“The Tide Is High” by Blondie

The phrase “the tide is high”, as used in this song, points to the idea of the singer being in a challenging situation. And said situation is she basically being on the undesirable end of an unreciprocated love. In other words, the addressee is the man of her desires. But unfortunately for her, there are plenty of other ladies who desire him also. And even more to the point, the overall implication is that his feelings for her at just not mutual.  But that being said, she’s “not the kinda girl who gives up just like that”. So her intent is to stay persistent in the pursuit of this guy until he eventually submits to her love.

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Blondie's The Tide Is High at Lyrics.org.

“The Tide Is High” Facts

Writing: The writing is credited to the Jamaican singer and songwriter John Holt
Production: Mike Chapman
Album: Blondie’s psychedelic pop album (“Autoamerican”) of 1980
Release: 1st of October 1980

Blondie’s “The Tide Is High” is actually a cover. The song was originally recorded and released in 1967 by a vocal group from Jamaica known as The Paragons. This group was fronted by John Holt (who also composed the song).

Since the 1960s, the song has been covered by a plethora of singers and bands. However, Blondie’s version remains the most successful. It was even more successful than the original version by The Paragons. Blondie’s version was so successful that it earned the band a UK as well as US number one single.

Outside of the aforementioned countries, this classic also went to number 1 in both New Zealand as well as Canada.

In the year 1980 alone, Blondie scored three number 1 hits in the UK. “The Tide Is High” was their third and final number 1 single in UK. And it remained atop the UK Singles Chart for two weeks.

Other UK Number 1 Hits of 1980

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You may also like...