臺灣四面環海，密切的「人海關係」影響了居民的生活及抒情方式。因此，面對海洋所產生的「情懷」，也就成為文學與藝術作品表達人生、人情的重要媒材。而在教育與資訊傳播普及、流行歌曲每每帶動風潮的現代社會，這藉著「海洋」表現出來的情懷，更可透過流行歌曲迅速傳播開來。所以，探索現代流行歌辭藉「海洋」抒情的意義，不僅具有音樂文學研究上的價值，更有助於了解臺灣特有的海洋文化。而本文所指稱的現代流行歌曲，其時代定於1930年代至今，取材涵蓋國、臺（閩南）語歌曲，並針對其歌辭內容進行探究。然臺灣特殊的歷史、人文背景，再加上七十年來，生活環境（政經、社會）的變遷、教育普及、傳播媒體日益發達、資訊傳播更快更遠，人民接納文化更趨多元豐富，於是「海洋」于流行歌曲的抒情意義，也有了多元豐富的發展。而本文由「抒發懷思之情」開始論述，依序探索以「海洋」作為離別與思念的場景、譬喻愛情的各種面貌、懷念與想望愛情的場域等抒情意義的轉化與發展情形，接著討論藉「海洋」抒發親情、鄉愁、人生慨歎、激勵之情與融合之情的各種現象。可見從具體描寫到抽象譬喻，表現人生遭遇、角色扮演、情感流露的各種可能，呈現出藉由「海洋」抒情之多元豐富的意義。

The fact that Taiwan is surrounded by the sea contributes to the unmistakable bond between the Taiwan people and the sea, which in turn exerts influence on the ways of living and expressing emotions of the Taiwan people. And the feelings we have when facing the sea become an important medium for relating one's life conditions and state of affairs. In addition, by means of pop songs, these sea-based feelings can rapidly reach even the most distant corners of the society, which is now characterized by growing litearacy and readily accessible information, and by fads whipped up by pop songs. As a result, two contributions can be made in investigating emotions expressed by contemporary Taiwan pop songs with "the sea": more advanced study on music literature and better understanding of ocean culture unique to Taiwan. Contemporary Taiwan pop songs, as defined in the study, go back from 1930s to the present days, including Mandarin and Taiwan songs, whose lyrics are to be examined in the study. On the other hand, the emotions expressed by contemporary Taiwan pop songs with "the sea" diversify and are enriched because of Taiwan's unique historical and cultural backgrounds, environmental (i.e. political, economic, and social) changes, the growing literacy, more sophisticated media, faster and stronger distribution of information, and the diversification and enrichment of the cultures acceptable to the Taiwan people. This paper begins with "Reminiscences", exploring the roles of "the sea" in the transformation and development of the emotions expressed in the lyrics, including parting with and missing the beloved ones, metaphors for love, and scenes the evoke memories about lost love, It then moves on to various emotions inspired by "the sea", including love for one's family, homesickness, grievance, encouragements, and harmony. The diversification and enrichment of the emotions expressed with "The sea" are manifested by the continuum between concrete accounts and abstract figurative language, and by an array of possible themes, such as life experiences, different roles in life, and display of one's feelings.