There are two Robert Gordons. 1) An American rockabilly revivalist (died 2… Read Full Bio ↴There are two Robert Gordons. 1) An American rockabilly revivalist (died 2022). 2) A British techno producer.

1) American rockabilly revivalist Robert Gordon (March 29, 1947 – October 18, 2022) grew up in Bethesda, M.D., a suburb of Washington D.C. Unlike many of his heroes, he had a relatively comfortable childhood. At a young age, after hearing Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel, he was inspired to choose R'n'R as his future career path, according to Wikipedia. In the mid-seventies Gordon was a part of the then-flourishing downtown NYC punk scene, fronting the CBGB regulars, Tuff Darts (who appear on an early CBGB live compilation album). After recording one album with the band ("All for the Love of Rock 'n' Roll) he parted ways with the band to work with such artists as Link Wray and Chris Spedding, both of whom share a love for early rock 'n' roll and rockabilly. Bruce Springsteen wrote the song, Fire, for Gordon and played piano on the studio version which also features the guitar-legend Link Wray.
Official site

2) Robert Gordon is a Sheffield-based producer and co-founder of Warp Records. Most of his output is under pseudonyms (including "Track With No Name" as Forgemasters which was Warp's first release), but he has put out a handful of EPs and a full-length under his own name.

Sea of Heartbreak
Robert Gordon Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The lights in the harbor
Don't shine for me
I'm like a lost ship
adrift on the sea

Sea of heartbreak
Lost love and loneliness
Memories of your caress

So divine and I how wish
You were mine again my dear
I am on this sea of tears
Sea of heartbreak

How did I lose you
Oh where did I fail
Why did you leave me
Always to sail

Sea of heartbreak
Lost love and loneliness
Memories of your caress
So divine and I how wish
You were mine again my dear
I am on this sea of tears
Sea of heartbreak

Oh what I'd give to sail back to shore
Back to your arms once more

Come to my rescue
Come here to me

Take me and keep me
Away from the sea

Overall Meaning

In "Sea of Heartbreak" by Robert Gordon, the singer tells the story of someone who has lost the love of their life and finds themselves alone in the world, adrift on the sea. The lights in the harbor are of no use to them as they cannot find their way back to shore. The sea represents the singer's emotional state, full of heartbreak, lost love, and loneliness. They are haunted by memories of their love's caress, and they long for their love to return to them. The singer is overwhelmed by sadness and wonders how they could have failed and lost their love.

The repetition of the phrase "Sea of heartbreak" implies a sense of hopelessness and despair. The singer feels that they are never going to find love again and are doomed to sail alone on this sea forever. The only thing they can wish for is to have their love return and take them back into their arms.

Line by Line Meaning

The lights in the harbor
The lights in the harbor don't shine for me

I'm like a lost ship
I'm like a lost ship that is adrift on the sea

Sea of heartbreak
The sea where I am lost in lost love and loneliness

Lost love and loneliness
Feeling loveless and lonely because of the lost love

Memories of your caress
The memories of the way you touched me in the past

So divine and I how wish
Those memories of your caress are so amazing, I wish I could experience them again

You were mine again my dear
How much I long for you, wanting you to be mine again

I am on this sea of tears
I am crying out all the tears on this sea of deep sorrow and regret

How did I lose you
How did I let you go and lose you from my life?

Oh where did I fail
Where did I go wrong that I caused you to leave?

Why did you leave me
Why did you abandon me and left me all alone?