A Salty Dog (song)

"A Salty Dog"
Single by Procol Harum
from the album A Salty Dog
Released	1969
Format	7" single
Genre	Progressive rock, symphonic rock
Length	4:41
Label	Chrysalis
Writer(s)	Gary Brooker, Keith Reid
Producer(s)	Matthew Fisher
Procol Harum singles chronology
"Quite Rightly So" (1968) "A Salty Dog" (1969) "Conquistador" (1972)

"A Salty Dog" is a song by the British progressive rock band Procol Harum. Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it was released as the lead single off the band's 1969 album A Salty Dog.

Background and composition

The song's lyrics were written by Keith Reid and its music was written by Gary Brooker, who also sang. It was featured on the band's 1969 album, A Salty Dog. Reid's lyrics describe sailors crossing the unknown seas. The string arrangement recalls Frédéric Chopin. The song is reportedly one of Reid's favourites.

Release and reception

"A Salty Dog" peaked at #44 on the UK Singles Chart. BBC Radio DJ John Peel explained the lack of chart success:

... and, er, that was A Salty Dog, which was once released as a single, and should have done, er, a lot better in fact as a single than it did; unfortunately, um, seeing as it was longer than two-and-a-half minutes long and isn't exactly a bright tempo, a lot of my colleagues won't play it because they feel that, er, more than two-and-a-half minutes without some, er, feeble quip from them, er, is going to make the world a sadder place ...

The song was generally well received by music critics. Matthew Greenwald of Allmusic praised the narrative as "brilliant" and carried by "an expansive melody and epic performance from the entire band." The string arrangement was "fabulous" and "only adds grandeur to the song and recording, making this one of the group's most fully realized moments." Perhaps the greatest praise came from Melody Maker's Chris Welch, who called it "their finest hour" and "one of the greatest pop singles to emerge in recent years." He added, "The tune is beautiful, the arrangement brilliant, the performance perfect."

Chart performance

Chart (1969)	Peak position
U.K. Singles Chart	44
Canada RPM Magazine(1972)	84