devil and I strongly believe he is using her to subdue you all. She sings about burning cities and napalm skies. In other songs, she expresses pity for Lucifer. You can pass it off as ‘artistic’ but it’s subtle coercion. Look at other mainstream artists and you’ll start to see a pattern. Radiohead’s ‘Street Spirit’ for example, is about the so-called futility of resisting the devil and Thom York gave a ringing endorsement of Billie’s work.