From the recording COOL FREDDIE E & THE CREW - VOLUME I

"(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was recorded by Redding twice in 1967, including once just days before his death in a plane crash. The song was released on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous single to top the charts in the US. It reached number 3 on the UK Singles Chart.

Redding started writing the lyrics to the song in August 1967, while sitting on a rented houseboat in Sausalito, California. He completed the song with the help of Cropper, who was a Stax producer and the guitarist for Booker T. & the M.G.'s. The song features whistling and sounds of waves crashing on a shore.

Lyrics

"(SITTIN' ON) THE DOCK OF THE BAY" LYRICS
OTIS REDDING - 1967

Sittin' in the mornin' sun,
I'll be sittin' when the evenin' come.
Watching 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,
Was-tin’ 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,
Was-tin’ 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, yeah.

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 sittin’ on the dock of the bay,
Watching the tide roll away.
Oooo-wee, sittin' on the dock of the bay,
Was-tin’ time.
(WHISTLE TO END)