Ocean Eyes — Billie Eilish (2016)

Why it's in this book

"Ocean Eyes" is the second song of December, the one that goes with "Perfect". It is a soft ballad that works all the way through a cappella, with no instruments at all. That makes it perfect for working on unison tuning: the whole class singing the same note, at the same time, without sounding like lots of separate voices. Then comes the second voice, a third away from the melody throughout the song. In your classroom with no instruments, you sing it like that, in one and in two parts. With the ukulele you only need three chords, C, D and E minor, and in the same key as the record. In the music room only the keyboard joins in, with a long pad sound; nothing else.

Why this song

This song has a story that sounds made up. In November 2015, a brother and sister from Los Angeles uploaded a song to SoundCloud. They were not trying to become famous: they just wanted the sister's dance teacher to be able to download it and make a choreography.

The next day the song had gone viral. The sister was 13, and her name was Billie Eilish.

The question on this page is: what does such a simple song have that made so many people listen?

Historical context

Finneas O'Connell, Billie's older brother, wrote "Ocean Eyes" for his band, The Slightlys. When he finished it, he felt it suited his sister's voice better. He taught it to her, they sang it together with his guitar, and it stayed stuck in her head for weeks.

They recorded it at home. Finneas used the sounds that come free with a music program, and Billie sang into one of the cheapest microphones used in studios. This way of making pop, in a bedroom and without a studio, is called bedroom pop.

Foto: the CwE, CC BY 3.0, vía Wikimedia Commons

Nine years later, in December 2024, the siblings were still playing it this way in Inglewood (Los Angeles): she sings, he plays the piano.

Billie wanted to be a dancer, but an injury stopped her. She turned to singing. In 2016 she signed with a record label and "Ocean Eyes" was officially released. Even so, it did not enter any chart until 2018, when Billie was already known for other songs.

Musical characteristics

A floating voice. Billie sings softly, without pushing. The notes stretch out and fade slowly. Above her main voice there are other recordings of her own voice, surrounding it like an echo. Everything sounds slow and far away, like the sea on a grey day.

It stands on its own. Take away the instruments and the song still works. Singing with no instruments is called singing a cappella. It works because the melody is clear and needs nothing to hold it up.

Everyone together, on the same note. When many people sing the same melody at the same time, it is called unison. It sounds easy, but it is not: if everyone is slightly out of tune, it sounds like lots of separate voices. If everyone is in tune, it sounds like one big voice.

Three chords that never finish. The song turns around three chords: C, D and E minor. They climb one after another, and the last one is minor. That is why the song never seems to "get home": it keeps floating. This series is a chord progression: IV–V–vi.

The second voice. The plan for this song is two voices a third apart all the way through. A third is the distance of skipping one note: from C to E, from D to F. Two voices in thirds sound sweet together and never clash.

Good news for the ukulele. The record is already in G major, and C, D and E minor are among the first chords you learn. You do not need to change anything to play along with the record.

Hard facts: G major, 4/4, 72 beats per minute, 3:20. The form, probably: verses, choruses and a bridge before the last chorus.

Guided listening

Play the music video. In the first verse, count how many instruments you hear. You probably will not need all the fingers on one hand.

When the chorus arrives, listen for whether Billie sings alone or whether there are more of her voices on top. How many do you think there are?

Try singing the chorus melody quietly while it plays. If your voice disappears inside hers, you are in unison.

In the last chorus, listen to the three chords. When the last one, E minor, sounds, notice: does it sound like an ending or like the song wants to carry on?

Trivia and curiosities

• The whole song was made with the sounds that come free with a music program. No expensive instruments. What made it work was the song, not the studio.

• Before it was famous, someone emailed "Ocean Eyes" to Katy Perry, hoping for a collaboration. She thought it was boring. Years later she called it a huge mistake.

• Billie still sings it on every tour, from 2019 to her 2024–2025 tour. Her first song is still in the show.

• It did not reach the charts until two years after it came out. A song can take time to find its audience.

Classroom activities

• Unison. The whole class sings the chorus a cappella, very softly. One person listens from outside and says whether it sounds like one voice or many.

• Second voice. Half the class sings the melody; the other half sings a third above or below. Start with a single phrase and make it longer when it works.

• Three chords. Ukulele: C, D, E minor, one chord per bar, very gentle strumming. Then sing on top.

• Listen back. Record your a cappella version on a phone and listen to it. Where do the voices drift apart? Mark that moment in the lyrics.

Key vocabulary

• Bedroom pop — pop de dormitorio: pop hecho en casa
• A cappella — a capela: sin instrumentos
• Unison — unísono
• Chord progression — progresión de acordes
• Third — tercera: la distancia de saltarse una nota

Resources

Official music video — From Billie Eilish's channel, March 2016.

Ukulele tutorial — Elise Ecklund. An easy version with the song's chords.

Guitar tutorial — The Groovy Guitar Dude. For beginners.

Keyboard tutorial — Pianote. A beginner version.