Again, I can't see "(Sitting On) The Dock Of The Bay" as being considered anything like optimistic:
Sitting in the morning sun
I'll be sitting when the evening comes
Watching the ships roll in
And I watch 'em roll away again
[Refrain]
Sitting on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
I'm just sitting on the dock of the bay
Wasting time
I left my home in Georgia
Headed for the 'Frisco bay
'Cause I had nothin to live for
And look like nothing's gonna come my way
So I'm just...
[Refrain]
Look like nothing'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
Sittin here resting my bones
And this loneliness won't leave me alone
It's two thousand miles I roamed
Just to make this dock my home
Now, I'm just...
[Refrain]
Resigned maybe, aimless and at a loss, a touch bitter, slapped down by life -- but optimistic? Yeah, the opening stanza could be interpreted as sounding fairly idyllic if you don't read much into it, and I admit that whistling tends to sound inherently optimistic, but that's not all there is to the song. Well, then again at least half the populace thinks "Every Breath You Take" is a love song (actually about divorce, it's routinely played at weddings) and "Born In The USA" is a flag-waving patriotic anthem, so go figure. However, you won't get any argument from me that the effect music (or any art) has on people is probably more significant than the artist's lyrical intent, especially when that artist has wrapped it up in an attractive melody and compelling arrangement.
