Written by Gary Brooker and Keith Reid, it was released as the lead single off the band's 1969 album A Salty Dog.

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".

"[9] "A Salty Dog" is notable for not including any contributions from guitarist Robin Trower who, when the band became a quartet in 1970–71, would play bass in live performances of the song.

[citation needed] The song was covered by Marc Almond on his 1986 album A Woman's Story, and by Transatlantic on the two-disc Special Edition of The Whirlwind, where it is sung by drummer Mike Portnoy.