Song Details
- Album Release Date: 2012
- Genre: folk
Song Meaning of “Claimed by the Sea” by French For Rabbits
French For Rabbits’ song ‘Claimed By The Sea’ speaks to the many emotions and experiences of losing a loved one. The track meditates on the bittersweet quality of mourning, offering a powerful insight into the complexities of grief.
The lyrics, written from the perspective of someone who has lost someone to the sea, provide a vivid description of the emotions surrounding such a tragic event. In the opening lines of the song, the narrator says, “Sometimes the sea will take them all away, and there’s nothing left to do but to be claimed by the sea”. Through these words, the narrator expresses an overwhelming sense of helplessness in the face of loss – something that many people who have experienced death can relate to.
The song’s echoing vocal melodies, delicate acoustic guitar chords, and haunting synth sounds capture the overwhelming sadness of the narrator’s words, giving listeners an intimate glimpse into the depths of that sorrow. Lyrically, the song speaks of longing, of an unfulfilled need to be reunited with a loved one that will never happen. The depth of longing is brought out even more in the line, “Won’t you come back just for a while, but the waves just don’t answer me”.
The song offers no easy solutions to the grief and loss felt by the characters in the song, instead expressing the difficulties inherent in the process of mourning and honouring the memories of those that are gone. Despite this, the song also finds a moment of redemption towards the end, when the narrator sings, “I will never be claimed by the sea”. This final line is a reminder of the importance of resilience and hope in the face of loss.