• Track: Stuck In the Middle with You
• Artist: Stealers Wheel
• Album: Stuck In the Middle with You / Jose single
• Year: 1972

Lyrics:

Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am
Stuck in the middle with you

Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am…

Yes, I’m stuck in the middle with you,
And I’m wondering what it is I should do,
It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you

Well, you started out with nothing,
And you’re proud that you’re a self-made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin’,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please, please

Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see that it makes no sense at all,
Is it cool to go to sleep on the floor,
‘Cause I don’t think that I can take any more
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you

Well, you started out with nothing,
And you’re proud that you’re a self-made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin’,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please, please

Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,
Yes, I’m stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck in the middle with you, here I am stuck in the middle with you

Stealers Wheel was a Scottish band that was formed by friends, Gerry Rafferty and Joe Egan. The more astute among you will recognize Rafferty as having gone to success with hits, Baker Street and Right Down the Line. (Rafferty’s City to City record is excellent.) 

The single, Stuck In the Middle With You, started out as a parody of Bob Dylan’s nasally singing style. The song, which started out as a joke, ended up selling more than one million copies and hitting #6 on the Billboard charts. It would be Stealers Wheel’s only charted single. Rafferty died in 2011 and Egan now runs a small publishing company from his home.

The “band” still tours, though without either Rafferty or Egan, which pretty much makes them a cover band if you ask me.

Video:

Here is the original video of the band performing Stuck In the Middle with You.

And here is what might be one of the most disturbing movie scenes ever shot. The contrast between the song and the scene is, well, stark. I am not sure I will ever hear Stuck In the Middle With You again without thinking of this 1992 scene from Quentin Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs:

 (Warning: This scene is disturbing and is from an R-rated movie. You have been warned.)

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