[Verse 1] I grew up in Sussex by the sea, Where the wind told stories just to me. But the beach was wrapped in barbed wire tight, A silent warning in the pale moonlight. France lay only twenty miles across, Close enough to feel its breath like frost. [Chorus] Oh, Sussex by the sea, A childhood locked in memory. When we couldn’t touch the ocean’s waves, We found our dreams in other ways— Down by the Arun rolling free, Our little patch of sand was home to me. [Verse 2] We’d watch the tides from faraway, A world we weren’t allowed to play. So we followed the Arun, hand in hand, Till it opened to a secret strand. Just a patch of sand where the river bends, But to us it was the world, my friends. [Chorus] Oh, Sussex by the sea, A childhood locked in memory. When we couldn’t touch the ocean’s waves, We found our dreams in other ways— Down by the Arun rolling free, Our little patch of sand was home to me. [Bridge] Funny how the smallest place Can shape a life, can set the pace. Barbed wire couldn’t cage the skies— We found freedom in our eyes. [Final Chorus] Oh, Sussex by the sea, Those days still mean the world to me. Where the river met the tide so grand, We built our futures in that patch of sand. Sussex by the sea… Always home to me.
