Lynn was born in Butcher Hollow, Van Lear, Kentucky in 1932. According to Songfacts, Loretta Lynn's superstar Country career started in 1960 when she recorded " I'm a Honky Tonk Girl " as her debut single. The song was a minor hit, climbing to #14 on Billboard's C&W Chart. By the late 1960s she had begun picking up various Female Vocalist of the Year trophies and in 1972 the singer became the first woman in history to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year trophy. Lynn dominated the Country charts throughout the rest of the decade and has continued to record hit records through the ensuing years. Her 50th anniversary year began with the award of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement on January 31, 2010.
Lynn released over 70 albums. She is the sister of country singer Crystal Gayle (born in Paintsville, Kentucky) and Peggy Sue, and is a cousin of Patty Loveless. Her father was a coal miner in Van Lear. Her biography was made into the 1980 film, Coal Miner's Daughter.
Whispering Sea
Loretta Lynn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It brought back an old love affair that used to be
It told me that you had found someone new
And left me to cry over you
Whispering sea, rolling by why don't you listen to me cry?
I cry as though my heart has broke in two
Oh, how I love him so, no one will ever know
Well, I thought I'd left behind all his love but I was blind
I should have known that there was no use to pretend
I thought a new love I would find, and you would never cross my mind
But the whispering sea, it talked to me
Whispering sea, rolling by why don't you listen to me cry
I cry as though my heart has broke in two
Oh, how I love him so, no one will ever know
No one but the drifting, whispering sea
No one but the drifting, whispering sea
The lyrics of Loretta Lynn's "Whispering Sea" reveal a heartbroken narrator who sits by the sea and reminisces about a past love that has moved on to someone new, leaving her behind to weep in sorrow. The sea serves as a metaphorical listener, as the singer pours out her heart to its waves. The sea is personified as it "whispers" to the singer, bringing back painful memories of a love affair that was once the center of her world.
The juxtaposition of the vast sea with the singer's personal feelings of heartbreak highlights the theme of how small and insignificant our individual struggles can be in comparison to the vastness and timelessness of the natural world. This reinforces the idea that while heartbreak may be all-consuming at the moment, eventually, like the sea, life goes on and heals all wounds.
One interesting interpretation of the lyrics is that the "whispering sea" serves as a metaphor for the memory of the past love affair. Just as the sea constantly ebbs and flows, the memory of the relationship is always in motion in the singer's mind, and she can't seem to escape it. Despite her attempts to move on and find a new love, the memory of the past love persists and torments her.
Overall, Loretta Lynn's "Whispering Sea" is a poignant and emotional ballad that speaks to the universal theme of heartbreak and the pain of moving on. Through the use of poetic imagery and metaphors, Lynn skillfully conveys the singer's feelings of loss and longing.
Line by Line Meaning
I sat down by the sea and it whispered to me
As I sat beside the sea, it sent calm and serenity my way, but also whispered a message to me.
It brought back an old love affair that used to be
The sea stirred up memories, causing me to remember an old and long-gone love.
It told me that you had found someone new
The sea imparted to me that the person I once had a relationship with had moved on and found someone else.
And left me to cry over you
This person's leaving has caused me to be overwhelmed with sadness and cry over the memories we once shared.
Whispering sea, rolling by why don't you listen to me cry?
The sea rolls by unconcernedly, but I am emotionally invested in it all and yearn for it to hear and feel my pain.
I cry as though my heart has broke in two
The depth of sadness and feelings of loss that emerge during these moments of reflection at the sea are painfully intense.
Oh, how I love him so, no one will ever know
The love I feel for this person is still strong and true, yet I keep it inside with no outlet to express these feelings.
No one but the drifting, whispering sea
The sea acts as a recorder of sorts: the only thing that hears and knows these oftentimes unspoken thoughts and feelings.
Well, I thought I'd left behind all his love but I was blind
Once I believed I had put this love behind me, but now I realize that it still affects me, and that realization was painful.
I should have known that there was no use to pretend
I recognize now that I was in denial and that the love I felt was genuine, and it's pointless to pretend otherwise.
I thought a new love I would find, and you would never cross my mind
At one point, I believed that finding someone new would be a solution to forgetting this love, that I could move on completely and forever.
But the whispering sea, it talked to me
What I realized was that the sea, in its gentle and constant presence, was a reminder of all that I had felt and experienced with this person.
No one but the drifting, whispering sea
In the end, there is no one else who shares this pain or knows the depth of these feelings except for the sea, which continues to roll by calmly and undisturbed.
Lyrics © SURE - FIRE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: LORETTA LYNN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind