by Stealers Wheel (1972)
.
The lyrics to “Stuck in the Middle With You” are notable for the story they tell as well as how they tell it. The story begins with our narrator taking a bit too much of a drug that he knows he shouldn’t have done, and the strong hit both rocks and immobilizes him:
Well, I don’t know why I came here tonight;
I’ve 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.
Next, the song’s story tells us of the narrator’s inner dialogue with his own head, in which he attempts to gain control over himself:
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.
Lastly, the narrator gives up hope of regaining control during this particular cycle of consciousness, succumbing to staying where he is for the night:
Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see 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.
As a final note, the song’s chorus reinforces this storyline, making note of how the narrator is surrounded by others like himself yet alone with his own mind:
Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right,
Here I am: Stuck in the middle with you.