 In "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" he abandoned familiar romantic themes for "sad, wistful introspections, amplified by unforgettable descending guitar riffs by Cropper".The website of the Songwriters Hall of Fame noted that the song "was a kind of brooding, dark voicing of despair, ('I've got nothin' to live for/Look like nothin's gonna come my way')" although "his music, in general, was exultant and joyful.