[Intro – intimate, almost whispered] Even if the whole world turns cold… I know a place where the sun still shines. A place no storm can reach. Your heart. (Mmm… your heart…) (Take me there…) [Verse 1 – warm soulful lead] There is a place where winter never stays, Where your laughter turns the darkness into day, Where every little word you send my way Feels like sunlight falling through the rain. And when this tired world gets heavy on my soul, Your kindness finds the pieces, makes me whole, You reach across the silence and the night, And somehow everything feels right. [Pre-Chorus 1 – call & response begins] When the world says, “Give up…” (Hold on…) When the night says, “You’re alone…” (You’re not alone…) I close my eyes and feel your hand— And suddenly I know… [Chorus] An ocean away, But here in my heart, Wherever you are, We’re never apart. An ocean away, Still I feel your love— Closer than the stars, Closer than enough. (Never apart…) (Never, never apart…) [Verse 2 – deeper, melismatic phrasing] Your love is like a shelter in a hurricane, A quiet little heaven underneath the rain, Stronger than the anger, stronger than despair, I breathe you in and suddenly you’re there. And every breath is lifting me somehow, Higher than the world can reach me now, Past every border, every fear and scar, I follow your light wherever you are. [Pre-Chorus 2 – gospel responses growing] If darkness comes… (We’ll make a light…) If hope gets lost… (We’ll hold it tight…) No ocean ever made a heart forget— What love remembers every night. [Chorus] An ocean away, But here in my heart, Wherever you are, We’re never apart. An ocean away, Still I feel your love— Closer than the stars, Closer than enough. (Ocean away…) (Still right here…) (Never apart…) [Verse 3 – dreamlike, wide atmospheric vocals] Sometimes I dream we leave this world behind, No wars, no fear, no clocks controlling time, Just you and me beneath another sky, Learning what it really means to fly. Maybe paradise is not a distant place, Maybe it begins inside a warm embrace, Maybe every dream that carries us this far Is just the heart remembering who we are. [Pre-Chorus 3 – lead and choir conversation] They say, “It’s only a dream…” (Then let us dream…) They say, “You’re too far away…” (Love finds a way…) And if a million miles should lie between— My heart still knows your name. [Chorus – bigger] An ocean away, But here in my heart, Wherever you are, We’re never apart. An ocean away, Still I feel your love— Closer than the stars, Closer than enough. (Never apart!) (No, no, never apart!) An ocean away— (But love finds a way!) An ocean away— (But love finds a way!) [Bridge – stripped back, piano + voice] And if this fire between us Keeps burning brighter every day… I don't believe it burns us. No… I think it lights the way. Maybe love was never meant To keep our feet here on the ground. Maybe love is fuel for wings— So let it lift us now. [Vocal Flight – free melismatic section] Fly-y-y-y… Take me higher… (Higher!) Across the water… (Higher!) Beyond the stars… (Higher!) Where no fear can find us— No war can divide us— No distance can hide us— From the love inside us. [Verse 4 – emotional resolution] Whatever happens, I am here with you, And somewhere in your heart, you're with me too, We may never know what tomorrow brings, But tonight your kindness gives my spirit wings. So keep your dreams; I'll keep mine burning bright, We'll send them to each other through the night, And if this whole wide world should lose its way, We'll build a little heaven anyway. [Pre-Chorus 4 – choir rising] When the world turns cold… (Love keeps us warm!) When the sky turns dark… (Love is the dawn!) And even with an ocean in between— Listen to our hearts sing on… [Final Chorus – full gospel choir] AN OCEAN AWAY, BUT HERE IN MY HEART, WHEREVER YOU ARE, WE'RE NEVER APART. AN OCEAN AWAY, STILL I FEEL YOUR LOVE, CLOSER THAN THE STARS, CLOSER THAN ENOUGH. (Never apart!) (Never apart!) An ocean away— (LOVE FINDS A WAY!) An ocean away— (LOVE FINDS A WAY!) Wherever you are— (RIGHT HERE IN MY HEART!) Wherever you are— (WE'RE NEVER APART!) [Outro – instruments falling away, choir humming] An ocean away… Yet somehow you are right here. (Right here…) Maybe that's what a heart is for. To cross the distance our hands cannot. (Mmm… never apart…) An ocean away… but love finds a way.
