![]() ![]() The song gained notoriety in 1992 when it was part of an infamous scene in Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 debut film Reservoir Dogs. ![]() By the way, until acquiring the lyrics for this post, for almost 50 years I had mis-heard the line “and your friends, they all come crawlin’” as “and your friendly uncle Colin.” Apparently another misheard lyric is “Crowns to the left of me, smokers to the right” instead of “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.” Stuck In The Middle With You has proved a very popular song. The sound is reminiscent of a Bob Dylan folk-rock song, and apparently people still mistake it for a Dylan tune. That song, produced by the great American producer-songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, reached #6 on the Billboard pop charts and #2 in Canada. Stuck In The Middle With You was the one big hit for Stealers Wheel. This took place on the BBC show Top of the Pops in May 1973. So here is Stealers Wheel in a live performance of Stuck In The Middle With You. Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,Ĭlowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,Īnd you’re proud that you’re a self-made man, It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face, I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,Īnd I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,Īnd I’m wondering what it is I should do, I got the feeling that something ain’t right, Well I don’t know why I came here tonight, The lyrics were meant to be a parody of a music industry party, full of ‘jokers and clowns.’ The song Stuck In The Middle With You was co-written by Rafferty and Egan and appeared on their 1972 eponymous debut album. 'Please, please,'" was "And your fat old uncle Charlie.".The Scottish folk-rock group Stealers Wheel in 1973. Maybe it's another "success isn't what I thought it would be" song.Īlso, I always thought "And your friends, they all come crawlin'/Slap you on the back and say, But now that they're big, their 'friends' come out of the woodwork, asking for money or connections or what-have-you, slapping you on the back and begging for a hand-out. ![]() ![]() If you interpret it that way, the "started off with nothin'" bridge could be about the guys in the band all psyched that they've finally gone from a no-name group gigging at dives (starting off from nothing) to a decently successful group. You're at a fancy dinner with these bigwigs and suits and snobs and assorted other elites, and you feel awkward ("I don't know why I came here tonight/I got the feelin' that something ain't right") and, in the presence of The Powers That Be, you're terrified of making a bad impression- "I'm so scared in case I fall off my chair/And I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs.It's so hard to keep this smile from my face/Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the place." But you spend time with them, and you realize that they're nothing but a pack of assholes-"Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right/Here I am, stuck in the middle with you." This would especially make sense if he was at the dinner with a bandmate and he knew they both felt the same way. Kayteeoh - A review of the song calls it a "clever corporate snub", so you could be right: For the record, though, I still haven't seen the movie. So thanks, Q.T., for keeping a good song alive. I'm tempted to be smug and say "I liked it before it was in Reservoir Dogs." But I'm fairly young and, ironically, I probably wouldn't have heard it on oldies stations if its use in that movie hadn't caused a resurgence in popularity, thus causing it to re-enter popular consciousness and make it worthwhile for oldies stations to put it back in rotation. 'Cause I don't think that I can take anymore Losing control, yeah, I'm all over the placeĬlowns to the left of me, jokers to the rightĪnd you're proud that you're a self made manīut I can see that it makes no sense at all It's so hard to keep this smile from my face I'm so scared in case I fall off my chairĪnd I'm wondering how I'll get down the stairs I got the feeling that something ain't right Well, I don't know why I came here tonight ![]()
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