(Gentle male folk vocals) [Intro — sparse acoustic guitar, distant waves] [Verse 1] I've been away for longer than I know, Caught up in places I didn't want to go. Years disappeared like footprints in the sand, Then I came back here and I could understand. [Verse 2] The same old shoreline, the same morning light, Waves coming in with the tide just right. I stood there watching as the water rolled, And felt something waking that I thought I'd lost. [Chorus] The ocean remembers, even when I don't, Every road I took, every place I won't. It knows the footsteps I've left in the sand, And somehow it still knows exactly who I am. [Verse 3] I used to think that I had lost my way, Chasing tomorrow while missing today. But standing there with the water at my feet, Nothing needed fixing, nothing incomplete. [Chorus] The ocean remembers, even when I don't, Every road I took, every place I won't. It knows the footsteps I've left in the sand, And somehow it still knows exactly who I am. [Bridge — stripped right back] Maybe I never really lost that part, Maybe it was waiting underneath the noise and the dark. Some things disappear, some things remain, Like the pull of the tide coming back again. [Verse 4] So I'll take my time, I don't need to run, Watch the waves break underneath the sun. I've got no answers, and that's alright, I'm just glad I found my way back tonight. [Final Chorus — wide, emotional] The ocean remembers, even when I don't, Every road I took, every place I won't. It knows the footsteps I've left in the sand, And somehow it still knows exactly who I am. I've been gone a long time, but now I can see, The ocean never lost its memory of me. [Outro — guitar fading with waves] Maybe that's all I needed to know, I was never lost... I just needed to go Back to the ocean.
