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Listen to the song Enjoy listening to the music using the video below. Make a mental note of any interesting words or parts, but don't worry if you can't understand yet. No video? Watch on YouTube. |
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Play the explanation Grab a hot drink and relax. I'll explain each line of the song for you. Use the explanations to understand the song lyrics, but don't worry about knowing every word that I use to explain. For an extra challenge listen without the transcript. |
[Clickable Transcript]
INTRO:
Hello and welcome everybody to Explained in English. My name is Ki and today I'm explaining the song “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” by Otis Redding.
Hey everyone, just a couple quick notes about today’s explanation. The first is that I recorded it at work and you can sometimes hear traffic in the background and the microphone is not as good. So, I apologize for that. I have a few older recordings like this one that I think I’d still like to release. So, maybe every now and then you get an old recording like this with some background noise but I promise not too often.
The second thing to keep in mind is to make sure that you listen to the real song before you listen to this explanation. You can hear the music and follow along with a transcript of this audio at explainedinenglish.com. I’m also leaving a direct link to the transcript and music in the description. Okay, with that said, enjoy the explanation.
This is a great song which captures a spirit of loneliness, of not knowing quite what to do in life, sort of an aimlessness. In a certain sense it's a sad song and I think it's even more sad if you know that the writer of the song or the singer of the song, Otis Redding, he actually died in a plane crash just a few days after recording. So, it was a number one hit in the United States and the United Kingdom, but only after his death or posthumously. Posthumously means happening after the death of someone. So, this was a posthumous hit single. The song starts with the line:
LYRICS:
[Verse 1] | ![]() |
[Chorus] | ![]() |
[Verse 2] | ![]() |
[Bridge] | ![]() |
[Verse 3] | ![]() |
3 | Excellent! You just learned a great song and can listen over and over to improve your English. Play the song again now and see how much more you understand. |
After listening...![]() ![]() |
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