{{Short description|1999 single by Tori Amos}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox song | name = 1000 Oceans | cover = 1000 Oceans.jpg | alt = | type = single | artist = [[Tori Amos]] | album = [[To Venus and Back]] | B-side = * "Baker Baker" (live) * "[[Winter (Tori Amos song)|Winter]]" (live) | released = {{start date|1999|8|30}} | recorded = | studio = Martian Engineering ([[Cornwall]]) | genre = | length = 4:18 | label = [[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] | writer = Tori Amos | producer = Tori Amos | prev_title = [[Bliss (Tori Amos song)|Bliss]] | prev_year = 1999 | next_title = [[Glory of the 80's]] | next_year = 1999 }} "'''1000 Oceans'''" is a song by American singer-songwriter and pianist [[Tori Amos]], released as the second single from her fifth studio album, ''[[To Venus and Back]]''. The song was serviced to U.S. [[adult contemporary]] radio formats on August 30, 1999, two weeks after the previous single, "[[Bliss (Tori Amos song)|Bliss]]", was sent to [[alternative radio|alternative]] formats.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Alternative: Going for Adds|magazine=[[Radio & Records]]|issue=1312|page=122|date=August 13, 1999}}</ref> "1000 Oceans" reached No. 22 on the US ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Hot Singles Sales]] chart. The song deals with issues of love and loss and is based on Amos' personal experiences.
==Background== [[Tori Amos]] explained that the idea for the song came to her in a dream. An old African woman was humming the melody to her, and she got up around 5:30 in the morning to record it.<ref name="yessaid">{{cite web|url=http://www.yessaid.com/talk/111000oceans.html|title=Tori talks about 1000 Oceans|publisher=toriphoria / yes, said|access-date=April 14, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050217005007/http://www.yessaid.com/talk/111000oceans.html|archive-date=February 17, 2005|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Zeit">{{cite news|url=http://www.zeit.de/1999/46/199946.traum_tori_amos_.xml |title=Ich habe einen Traum |newspaper=[[Die Zeit]] |author=Christiane Rebmann |year=1999 |access-date=April 20, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602170932/http://www.zeit.de/1999/46/199946.traum_tori_amos_.xml |archive-date=June 2, 2008 |language=de |url-status=live}}</ref> She describes writing the transition from the melody line around the words "I can't believe that I would keep, keep you from flying" to "and I would cry 1000 more" as particularly difficult, and what took the longest time.<ref name="yessaid"/> The inspiration for the lyrics came when her father-in-law died, and she claims the song helped her husband deal with the grieving process.<ref name="Zeit"/> The lyrics contain reference to [[Silbury Hill]], an ancient mound in Wiltshire, England. This is a place often visited by Amos and her husband.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/oceans.html |title=1000 Oceans: to venus and back |publisher=The Dent |date=March 20, 2000 |access-date=April 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325052511/http://thedent.com/oceans.html |archive-date=March 25, 2008 |url-status=live}}</ref>
==Music video== The video for the song was directed by Erick Ifergan and filmed by Toby Irwin, and it was shot in a downtown Los Angeles parking lot.<ref name="Dent video">{{cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/oceansvid.html|title=1000 Oceans Video|publisher=The Dent|author=|date=November 25, 1999|access-date=April 14, 2008}}</ref> It shows Amos singing inside a glass booth. The booth is in a busy street, and as people walk by some stop and stare. Others are engaged in everyday activities, and at one point a full-scale riot breaks out in the street, while Amos behaves like a mere distant observer.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUoBhmQpFDY |title=1000 Oceans Tori Amos |publisher=YouTube |date=August 31, 2006 |access-date=April 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080602060850/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUoBhmQpFDY |archive-date=June 2, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The video had its TV debut on [[MTV]]'s ''[[120 Minutes]]'' on October 24, 1999.<ref name="Dent video"/>
==Reviews== Reviewers generally had a positive attitude towards "1000 Oceans", and many mentioned it among the better tracks on the album. [[VH1]] said the song was "one of the most billowing songs she's written in a while".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/vh1venus.html|title=VH1 reviews "to venus and back"|publisher=The Dent|author=|date=September 20, 2000|access-date=April 14, 2008}}</ref> ''[[The Tech (newspaper)|The Tech]]'' called the melody of this song and "Lust" "powerful ballads" and "some of Tori's finest".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://tech.mit.edu/V119/N52/Tori_Amos_copy.52a.html|title=Tore Amos: To Venus and Back|publisher=The Tech|author=Fred Choi|date=October 22, 1999|access-date=April 14, 2008|archive-date=October 11, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081011052819/http://tech.mit.edu/V119/N52/Tori_Amos_copy.52a.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Others were less impressed though; ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' magazine called the album track "perhaps the most disappointing", and claimed Amos came across as a "[[Celine Dion]]-[[LeAnn Rimes]] rip-off".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thedent.com/spinrev.html|title=Spin Magazine Album Review September 1999|publisher=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|author=Julie Ann Pietrangelo|date=September 1999|access-date=April 14, 2008}}</ref>
==Track listings== Sources:<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.yessaid.com/venusinfo.html |title=Tori Amos: to venus and back |publisher=toriphoria / yes, said |access-date=April 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514020144/http://www.yessaid.com/venusinfo.html |archive-date=May 14, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://everythingtori.com/go/galleries/view/749/1/340/singles |title=1000 Oceans Singles |publisher=EverythingTori |access-date=April 14, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080419021617/http://everythingtori.com/go/galleries/view/749/1/340/singles |archive-date=April 19, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
'''US CD and cassette single''' # "1000 Oceans" – 4:18 # "Baker Baker" (live) – 4:18
'''US 7-inch single''' # "1000 Oceans" – 4:17 # "Baker Baker" (live non LP version) – 3:56
'''US maxi-CD single''' # "1000 Oceans" (album version) – 4:18 # "Baker Baker" (live non LP version) – 3:53 # "[[Winter (Tori Amos song)|Winter]]" (live non LP version) – 7:01 # "1000 Oceans" (video) # "[[Bliss (Tori Amos song)|Bliss]]" (video)
'''Australian CD single''' # "1000 Oceans" (album version) – 4:18 # "Baker Baker" (live non LP version) – 3:53 # "Winter" (live non LP version) – 7:01
==Charts== {|class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" !scope="col"|Chart (1999–2000) !scope="col"|Peak<br />position |- !scope="row"|Australia ([[ARIA Charts|ARIA]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/oyPN1pW.jpg |title=Response from ARIA re: chart inquiry, received July 15, 2015 |access-date=July 16, 2015 |via=[[Imgur]] |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150716153430/http://i.imgur.com/oyPN1pW.jpg |archive-date=July 16, 2015}}</ref> |145 |- {{single chart|Canadaadultcontemporary|50|chartid=7302|rowheader=true|access-date=May 20, 2020}} |- !scope="row"|US [[Hot Singles Sales]] (''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'')<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cAgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA103|title=Hot Singles Sales|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|volume=111|issue=39|page=103|date=September 25, 1999|access-date=June 26, 2025}}</ref> |22 |}
==Release history== {|class="wikitable plainrowheaders" !scope="col"|Region !scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Format(s) !scope="col"|Label(s) !scope="col"|{{abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |- !scope="row"|United States |August 30, 1999 |{{hlist|[[Adult contemporary]]|[[hot adult contemporary]] radio}} |rowspan="2"|[[Atlantic Records|Atlantic]] |<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Going for Adds|magazine=[[Radio & Records]]|issue=1314|pages=124, 128|date=August 27, 1999}}</ref> |- !scope="row"|Australia |January 10, 2000 |CD |<ref>{{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/OyLHPTs.png|title=ariaNET New Releases! > Available from 10th January 2000 > Singles (from The ARIA Report Issue No. 515)|publisher=[[Australian Recording Industry Association|ARIA]]|via=Imgur|access-date=December 21, 2018}}</ref> |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *{{YouTube|_RTfCaj6beg}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050217005007/http://www.yessaid.com/talk/111000oceans.html Extracts from interviews] with Tori Amos about the song
{{Tori Amos}}
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[[Category:1999 singles]] [[Category:1999 songs]] [[Category:Atlantic Records singles]] [[Category:Commemoration songs]] [[Category:Songs written by Tori Amos]] [[Category:Tori Amos songs]]