A song that was met with initial pushback from his label, Redding never knew that it would become his most iconic single. The lines to follow are where tones of sadness could be interpreted, though Cropper recalls them as "hitt the masses." Redding moves from oceanic imagery to a quick reflection of "I can't do what ten people tell me to do / So I guess I'll remain the same, listen." Interpretations range from Otis feeling stalled in his career to a slow-moving Civil Rights Movement.
"So the rest of the song, where I said, you know, 'I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay,' it was just about him going out there to perform at the Fillmore." "He had just left San Francisco, where he played at the Fillmore," Cropper recalled. Cropper ended up fleshing out Redding's outline. Dock Of The Bay was exactly that: I left my home in Georgia, headed for the Frisco Bay was all about him going out to San Francisco to perform.' Redding ended up sitting on a dock on the San Francisco Bay thanks to Bill Graham, who ran the Fillmore West Auditorium. "Otis was just bigger than life," he explained. Pitiful, Sad Song Fa-Fa, they were about Otis life. According to Cropper, Redding was reluctant to write about himself, but for Cropper, it was easy. Cropper suggested that it was he, not Redding, who was most responsible for adding the biographical references. He completed the song later with co-writer Steve Cropper. In 1967, while performing in San Francisco, he stayed on a houseboat in Sausalito and began writing "Dock of the Bay." Otis Redding was born in Dawson, Georgia, and moved with his family to Macon when he was five. Redding was born in Georgia, and began writing the song while in the Bay Area for performances. This is one of the biographical references in the song. Passenger service from Sausalito to the city as well as other bayside locations, including Vallejo, Oakland, and Angel Island, continues to this day. After the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937, the car ferries were no longer needed, and the last one ended service in 1941. Passengers on the Northern Pacific Railroad could catch a ferry in the Marin county town and travel south across the bay to San Francisco. Sausalito's first ferry service was launched in 1870. But eventually, he realized that Redding had observed the ferries coming in and out of the Sausalito docks. Otis Redding's co-writer Steve Cropper said that he initially thought Redding was referring to the large container ships entering the San Francisco Bay through the Golden Gate. Given that Redding drew his inspiration for his song while staying on a houseboat in Sausalito, just across the Golden Gate from San Francisco, the "ships" were most likely ferries that regularly run between the two cities. Sittin On The Dock Of The Bay chords Otis Redding 1968 (Steve Cropper) Verse 1 G B7 Sittin in the mornin sun C A Ill be sittin when the evenin come G B7 Watching the ships roll in C A Then Ill watch em roll away again, yeah Chorus G E Im sittin on the dock of the bay G E Watching the tide roll away G A Ooo.