The Dock of the Bay Chords

Easy tutorial for beginners with some explanations, the tab, the lyrics and the chords to play the song The Dock of the Bay chords by Otis Redding on guitar.

The Dock of the Bay by The Beatles with chords

The three verses of the song are played in the same way.

So we will look only at verse 1, chorus and bridge.

Verse 1 | The Dock of the Bay

The song The Dock of the Bay starts with the first verse. To play it, you need to know four first chords :

The Dock of the Bay chords

When you master this chords with your guitar, you can go on and read the following to play the music of the singer Otis Redding :

Remember that the chords are written above the lyrics so that you can play them at the right time. Therefore, it’s better to play while singing. Chords that are to the right of a phrase (not above a word) are played between the two phrases.

The Dock of the Bay lyrics
Tab text
G B7
Sittin’ in the mornin’ sun
C A
I’ll be sittin’ when the evenin’ comes
G B7
Watching the ships roll in
C A
Then I watch ’em roll away again

Verses 2 and 3 are played like verse 1. You will just have to follow the words by following the chords and the rhythm of the first verse.

Chorus | Music with chords

As you can see in the lyrics, between each verse there is a refrain. To play this chorus, you will have to add another chord :

The Dock of the Bay guitar

If the previous chords and this new one are mastered, you can continue with the following tab by keeping the same rhythmic on the guitar :

otis redding chords
Tab text
G E
I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
G E
Watchin’ the tide roll away
G A
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
G E
Wastin’ time

Bridge of the Otis Redding song

The chorus after verse 2 is followed by a bridge that you will have to play before taking up verse 3 of The Dock of the Bay chords.

To do this, you need to know two last positions :

The Dock of the Bay Otis Redding

Then, when these news chords and the previous ones are mastered, you can start playing this chorus last tab :

lyrics Otis Redding
Tab text
G D5 C
Look like nothin’s gonna change
G D5 C
Everything still remains the same
G D5 C
I can’t do what ten people tell me to do
F D5
So I guess I’ll remain the same

If you want to improvise, use our guitar scales.

The Dock of the Bay video with tab

Play the Sting music Fields of Gold chords with your guitar.

The Dock of the Bay by Otis Redding lyrics

This song The Dock of the Bay chords by Otis Redding is composed of three verses, a chorus and a bridge.

Structure of the lyrics is like that :

Verse 1 – Chorus – Verse 2 – Chorus – Bridge – Verse 3 – Chorus

Verse 1

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

Chorus

I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watchin’ the tide roll away
I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

Verse 2

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

Chorus

Bridge

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

Verse 3

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

Chorus

Find all our lessons, our scales and all our tablatures of songs and music for guitar on Decibel Score.

Easy PDF score for beginners to play The Dock of the Bay

The following score is a “home-made” easy PDF score for beginners that we created according to the above frameworks and explanations.

Summarizes everything we have seen and you can download it for free to play the song The Dock of the Bay chords by Otis Redding on guitar.