Bits of Whitdom

Sittin' on the Blog of the Day...

(Sitting on) The Dock of the Bay

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
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
Oooo-wee, sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time

For some unknown reason, I can NOT get this song out of my head. And I can't settle on whether or not I think it is a sad song or a glad song. There is some implied despair when he talks about nothing to live for, but there is also a sense of contentment about just sitting and watching the ships and the tide...that he has found an end to his roaming (2 thousand miles' worth!)...and then there is that haunting happy-go-lucky whistle at the end.

Is it about resignation that nothing will ever go right? Or is it about the deep breath of freedom that we can exhale when we take leave from the expectations placed on us from everyone else, follow our dreams, and we enjoy the simple beauty of the morning sun...and the rhythmic roll of the water...and just wastin' time instead of letting time waste us...

Otis Redding wrote this song 3 days before he died in a plane crash.

posted by Whitney @ 6:01 PM