(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay

Album: Dock Of The Bay (1968)
Charted: 3 1
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  • Sittin' in the mornin' sun
    I'll be sittin' when the evenin' comes
    Watching the ships roll in
    Then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

    I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
    Watchin' the tide roll away, ooh
    I'm just sittin' on the dock of the bay
    Wastin' time

    I left my home in Georgia
    Headed for the Frisco Bay
    'Cause I've had nothin' to live for
    It look like nothin's gonna come my way

    So I'm just gon' sittin' on the dock of the bay
    Watchin' the tide roll away, ooh
    I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay, wastin' time

    Look like nothin's gonna change
    Everything still remains the same
    I can't do what ten people tell me to do
    So I guess I'll remain the same, yes

    Sittin' here restin' my bones
    And this loneliness won't leave me alone, listen
    Two thousand miles, I roam
    Just to make this dock my home

    Now I'm just gon' sit, at the dock of the bay
    Watchin' the tide roll away, ooh yeah
    Sittin' on the dock of the bay
    Wastin' time Writer/s: Otis Redding, Steve Cropper
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 38

  • Seventhmist from 7th HeavenRising music stars and prop-driven airplanes just don't mix.
  • Dunk from WisconsinLooking for the name of the drummer on the recording
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn this day fifty years ago {March 10th, 1968} "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding peaked at #1* {for 4 weeks} on Billboard's Top 100 chart...
    The rest of the Top 10:
    #2. (Theme From) Valley of the Dolls by Dionne Warwick
    #3. Love Is Blue by Paul Mauriat and His Orchestra
    #4. Simon Says by 1910 Fruitgum Co.
    #5. Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) by The First Edition
    #6. I Wish It Would Rain by The Temptations
    #7. La-La Means I Love You by The Delfonics
    #8. Valleri by The Monkees
    #9. (Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You've Been Gone by Aretha Franklin
    #10. I Thank You by Sam and Dave
    Sadly, exactly three months earlier on December 10th, 1967 'The King of Soul' passed away at the young age of 26 {plane accident}...
    May he R.I.P.
    * And on the same day that "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" peaked at #1 on the Top 100 it reached #1 {for 3 weeks} on Billboard's Hot R&B Singles chart.
  • Michael from Grass ValleyThe song was written while fishing on Berkeley's pier.Otis asked was are you doing? I told him I'm just sitting by the dock to the Bay wasting time. He asked if I had some mackerel kid and the guy next to me loaned him a rod. He ask what he's doing, and he replied came all the way from Georgia looks like nothings coming my way. Otis said that's the opening to a good song, by the end of the day we had finished it. Michael Ludwig, VP Bill Graham.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn April 1st 1979, Sammy Hagar's covered version of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #90; his version stayed on the Top 100 for a total of five weeks, and on its final week on the chart it would peaked at #65.
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn March 3rd 1968, King Curtis & the Kingpins' instrumental covered version of "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #89, it remained on the chart for five weeks, peaking at #84...
    Between 1962 and 1971 King Curtis had fifteen Top 100 records; his highest charted record was his debut record on the Top 100, "Soul Twist", which peaked at #17 {for 2 weeks} on April 22nd, 1962...
    The first two releases by Mr. Curtis, the name was 'King Curtis & the Noble Knights', the next six records it was just simply 'King Curtis', and for the last seven releases it was 'King Curtis & the Kingpins'...
    Sadly, King Curtis, born Curtis Ousley, passed away on August 13th, 1971 at the young age of 37 {a stabbing victim}.
  • Joanne from Long Island, Ny, UsaI have always loved this song ever since I first heard it on the radio as a little girl. Stax guitarist and the co-writer of this song, Steve Cropper, did a wonderful job mixing this song. Even using the sound effects of waves and seagulls as deftly as if they were musical instruments. In a time before MTV and the music video it was impossible to listen to this song without SEEING everything play out in full living color real life images inside your head as if you were watching a wide screen movie. And the whistling at the end only makes for a MORE perfect way of capturing the real life emotional experience that IS this song. I am glad Otis never got a chance to finish the song and write a final verse (of course I only wish there could have been anther reason why the last verse was never written and we didn't have to lose Otis so soon). Most people when mixing it would have been tempted to repeat part of either verse one or twos lyrics at the end rather than leave the whistling in ... Cooper was wise enough to see the value in keeping it in. I think it is a very important part of what makes this song the classic that it is.

    To me this song has always been about realizing that nothing is working out in life ... and deciding to stop fighting everything ... but not in a defeatist way ... not giving up hope. Just ... stopping the struggle and the fight and taking a break from it all and relaxing long enough to notice the beauty of nature all around you and quietly watch the world and ENJOY it rather then BATTLING it. And I think the whistling at the end always made it feel like it was about that even more so for me.

    About how there is a hidden beauty in "WASTING TIME" ... a recharging of the life force and a reconnecting of our souls with nature and the creator and the world around us. Somehow rising above the conflict of life in the end by just "WASTING TIME" and allowing in that wasting of time for a moment of RECONNECTION ... A reconnection during the very heat of the battle to that 'still quiet voice' that resides inside each and every one of us and ... every living thing... AND ... in that EXACT MOMENT ... that moment of peaceful, still, quiet re-connection ... FINDING RENEWED HOPE ... the gentle relaxed whistling at the end is the EXACT MOMENT in the song where that reconnection (with our inner soul and hope) happens for me ...

    Pure musical genius in my opinion!
  • Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn October 26th 1969, The Dells covered version of "On the Dock of the Bay" entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart at position #82; and on November 23rd, 1969 it peaked at #42 {for 2 weeks} and spent 8 weeks on the Top 100...
    It reached #13 on Billboard's R&B Singles chart...
    The record's B-side, "Oh, What A Day"*, also made the Top 100; and also stayed on the chart for 8 weeks, peaking at #43 {for 2 weeks} on February 22nd, 1970...
    Earlier in 1969 Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66 also charted with "Dock of the Bay"; their version peaked at #66...
    * The Dell reached #10 on September 21st, 1969 with "Oh, What a Night".
  • Cyberpope from Richmond, CanadaOr Ricky Gervais' suggested remake version: "Sittin' on a cock cuz I'm gay. . . "
  • Deethewriter from Saint Petersburg, Russia FederationIn 1988, Paul Rodgers of Bad Company sang Redding's "(Sittin' On) The Dock Of The Bay" at the Atlantic Records 40th Anniversary concert, backed by Steve Cropper and Donald "Duck" Dunn of Booker T. & the MG's -- the band that backed Redding on the original version of the song. Rodgers says that performing that song with Redding's bandmates was a once-in-a-lifetime experience: "'Dock Of The Bay,' it's just a great song -- great song to do, and it was exceptionally great to do with his band. But, of course, there are other (great songs) -- 'Champagne And Wine' is a beautiful song, too."
  • Will from Rock Hill, ScOtis is my all-time favorite singer, and this is one of my favorites of his. It's amazing that his last song was his best. Unlike Howard from the UK, I think this is peaceful, not a premonition of his death. However, Zelma's original lyrics to "I've Got Dreams to Remember" are eerily prescient (especially with the reference to an airplane).
  • Victoria from Sausalito, CaThe Sausalito Wooden Boat Tour includes a visit to the actual dock where Otis wrote 'Dock of the Bay' and also to the old tug which contains the actual table, purchased at auction, upon which he wrote the song.

    Don't miss the tour next time you are looking for things to do in the San Francisco Bay Area!
  • Mamie from Cleveland, OhAll but two members of the group THE BAR-KAYS died with Otis Redding. One survived the crash the other was not on the plane. THE BAR-KAYS recored "SOUL FINGER." Some years later the one who was not on the plane was murdered; the crime was never solved. THE BAR-KAYS were chosen by OTIS REDDING to be his band and to tour with him.
  • Howard from Wakefield, United KingdomVery spooky; this was certainly a premonition of his death.
  • Stephanie from Omaha, NeI was a little girl when I fist heard this song, and it has stuck with me ever since. It is simply genius.
  • Stephanie from Los Angeles, CaOne of my all time favorite songs, how can you not love it?
    It's so mellow and just has a laid back vibe that you just don't seem to find in songs these days.
  • Linc from Beaumont, TxSomethings just can't be expressed with words...
  • Linc from Beaumont, TxThis whistling - though it was not intended to be left in the song, actually conveys so much of the mood and attitude that it is an essential element and immediately translates to something akin with wasting time away absent mindedly. Make me wonder how the song would have turned out if Redding had returned and finished it.
  • Eric from Stevenspoint, WiAbsolutely one of the best songs ever written.
  • Cornelius from Matawan, NyDock Of The Bay got a LOT of play in Vietnam, because it fitted in with the thoughts that the short timers had in their heads as the time for their return home drew near.
  • Anthony from Oakland, United States"I have heard that 'Dock of the Bay' was actually about Monterey, a festival that took place in '67.
    - sarah, indianapolis, IN"

    He wrote the song AFTER the Monterey Pop Festival at Waldo Pier in Saualito- across the Golden Gate Bridge from 'Frisco. I alwys wondered on which dock of the 'Bay Redding was referring to (Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley Marina, Hunters Point, etc...)
  • Mark from Byrdstown, TnOtis Redding was just an awesome performer.Its still amazes me to see the power and emotion he put into every single song he did.Look up the history of Stax Records for more info on Redding and other great performers.
  • J.d. from Detroit, MiThis song reminds me of so many times in my life when all seemed hopeless. Its yet another example of the apparent futility of the hands we are sometimes dealt.

    The song came out, as I was serving on a Destroyer, getting ready to go to war. When I was in Kaoshung, Taiwan, I got a bootlegged copy of the album. Since I have, at the moment, no way to play vinyl, I just need to copy the lyrics, and hope someone will come along and post the key signature.
  • Musicmama from New York, NyHow can you not love this song? You can listen to it the way Dustin from Tampa does, or as a protest song. However, I see it more as a song about weariness, futility--and hope. The persona of the song wanted to get away from something (possibly bigotry) and/or had to start over. A day has passed, he is sitting on the dock of the bay, tired and sad but still hopeful for the next day. Best of all, the instrumentation--and the whistling--fit perfectly with they lyrics. Otis really left us too soon!
  • Lindzy from Los Angeles, CaDefinitely my favorite song. This song always calms you down and put you in a care-free mood.
  • Sarah from Indianapolis, InI have heard that 'Dock of the Bay' was actually about Monterey, a festival that took place in '67.
  • Steven from Sunnyvale, CaBob Rivers (bobrivers.com) has a great parody called "Sellin' All My Junk on Ebay."
  • Jon from Oakridge, OrIt has my vote for #1 best soul song.
  • George from Richmond, VaI was at Ft leonardwood, Missouri when they broke in on the music and announced Otis Redding was dead. I was so into "soul music" and he was one of my favorite singers for a while. still love his music.
  • Sammy from New York, NyThis song is so amazing, every aspect of it: the horns in the background, the chiming guitar, the bass, Redding's lyrics, voice, and my favorite part the whistling. They all work to make the song the kind you want to listen to over and over.
  • Dee from Khancoban, Australiai was always told this song was about suicide. but now i dunno... love that whistling!
  • Joel-steven from Anaheim, CaEarlier, it was stated the 'beach sound effects (waves, seagulls, etc.), were dubbed in after the recording.'

    This is because Otis sat in the window to record the vocals on a rainy day and they were added to complete the effect. The 'swooshing' sounds you hear are not waves effects, but the rain coming down outside the studio.
  • Ross from Independence, MoThis is #28 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest songs.
  • Xavier from Melbourne, AustraliaThe Doors wrote a tribute song about Otis Redding in 1969 called 'Runnin Blue'. It contained some of the lyrics of 'Dock of the Bay'
  • Rhett from Melbourne, Australiawhat a brillaint song this really is.
  • Jessa from Brampton, On, Canadaamazing song. thats funny that he didn't haev a verse and they just left the whistling in after he died. i wonder what otis would say about that. seems to me he wouldn't mind.
  • Mac from Batlimore, MdI have heard that this song is a protest song; that Otis was torn about the war and decided that he would just "sit on the dock."
    -Mc, Baltimore, MD
  • Dustin from Tampa, FlThis is quite possibly the greatest soul song ever written. There's nothing like cracking open a cold one and listening to "Dock of the Bay" while sitting by the ocean.
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