Bono at his most and least pretentious. He's admitting he wants his stardom to change the world. The ocean he sees while analyzing his relationship with the audience seems a symbol for the spiritual enlightenment he'd share. The resolution, when the world disappears to leave the rock star alone to contemplate the ocean, seems another way Bono is saying I may not be able to change the world but I can change myself.
The Picture of Dorian Grey is a novel by Oscar Wilde, the Irish author who has been a huge influence on Bono's lyrics. In referring to it, Bono mocks his own vanity in thinking a rock star can change the world.
The ocean is a recurring image in Bono's lyrics. The aloft (rock) star Bono narrates in this song seems to have "fallen from the sky" into a similar ocean in later songs like Lemon, where Bono (aka The Fly, MacPhisto, etc) takes a similar but more effaced perspective on the relationship between the artist and audience.
Note - the lyrics for The Ocean in the CD sleeve are longer than those actually sung.
Frank L Baum FrankLBaum
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