"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"

Otis Redding was a beloved member of the Stax-Volt family of musicians, already well-known for his electrifying performances at live concerts, and for his amazing voice.

In December 1967 he recorded this song just a few days before he died in an airplane crash. The song became his best seller and continues to be a popular favorite to this day.

The guitarist and co-writer on this song was Steve Cropper, who is active today. Bassist Donald "Duck" Dunn, however, died in 2012.

Here is the version of the song we heard today:



The words at the bottom of this post.

To buy this track, click here.

Sadly, Otis Redding's song was so new that it had not become part of his concert repertoire before his untimely death, so we don't have a video of him performing this song. Instead, here's a recent international mashup, with musicians from the USA, Brazil, Japan, Italy, and Cuba.

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Words for "(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper:

Sittin' in the mornin' sun
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come
Watchin' the ships roll in
And then I watch 'em roll away again, yeah

I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, 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 nothing to live for
And look like nothin's gonna come my way

So I'm just gonna sit on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay, wastin' time

Look like nothing'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 resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home

Now, I'm just gonna sit at the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Sittin' on the dock of the bay,
Wastin' time.