As performed by Blondie, Lyrics by Leucine Zipper

 The Science :

Tides occur because the moon pulls ocean water (and the Earth) toward it. The highest tides occur closest to the moon and on the opposite side of the earth from the moon. When you’re on the beach, you notice this because sea level effectively rises a bit. If you are on a beach with a small slope, quite a lot of the beach can vanish quite quickly! Blondie made this John Holt song famous, although the Jamaican group the Paragons played it first. The original song refers to a challenging situation as when the “tide is high”, but we see high tides as an opportunity to talk about science!

The Lyrics:

The tide is high ‘cause the moon is close

Its gravity is pulling here the most

I’m not quite ready to pack up the picnic just yet, oh no

 

I was enjoying all the surf and sand

When I noticed that there wasn’t quite as much land

The ocean is nearer now my sandcastle has washed away, oh no

 

The tide is high cause the moon is close

Its gravity is pulling here the most, here the most.

 

My towel’s wet but I don’t want to go

Guess I’ll hop on my board and let this party float

I’m not the kind of girl who gives up just like that, oh no