"Sea of Heartbreak" is a song written by

Paul Hampton Paul Hampton (born August 20, 1937) is an American actor, singer, lyricist and writer. He is listed as one of one hundred major architects of American rock and roll in the British rock journal "Footsoldiers and Kings." While he was a sophomore ...

and

Hal David Harold Lane David (May 25, 1921 – September 1, 2012) was an American lyricist. He grew up in New York City. He was best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach and his association with Dionne Warwick. Early life David ...

and recorded by

Don Gibson Donald Eugene Gibson (April 3, 1928 – November 17, 2003) was an American songwriter and country musician. A Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, Gibson wrote such country standards as " Sweet Dreams" and "I Can't Stop Loving You", and enjoy ...

in 1961. The song reached #2 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Singles & Tracks Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart.

Content

The song describes the feelings of lost love, and compares them to being lost in a metaphorical sea of intensely sad emotion (to an, at least in the chorus and in the overall impression, surprisingly cheery tune). It contains three verses with a chorus at the beginning and ending, and in between verses. As well as a bridge before the third verse. The chorus lines are:- :''Sea of heartbreak, lost love an' loneliness;'' :''Memories of your caress, so divine'' :''I wish you were mine again, my dear.'' :''I am on this sea of tears:'' :''Sea of heartbreak.''

Chart performance

Kenny Price version

Kenny Price Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names. In Ireland, the surname is an Anglicisation of the Irish ''Ó Cionnaith'', also spelt ''Ó Cionnaoith'' and ''Ó Cionaodha'', meaning "descendant of Cionnaith". ...

recorded the song in 1972, and peaked at number 24 on the country charts in the USA. It was included on his album of the same name.

Chart performance

Ronnie McDowell version

"Sea of Heartbreak" was also a single by the American country music artist

Ronnie McDowell Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his 1977 song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had recently died. From that single onward, McDowell ...

. Released in 1989, it was the first single from the album ''American Music''. The song reached #39 on the ''

chart.

Chart performance

Jimmy Buffett/George Strait version

In 2004,

Jimmy Buffett James William Buffett (born December 25, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, and businessman. He is best known for his music, which often portrays an "island escapism" lifestyle. Together with his Coral Reefer Band, Buffet ...

recorded a version for his ''

License to Chill ''License to Chill'' is the twenty-fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett and was released on July 13, 2004, by Mailboat and RCA Nashville. On this album, Buffett has many duets with noted contemporary country music ar ...

'' album.

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

was featured on this rendition.

Other cover versions

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

recorded the song for his Grammy-winning 1996 album '' Unchained''. Cash's daughter,

Rosanne Cash Rosanne Cash (born May 24, 1955) is an American singer-songwriter and author. She is the eldest daughter of country musician Johnny Cash and Vivian Liberto Cash Distin, Johnny Cash's first wife. Although she is often classified as a country art ...

, covered the song in 2009 as a duet with

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

on her album '' The List''. British pop group

The Searchers ''The Searchers'' is a 1956 American Technicolor VistaVision epic Western film directed by John Ford and written by Frank S. Nugent, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May. It is set during the Texas-Native American wars, and stars John Wa ...

recorded a version in 1964 for their album ''

It's The Searchers ''It's the Searchers'' is the third studio album by English rock band The Searchers. Album features the band's famous hit singles " Needles and Pins" and "Don't Throw Your Love Away" as well as cover versions of some well known tracks originally ...

''.

The Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly (February 1, 1937 – August 21, 2021) and Phillip "Phil" Everly (January 19, 1939 ...

covered the song on their 1967 album, ''

The Hit Sound of the Everly Brothers ''The Hit Sound of the Everly Brothers'' is an album by the Everly Brothers, released in 1967. It was re-released on CD by Collectors' Choice Music in 2005. Sessions The album was recorded in sessions in December 1966 and January 1967 and release ...

''. In 1982,

Poco Poco was an American country rock band originally formed in 1968 after the demise of Buffalo Springfield. Guitarists Richie Furay and Jim Messina, former members of Buffalo Springfield, were joined by multi-instrumentalist Rusty Young, bassi ...

went to #35 in the USA on the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart with their version. Leo Sayer covered the song in his 1984 album . The

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Meat Puppets Meat Puppets are an American rock band formed in January 1980 in Phoenix, Arizona. The group's original lineup was Curt Kirkwood (guitar/vocals), his brother Cris Kirkwood (bass guitar/vocals), and Derrick Bostrom (drums). The Kirkwood brothers ...

recorded a version of the song that was featured 2019 album

Dusty Notes ''Dusty Notes'' is the fifteenth studio album by American rock band Meat Puppets. The album was released on March 8, 2019, by Megaforce Records. It is the Meat Puppets' first album to feature Curt's son Elmo Kirkwood on backing guitar and keyboar ...

Lynn Anderson Lynn Renée Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, "Rose Garden," was a number one hit in the United States and internationally. She charte ...

released the song as a single in 1979 from her “ Outlaw Is Just a State of Mind” album and it peaked at number 33 on Billboard’s Country Single Chart. Yugoslav rock band

Džentlmeni Džentlmeni ( sr-Cyrl, Џентлмени, lit=The Gentlemen) were a Yugoslav rock band formed in Belgrade in 1966. A year after the formation, the band split into two factions. The first faction featured original rhythm guitarist Milan Buza, a ...

released a

Serbo-Croatian Serbo-Croatian () – also called Serbo-Croat (), Serbo-Croat-Bosnian (SCB), Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian (BCS), and Bosnian-Croatian-Montenegrin-Serbian (BCMS) – is a South Slavic language and the primary language of Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and ...

version of the song, entitled "Slomljena srca" ("Broken Hearts"), in 1969, the song becoming a big hit in Yugoslavia. Their version appeared in the 1998 Serbian film ''

Barking at the Stars ''Barking at the Stars'' ( sr, Лајање на звезде / Lajanje na zvezde) is a 1998 Yugoslav film directed by Zdravko Šotra. Although it was filmed during a decade of war and hardship in the former Yugoslavia, the film was overall praise ...

''.

included their version of the song on their 1982 album Cowboys and Englishmen. Czech country singer

Michal Tučný Michal Tučný (11 January 1947 – 10 March 1995) was a Czechs, Czech singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the most popular Czech Country music, country singers and he is regarded as a legend of the Czech country music (he was often r ...

released a version of the song, entitled "Snídaně v trávě" ("Breakfast on the Grass"), with lyrics by

Zdeněk Rytíř Zdeněk Rytíř (11 April 1944 – 2 October 2013) was a Czech composer, lyricist, multi-instrumentalist, and singer born in Tábor, at the time part of the Nazi-occupied Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia. He died of a heart attack at age 69, ...

, in 1980.

References

External links

1961 singles 1972 singles 1979 singles 1989 singles 1961 songs 2009 singles Don Gibson songs Johnny Cash songs The Everly Brothers songs Kenny Price songs Lynn Anderson songs Ronnie McDowell songs Jimmy Buffett songs George Strait songs Rosanne Cash songs Bruce Springsteen songs The Searchers (band) songs Poco songs Songs with lyrics by Hal David RCA Records singles Curb Records singles Warner Records singles Songs written by Paul Hampton {{1960s-country-song-stub