In part because of his expressive phrasing and graceful interpretation, Astaire was chosen to introduce many now-classic songs, including standards by Cole Porter (example, "Night and Day"), his friend Irving Berlin ("Let's Face the Music and Dance"), Jerome Kern ("The Way You Look Tonight"), Johnny Mercer ("One for My Baby") and George and Ira Gershwin ("They Can't Take That Away from Me").
Fred Astaire is interred at Oakwood Memorial Park, Chatsworth, California, USA, the same cemetery where Ginger Rogers, is located. (http://encyclopaediaoftrivia.blogspot.com/2011/09/fred-astaire.html)
We Saw the Sea
Fred Astaire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Pacific and the Atlantic
But the Atlantic isn't romantic
And the Pacific isn't what it's cracked up to be
We joined the navy to do or die
But we didn't do and we didn't die
Looking at the ocean and the sky
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Atlantic and the Pacific
But the Pacific isn't terrific
And the Atlantic isn't what it's cracked up to be
They tell us that the admiral
Is as nice as he can be
But we never see the admiral
Because the admiral has never been to sea
We joined the navy to see the girls
And what did we see? We saw the sea
Instead of a girl or two in a taxi
We were compelled to look at the Black Sea
Seeing the Black Sea isn't what it's cracked up to be
Sailing, sailing home again
To see the girls upon the village green
Then across the foam again
To see the other seas we haven't seen
We joined the navy to see the world
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We never get seasick sailing the ocean
We don't object to feeling the motion
We're never seasick but we are awful sick of sea
We joined the navy
We joined the navy
The song "We Saw the Sea" by Fred Astaire is a satirical look at the experiences of naval soldiers who joined the navy to see the world, but were left disappointed with the reality of their situation. The lyrics provide a contrast between the romanticized image of the sea and the mundane reality that the soldiers faced. The song is full of irony and humor, as it pokes fun at the soldiers' expectations as well as the myth of the brave and heroic sailor.
The first stanza of the song highlights the soldiers' desire to see the world by joining the navy, but all they end up seeing is the sea. The soldiers visit both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, but are disappointed with both, finding that the Atlantic is not romantic and the Pacific is not as good as it's made out to be. The second stanza continues the irony, as the soldiers' intention to "do or die" is juxtaposed with their being too busy gazing out at the ocean and admiring the scenery.
In the third stanza, the soldiers express their desire to meet girls, but instead they are forced to look at the Black Sea. The humor in this line is that the soldiers were hoping to meet girls who were not in uniform, but instead they find themselves staring at a body of water. The final stanza brings the song full circle, as the soldiers return home and realize that they are sick of the sea. Despite not getting the experiences they were hoping for, the soldiers remain committed to the navy, as is reflected in the repetition of the final line "We joined the navy".
Line by Line Meaning
We joined the navy to see the world
We enlisted in the navy with the aim of broadening our horizons and seeing more of the world.
And what did we see? We saw the sea
Despite our ambitions of traveling the world, we ended up spending a lot of time just looking at the ocean.
We saw the Pacific and the Atlantic
During our time in the navy, we had the opportunity to observe both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.
But the Atlantic isn't romantic
Contrary to popular belief, we didn't find the Atlantic Ocean to be particularly romantic or picturesque.
And the Pacific isn't what it's cracked up to be
Similarly, we also found that the Pacific didn't quite live up to its reputation and wasn't as amazing as we had heard.
We joined the navy to do or die
We enlisted with the expectation of being put in deadly situations and possibly even giving our lives in service to our country.
But we didn't do and we didn't die
Fortunately, we never had to face any life-threatening situations during our time in the navy.
We were much too busy
Despite no intense dangers, we still had plenty to keep us occupied and occupied indeed we were.
Looking at the ocean and the sky
The main thing that kept us occupied was admiring the vast expanse of ocean and sky around us.
They tell us that the admiral
We've heard rumors that the admiral is quite amiable and well-liked among the crew.
Is as nice as he can be
We've only heard good things about the admiral and everyone seems to respect and admire him.
But we never see the admiral
Despite his popularity and stature, we never actually get to see the admiral in person and might even doubt his existence at times.
Because the admiral has never been to sea
The reason we don't see the admiral on board is because he's never experienced life on the sea and operates from a desk on land.
We joined the navy to see the girls
One of the reasons we joined the navy was to meet and potentially date new women while on our travels.
Instead of a girl or two in a taxi
Unfortunately, we rarely had the opportunity to encounter women in taxis like we had hoped.
We were compelled to look at the Black Sea
Instead, we often had to make do with admiring the Black Sea, which was not as exciting as we had originally intended.
Sailing, sailing home again
After our time in the navy, we were excited to return back to our hometown and possibly meet some new women in a different setting.
To see the girls upon the village green
We were hoping to encounter charming women on town squares and green spaces back home as we had before.
Then across the foam again
But we also knew that we might have to return to the navy and travel across oceans again, whether we liked it or not.
To see the other seas we haven't seen
However, we still held onto some hope of seeing new bodies of water as we traveled again with the navy.
We never get seasick sailing the ocean
Despite all of our travels over water, we never got physically sick and felt decently at home on the sea.
We don't object to feeling the motion
We didn't terribly mind feeling the swaying of the ship as it rocked with the ocean waves and actually found it somewhat exhilarating.
We're never seasick but we are awful sick of sea
While we aren't physically affected by seasickness, we are certainly weary and tired of spending too much time at sea for too long.
We joined the navy
In conclusion, we made the decision to enter the navy and spend some time traveling and exploring the many bodies of water around the world.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: IRVING BERLIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
퓨퓨퓨
We joined the navy to see the world
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Pacific and the Atlantic
But the Atlantic isn't romantic
And the Pacific isn't what it's cracked up to be
We joined the navy to do or die
But we didn't do and we didn't die
We were much too busy
Looking at the ocean and the sky
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Atlantic and the Pacific
But the Pacific isn't terrific
And the Atlantic isn't what it's cracked up to be
They tell us that the admiral
Is as nice as he can be
But we never see the admiral
Because the admiral has never been to sea
We joined the navy to see the girls
And what did we see? We saw the sea
Instead of a girl or two in a taxi
We were compelled to look at the Black Sea
Seeing the Black Sea isn't what it's cracked up to be
Sailing, sailing home again
To see the girls upon the village green
Then across the foam again
To see the other seas we haven't seen
We joined the navy to see the world
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We never get seasick sailing the ocean
We don't object to feeling the motion
We're never seasick but we are awful sick of sea
We joined the navy
We joined the navy
John Paradise
Album: Cheek To Cheek: Irving Berlin Songbook
Play "We Saw The Sea"
on Apple Music
We joined the Navy to see the world
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Pacific and the Atlantic
But the Atlantic isn't romantic
And the Pacific isn't what it's cracked up to be
We joined the Navy to do or die
But we didn't do and we didn't die
We were much too busy looking at the ocean and the sky
And what did we see? We saw the sea
We saw the Atlantic and the Pacific
But the Pacific isn't terrific
And the Atlantic isn't what it's cracked up to be
They tell us that the Admiral
Is as nice as he can be
But we never see the Admiral
Because the Admiral has never been to sea
We joined the Navy to see the girls
And what did we see? We saw the sea
Instead of a girl or two in a taxi
We were compelled to look at the Black Sea
Seeing the Black Sea isn't what it's cracked up to be
Sailing, sailing home again
To see the girls upon the village green
Then across the foam again
To see the other seas we haven't seen
We owe the Navy an awful lot
For they taught us how to do the Sailor's Hornpipe
And they showed us how to tie a sailor's knot
But more than that, they showed us the sea
We never get seasick sailing the ocean
We don't object to feeling the motion
We're never seasick but we are awful sick of sea
A.D. DeLory
Today February 22nd, my grandfathers birthday. He is featured in this video. He is playing the upright bass. He was on contract at Warner Bros as part of the orchestra. They would often use them as extras in big production numbers. He played on such soundtracks as “Gone with the wind” and “Casablanca” Happy heavenly birthday to my grandfather Victor. ❤️
Linda Wallace
"Follow the Fleet" was an RKO film.
A.D. DeLory
Thank you for posting. My grandfather is in this picture in the background, playing upright bass. Victor de Lory. How cool is that? He was on contract at Warner Bros. and did a lot of stuff like this.
daughteroftiaran
That's awesome!
Inflated Ginger
A.D. DeLory that's actually really cool,
Taymur Roshan
Wow thats great :)
did he earn well?
GoodDogNigel
A.D........How cool is that?
Shizue Leigh Hicks
Very, very cool. Thanks very much for sharing. I love this movie.
Kirsten Pedersen
I have just introduced my ten year old to Fred and Ginger. I had tried earlier, but now she appreciates the humor and grace of these movies and loves them as much as I do. She has completely fallen in love with this movie. It remains number two on my list, behind " Swing Time". There will never be the likes of these two again.
wontonnoodle23
Fred Astaire was the epitome of class.