The song refers to making love in “the open air,” far away from the girl’s usual habitat of the “the bottom” of lake. Inferring that the girl is a mermaid emphasises her ‘mythical’ beauty and makes loving in the “open air” an even more foreign idea.
Open Air
Frank Ocean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ohh suddenly I caught yea, with a hook line and sinker
You were swimming in the bottom (yea)
I said why you gonna live down there
Well baby you can love up here on land
And what a difference it makes you will see
What a difference it makes to breathing
The open air makes it easy so easy to love
The open air makes it easy easy to love
I swear the air is so much better up here then down there
Ohh the air makes it easy easy to love
You said your feeling ways that you never
Couldn’t feel with all that pressure
Use to being dark at night and your kinda afraid to realize
That you still crack a smile cuz it makes you feel alive
And what a difference it makes you will see
What a difference it makes to breathing
What a difference it makes it easy to love
The open air makes it easy so easy to love
The open air makes it easy easy to love
I swear the air is so much better up here then down there
Ohh the air makes it easy easy to love
Baby I could show you the world
And the city that’s inside of my heart baby
Don’t know how you got a man in the first place
Just promise that you wont go back in again
Its better up here you know
Just tryin my best to show you
You started to feel like your floating higher and higher and im ever the one the man that makes
The open air makes it easy so easy to love
The open air makes it easy easy to love
I swear the air is so much better up here then down there
Ohh the air makes it easy easy to love
The open air makes it easy so easy to love
The open air makes it easy easy to love
I swear the air is so much better up here then down there
Ohh the air makes it easy easy to love
The lyrics to “Open Air” by Frank Ocean suggest a story of a person who is afraid to leave their underwater world. The singer is in love with this person and encourages them to come up to the surface where the air is fresh and the world is full of new possibilities. The verse “And what a difference it makes you will see, What a difference it makes to breathing, What a difference it makes it easy to love” represents the idea that the person’s life will change for the better once they leave behind their underwater world.
The chorus of the song repeats that the open air makes it easy to love. The singer seems to suggest that the person will be happier and experience greater love if they come out of their underwater world. The singer offers to show this person the world, but also cautions them not to go back. The end of the song suggests that the person is finally coming up to the surface and the singer will be there for them.
Overall, the song is a metaphor for someone being stuck in a situation they are afraid to leave behind, but once they do, they will experience greater love and happiness.
Line by Line Meaning
I have my feet in the water and ride when I was bout to get up
I was about to get up but instead, I decided to put my feet in the water and ride.
Ohh suddenly I caught yea, with a hook line and sinker
I was surprised to find out that you were hooked on to me completely.
You were swimming in the bottom (yea)
You were living in a dark place.
I said why you gonna live down there
I told you that you should not be living down there.
Well baby you can love up here on land
I told you that you can live up here on the land with me.
And what a difference it makes you will see
You will realise the difference in your life.
What a difference it makes to breathing
It will make it easy for you to breathe.
What a difference it makes it easy to love
It will make it easy for you to love.
The open air makes it easy so easy to love
Living in the open air makes it so much easier to love.
I swear the air is so much better up here then down there
I promise the air is so much better up here than it is down there.
You said your feeling ways that you never
You said you are experiencing feelings that you never felt before.
Couldn’t feel with all that pressure
You couldn't feel these feelings when you were under pressure.
Use to being dark at night and your kinda afraid to realize
Being in the dark at night made you afraid to realise this.
That you still crack a smile cuz it makes you feel alive
You still smile because it makes you feel alive.
Baby I could show you the world
I can show you the world.
And the city that’s inside of my heart baby
I can show you the city that is inside my heart.
Don’t know how you got a man in the first place
I don't know how you got a man in the first place.
Just promise that you wont go back in again
Promise me that you won't go back to the dark place.
Its better up here you know
It's better up here, you should know.
Just tryin my best to show you
I am trying my best to show you.
You started to feel like your floating higher and higher and im ever the one the man that makes
You feel like you're floating higher and higher and I am the man who makes it happen.
Contributed by Elijah D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TreySongzLyricsonScreen
[Verse 1]
I’ll stack these magazines in the corner
After I’m done with them
And I still got the same hope that I started with
That you’ll be in one of them
My camera shed some tears since you left him
With nothing, with nothing
[Pre-Chorus]
How am I supposed to remember?
I got the memories
But memories fade, baby
What am I gonna show to my kids, girl?
When I’m older, and my mind is telling me to forget you
What’s gonna make me remember?
[Chorus]
That’s why I was always taking pictures, pictures
‘Cause I didn’t wanna miss a thing, miss a thing
Tell me how could you take the pictures, pictures
When you knew they were all that I had left - nothing left
They were part of our history, this story
I was always taking pictures
‘Cause I didn’t wanna miss you so bad, miss you this bad
Miss you so bad, miss you so
[Verse 2]
We didn’t make love
We celebrated its invention
Confetti on the mattress - I used to have those images
Tonight I came home they were just embers in the fire
Along with my hard drive, no notes, no goodbye
[Pre-Chorus]
How the hell am I supposed to remember?
Tell me now, I got the memories
But memories don’t last...
What am I gonna show to my kids, baby?
When I’m older, and my mind’s telling me to forget you
What’s gonna make me remember?
[Chorus]
That’s why I was always taking pictures, pictures
‘Cause I didn’t wanna miss a thing, miss a thing
Tell me how could you take the pictures, pictures
When you knew they were all that I had left - nothing left
They were part of our history, this story
I was always taking pictures
‘Cause I didn’t wanna miss you
[Verse 3]
No video, no polariods
No record of the love we had
My Nikon wasn’t fast enough
To catch my heart break in half
No smiles in my picture frame, no
Just got them little basic ones that the picture frames come with
Models, wedding pictures, you know
[Chorus]
That’s why I was always taking pictures, pictures
'Cause I didn’t wanna miss a thing, miss a thing
Tell me how could you take the pictures, pictures?
When you knew they were all that I had left – nothing left
They were part of our history, this story
I was always taking pictures
'Cause I didn’t wanna miss you so bad, miss you this bad
Miss you so bad, miss you so…
@JianniCarter
I stack these magazines in the corner after I'm done with em
Then I still got the same old love that I started with
But you be in one of them
My camera shed some tears since you left em with nothing.
With nothing
How am I suppose to remember
Oooh
And all the memories.
The memories they faded
What am I gonna show to the kids girl
Oohh noo
My mind is telling me to forget you
What's gonna make me remember?
That's why I was always taking pictures.
Pictures
Cause I didn't wanna miss a thing
Miss a thing
Tell me how I could take the pictures
Pictures
When you know they were all I had left
Nothing left
They were part of our history
I was always tsking pictures
Pictures
Cause I didn't wanna miss you bad
Miss you this bad
@obrey__
I just got to experience this song for the first time... wow
@vexrich
Same
@Kiara-jm2cq
Me too
@obrey__
Kiara kind of random, but a song I really wish I could hear for the first time again is called track x by black road, new country. Suuper beautiful and haunting
@vexrich
@@obrey__ We say things like that but my favorite music sounds best when I've heard it a lot, and take a break and hear it again knowing most of the words but noticing something new in it
@obrey__
Vex Rich true.. I still feel the song, but I’m afraid of getting sick of it.. now that I think about it, this is kind of a great spot to be in. I hope I remember this when I go through a mid life crisis and romanticize youth lol
@levontaebaynes8926
this lonny breaux guy is really good. Surely he wont drop an album then go ghost on his fans for 6 years.
@biancacaputo7174
he be going through it though. Yesterday he sold a cock ring for $25k lolol. I don't think he cares about the music so much no more
@Ninoish
that was real personal, you know him???
@808mike
Did someone forget tell her-