Formed after the demise of Gossard and Ament's previous band, Mother Love Bone, Pearl Jam broke into the mainstream with their debut album, Ten, in 1991. Ten stayed on the Billboard 200 chart for nearly five years, and has gone on to become one of the highest-selling rock records ever, going 13× platinum in the United States. Released in 1993, Pearl Jam's second album, Vs., sold over 950,000 copies in its first week of release, setting the record for most copies of an album sold in its first week of release at the time. Their third album, Vitalogy (1994), became the second-fastest-selling CD in history at the time, with more than 877,000 units sold in its first week.
One of the key bands in the grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam's members often shunned popular music industry practices such as making music videos or participating in interviews. The band also sued Ticketmaster, claiming it had monopolized the concert-ticket market. In 2006, Rolling Stone described the band as having "spent much of the past decade deliberately tearing apart their own fame."
Pearl Jam had sold more than 85 million albums worldwide by 2018, including nearly 32 million albums in the United States by 2012, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. Pearl Jam was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 in its first year of eligibility. They were ranked eighth in a readers' poll by Rolling Stone magazine in its "Top Ten Live Acts of All Time" issue. Throughout its career, the band has also promoted wider social and political issues, from pro-abortion rights sentiments to opposition to George W. Bush's presidency. Vedder acts as the band's spokesman on these issues.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Jam
Studio albums
Ten (1991)
Vs. (1993)
Vitalogy (1994)
No Code (1996)
Yield (1998)
Binaural (2000)
Riot Act (2002)
Pearl Jam (2006)
Backspacer (2009)
Lightning Bolt (2013)
Gigaton (2020)
Dock of the Bay
Pearl Jam Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll be sittin' 'till the evening's done
Watchin' the ships roll in
Then I watch 'em roll away again
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watchin' the tide roll away
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time...
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the Frisco Bay
I've got nothin' to live for
Looks like nothing's gonna come my way,yeah...
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watchin' the tide roll away
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time...
Looks like nothing's ever gonna change
Everything still remains the same
I can't do what ten people want me to
So I guess I'll remain the same,ohh
**Sittin' here rolling my bones**
This loneliness won't leave me alone
2,000 miles I've roamed
Just to make this dock my home,yeah...
I'm sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watchin' the tide roll away
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time...
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the Frisco Bay
Sittin' here restin' my bones
This loneliness won't leave me alone,yeah...
2,000 miles I've roamed
Just to make this dock my home,yeah...
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Watchin' the tide roll away
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Wastin' time...
The lyrics of "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding, interpreted by Pearl Jam, describe the singer's experience of sitting on the dock of the bay, watching ships roll in and roll away again while wasting time. The song is split into three verses, where the first verse establishes the setting of the shore line, and the inspiration for the melody of the song, while in the second verse, the singer shares why he left his home in Georgia to come to the Frisco Bay as he has nothing to live for, and in the third verse, he realizes how nothing will change, and he is fine with remaining the same.
The singer's contentment with just sitting and wasting time watching the tide roll away implies a sense of hopelessness and resignation. The line, "Looks like nothing's ever gonna change, everything still remains the same," suggests that the singer may have given up on trying to control or change his life. The phrase "rolling my bones" in the fourth verse might refer to playing dice, which fits with the idea of wasting time.
Overall, "Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay" is a melancholic song that speaks to the fact that we all have moments of reflection and despair, but that there is comfort in finding beauty in the mundane.
Line by Line Meaning
Sittin' in the mornin' sun
Starting the day relaxing in the sunshine
I'll be sittin' 'till the evening's done
Intending to sit and enjoy the view for the entire day
Watchin' the ships roll in
Observing the boats come to the dock
Then I watch 'em roll away again
Seeing the boats leave the dock and head out to sea
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Relaxing on the dock and taking in the sights
Watchin' the tide roll away
Observing the movement of the water as the tide changes
Wastin' time...
Spending idle moments without any particular purpose
I left my home in Georgia
Leaving home in search of something new
Headed for the Frisco Bay
Making way towards San Francisco Bay
I've got nothin' to live for
Feeling lost and without direction
Looks like nothing's gonna come my way,yeah...
Appearing to have no positive changes on the horizon
Looks like nothing's ever gonna change
Feeling stagnant and pessimistic about the future
Everything still remains the same
Sensing that nothing around is evolving or developing
I can't do what ten people want me to
Feeling overwhelmed by the weight of others' expectations
So I guess I'll remain the same,ohh
Coming to terms with being powerless over change
Sittin' here rolling my bones
Passing the time by playing dice games
This loneliness won't leave me alone
Experiencing a sense of isolation and disconnection from others
2,000 miles I've roamed
Having traveled a great distance in search of something
Just to make this dock my home,yeah...
Feeling at ease and at home by the dock
Watchin' the tide roll away
Observing the movement of the water as the tide changes
Sittin' on the dock of the bay
Relaxing on the dock and taking in the sights
Wastin' time...
Spending idle moments without any particular purpose
Contributed by Brayden F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@joecubbable
I've had this since I worked at a music store around the turn of the millennium. Will always be one of the most memorable combinations of Otis Redding and Pearl Jam or anyone else for the matter. Well Done
@nsmcgirt
Facts ! Me too
@ThePrimeWorldKid
Had this back in the Napster/ lime wire days
@resvlaardingen
2022...same owwll..,same old😉😇
@Salvador-ro6ob
👍una joya!
@orcvsivstitia7608
Wish I could post the view I have of Baltimore's harbor right.
@josephweller9306
I owned (at one time) an import called no fuckin messiah. I wish I still had it.
@edevil4347
I’m sure it’s available somewhere if you find it upload it !!
@_________________7899
also on covering them 2
@jonbarnet9053
I still got mine