--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said…" description: "\"Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said. “Where’d you go on us?\" — Alice Sebold" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg" --- # Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said. “Where’d you go on us? ![“Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said. “Where’d you go on us?” quote by Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg) > “Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said. “Where’d you go on us?” [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A parent mourns loss, questioning where the departed has gone. **In simple terms:** Parent grieves and wonders about loss Key Takeaway Acknowledge grief and seek meaning Themes grief loss parenthood Mood sad contemplative Type literary emotional When to use this quote - counseling - memorials - spiritual inquiry Key Concepts afterlife concepts emotional processing Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with unanswered loss? - What rituals help process mourning? A Different Perspective Grief can become overwhelming without support ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ocean/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors and blemishes. But He also sees our value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/god-sees-us-with-the-eyes-of-a-father-he-sees-our-defects-errors-and/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [They say that from the instant he lays eyes on her, a father adores his daughter. Whoever she grows up to be, she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/they-say-that-from-the-instant-he-lays-eyes-on-her-a-father-adores/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It was then I locked eyes with my father, his stare begging me to forgive him. To have mercy on him too.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-robinson/it-was-then-i-locked-eyes-with-my-father-his-stare-begging-me-to/) [M. Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-robinson/) > [“No,' he told her fiercely, tilting her chin up and looking deep into her ocean eyes. 'You deserve more. But I shall never stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-a-kuzniar/no-he-told-her-fiercely-tilting-her-chin-up-and-looking-deep-into-her/) [M.A. Kuzniar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-a-kuzniar/) > [My brother had written 'Ocean Eyes,' and we recorded it, basing all of the production around contemporary and lyrical dance. I think of most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-eilish/my-brother-had-written-ocean-eyes-and-we-recorded-it-basing-all-of/) [Billie Eilish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-eilish/) > [Women are purely and simply beautiful. All the ocean eyes kill me, their breath invades me oh it does, their kiss enchants the deviant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/women-are-purely-and-simply-beautiful-all-the-ocean-eyes-kill-me/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“Neil had dyed his hair brown from time to time, but never this shade, never anywhere near this shade. This was his natural color,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-sakavic/neil-had-dyed-his-hair-brown-from-time-to-time-but-never-this-shade/) [Nora Sakavic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-sakavic/) > [“The Girl With Sea Green Eyes Happiness is S I M N W M I G in the ocean of her eyes”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolee-dean/the-girl-with-sea-green-eyes-happiness-is-s-i-m-n-w-m-i-g-in-the/) [Carolee Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolee-dean/) > [“As they shook hands, Conrad noticed Louis' blue eyes and a powerful feeling struck him in the chest. He'd never seen those liquid blue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivian-lemay/as-they-shook-hands-conrad-noticed-louis-blue-eyes-and-a-powerful/) [Vivian LeMay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivian-lemay/) > [“You are the ocean to my eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sanober-khan/you-are-the-ocean-to-my-eyes/) [Sanober Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sanober-khan/) > [We uploaded 'Ocean Eyes' to SoundCloud, and it started getting a lot of plays pretty much immediately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billie-eilish/we-uploaded-ocean-eyes-to-soundcloud-and-it-started-getting-a-lot-of/) [Billie Eilish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billie-eilish/) > [“When I think of my father’s eyes I’m reminded of blood. I’m reminded of hate. I’m reminded of death. How in a moment, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-abbott/when-i-think-of-my-father-s-eyes-i-m-reminded-of-blood-i-m-reminded/) [Daniel Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-abbott/) > [The earth has a mouth?” Buckley asked. A big round mouth but with no lips,” my father said. Jack,” my mother said, laughing, “stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-earth-has-a-mouth-buckley-asked-a-big-round-mouth-but-with-no/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“I watched him as he lined up the ships in bottles on his deck, bringing them over from the shelves where they usually sat.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-watched-him-as-he-lined-up-the-ships-in-bottles-on-his-deck/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“Those clothes are Susie's,' my father said calmly when he reached him. Buckley looked down at my blackwatch dress that he held in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/those-clothes-are-susie-s-my-father-said-calmly-when-he-reached-him/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More by Alice Sebold > [Now I am in the place I call this wide wide Heaven because it includes all my simplest desires but also the most humble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/now-i-am-in-the-place-i-call-this-wide-wide-heaven-because-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I left my mark on that man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-left-my-mark-on-that-man/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [These things, she felt, were not to be passed around like disingenuous party favors. She kept an honor code with her journals and her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/these-things-she-felt-were-not-to-be-passed-around-like-disingenuous/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I don't think ignorance is a way that you gain distance on something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-don-t-think-ignorance-is-a-way-that-you-gain-distance-on-something/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I was like I was in science class: I was curious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-was-like-i-was-in-science-class-i-was-curious/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“There are secret rooms inside us,” I had said to my therapist. “A relatively benign construct,” he said, and so I did not bother…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/there-are-secret-rooms-inside-us-i-had-said-to-my-therapist-a/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“This is just a temporary hell, not a permanent one”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/this-is-just-a-temporary-hell-not-a-permanent-one/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [As if in the other side of his kiss there could ve a new life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/as-if-in-the-other-side-of-his-kiss-there-could-ve-a-new-life/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“My little brother's greatest fear was that the one person who meant so much to him would go away. He loved Lindsey and Grandma…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/my-little-brother-s-greatest-fear-was-that-the-one-person-who-meant/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“She listened for the pain in my words, not to the narrative itself. She was intuiting what it meant to me, what was most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/she-listened-for-the-pain-in-my-words-not-to-the-narrative-itself-she/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [The relationship with the words someone uses is more intimate and integrated than just a quick read and a blurb can ever be. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/the-relationship-with-the-words-someone-uses-is-more-intimate-and/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Ruth hadn't talked to my sister since before my death, and then it was only to excuse herself in the hallway at school. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/ruth-hadn-t-talked-to-my-sister-since-before-my-death-and-then-it-was/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [Since then I've always thought that under rape in the dictionary it should tell the truth. It is not just forcible intercourse; rape means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/since-then-i-ve-always-thought-that-under-rape-in-the-dictionary-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [I live in a world where two truths coexist: where both hell and hope lie in the palm of my hand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/i-live-in-a-world-where-two-truths-coexist-where-both-hell-and-hope/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Explore all 302 Alice Sebold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) ## More Eye quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [If you take your eye off the ball or lose focus for even a minute you can lose a game against any team.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felipe-anderson/if-you-take-your-eye-off-the-ball-or-lose-focus-for-even-a-minute-you/) [Felipe Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felipe-anderson/) > [“He blinked. His eyes fell as he processed her response. Then he lifted his chin and attempted a grin that was almost painfully dejected.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marissa-meyer/he-blinked-his-eyes-fell-as-he-processed-her-response-then-he-lifted/) [Marissa Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marissa-meyer/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [I wrote when I was a young teen, but I didn't put an eye on the available markets until I was seventeen. The next…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reed/i-wrote-when-i-was-a-young-teen-but-i-didn-t-put-an-eye-on-the/) [Robert Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reed/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [But editors are still the world's readers. And thus the eyes of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betsy-lerner/but-editors-are-still-the-world-s-readers-and-thus-the-eyes-of-the/) [Betsy Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betsy-lerner/) > [Quotations can be valuable, like raisins in the rice pudding, for adding iron as well as eye appeal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peg-bracken/quotations-can-be-valuable-like-raisins-in-the-rice-pudding-for/) [Peg Bracken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peg-bracken/) > [Clearly, when we baptize, our eyes should gaze beyond the baptismal font to the holy temple. The great garner into which the sheaves should…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neal-a-maxwell/clearly-when-we-baptize-our-eyes-should-gaze-beyond-the-baptismal/) [Neal A. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neal-a-maxwell/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [Be neither too early in the fashion, nor too long out of it, nor too precisely in it; what custom hath civilized is become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-quarles/be-neither-too-early-in-the-fashion-nor-too-long-out-of-it-nor-too/) [Francis Quarles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-quarles/) > [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [She'd read once that if you ran into a bear in the woods you should avoid eye contact and you shouldn't run away, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-ursu/she-d-read-once-that-if-you-ran-into-a-bear-in-the-woods-you-should/) [Anne Ursu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-ursu/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) Browse all 16,237 Eye quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said. “Where’d you go on us?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alice Sebold" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-you-go-on-us/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Eye" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-you-go-on-us/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/817/alice-sebold-999_eye_hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-yo_1430725.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said. “Where’d you go on us?” — Alice Sebold", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alice Sebold", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hey, Ocean Eyes,” my father said....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-you-go-on-us/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/hey-ocean-eyes-my-father-said-where-d-you-go-on-us/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```