# "Stuck in the Middle with You" is not by Bob Dylan **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 8, 2004, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106 "2004-02-08T08:22:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CanvasShoes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@CanvasShoes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CanvasShoes)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/21 "2004-02-08T14:23:45Z")
> [@Futile Gesture](#): > > I’d just like to say that “Stuck In The Middle With You” is by **Stealers Wheel** ; no apostrophe. If you’re going to do a dumb rant about accuracy perhaps you should check these things. > > And you can tell it’s not by Bob Dylan because : > > a/ It’s excellent. > b/ It’s witty, not a sour-faced, moaning dirge. > c/ The singing is in tune. > > It is a disgrace that people should confuse the two. You are right, but for _entirely_ the wrong reasons. Oh RIGHT on. But you forgot the part where you can understand the words!!! I’m a baby boomer, and I never liked Dylan. Your “sour-faced, moaning dirge” fits his dubiously named “music” perfectly. Though, IIRC, he has written several really good songs that became hits (but were sang by people who COULD sing. Though I’m kindof glad that Dylan WAS around and DID have such a bad, mumbly voice, it made for a pretty funny skit on SNL where Bob Dylan and Tom Petty are on a talk, or game show, and no one else can understand them. end hijack To the OP, stealing music aside, how can you NOT be aware that this is a very common occurance regarding mp3s? Where almost any disco song gets attributed to KC and the Sunshine Band, or Donna Summer. ---
**Author:** ![Coldfire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a587f6/32.png) [@Coldfire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coldfire)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/22 "2004-02-08T15:24:26Z")
People may bitch about mislabeled MP3’s, because there’s always the off chance that the OP already owns a legal copy of the files in question. But this thread will get closed when the discussion focuses on _ways_ of sharing files. We know it happens, and we know we can’t stop it. But we won’t become a conduit for information on how to steal intellectual property. As you were. ---
**Author:** ![county](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce7236/32.png) [@county](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/county)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/23 "2004-02-08T16:09:34Z")
[QUOTE=spooje] Yeah, but he can’t sing. Or play guitar. Or the harmonica. Well, he has been doing all three for decades. And doing a damn fine job. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/24 "2004-02-08T16:18:30Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > I can’t believe there are actually people out there who think “In the Hall of the Mountain King” was by Richard freakin’ Wagner! Of course, it was _Robert_ Wagner. ---
**Author:** ![Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/soul_brother_number_two/32/3515_2.png) [@Soul\_Brother\_Number\_Two](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul_Brother_Number_Two)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/25 "2004-02-08T17:21:56Z")
Jack of Hearts, you classless bonebrain, Jack of Hearts. Eat a bag. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/26 "2004-02-08T17:21:58Z")
> [@Fish](#): > > > [@Lilairen](#): > > > > I think my only response about whoever wrote that label has to be, “The man ain’t got no cuhlchuh.” > > I think you’re talkin’ 'bout Dylan Thomas. Whoever he was. May I just say, I _love_ you guys for throwing in this reference. I’m tempted to say this any time anyone mentions Dylan, but I’m afraid nobody would get it. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/27 "2004-02-08T17:33:09Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > May I just say, I _love_ you guys for throwing in this reference. I’m tempted to say this any time anyone mentions Dylan, but I’m afraid nobody would get it. Robert Zimmerman chose the name “Bob Dylan” as an homage to Dylan Thomas. Doesn’t everyone know that? Dylan is an incarnation of the Diety. Anyone who doesn’t recognize that is sadly misinformed and I pity them. Oh, and while we’re at it, _One Toke Over the Line_ is not a Jerry Garcia song. Jerry plays the pedal on that song but it’s by Brewer & Shipley. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/28 "2004-02-08T17:57:10Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > People may bitch about mislabeled MP3’s, because there’s always the off chance that the OP already owns a legal copy of the files in question. Not only that, sometimes the mislabling happens when the MP3 was originally made and whoever made it didn’t bother to correct the label. Mislabeling is especially common with compilation CDs. I always make sure I have the correct info whenever I create MP3s so if anyone else creates MP3s from the same disc, they’ll have the right info if they use the same software. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/29 "2004-02-08T19:03:02Z")
> [@Coulbean](#): > > I had to download three different things before I actually got Debussy’s Claire de Lune. arg. Wow…you had to download _three different things_? It only took me _one_ trip to the store for that one. And they had it by all kinds of different artists, in all kinds of different arrangements, too. Maybe you should rethink the way you get your music. As an aside, **Coldfire** did say, “People may bitch about mislabeled MP3’s, because there’s always the off chance that the OP already owns a legal copy of the files in question.” True, but this statement by the OP makes me wonder about that: > [@Coulbean](#): > > It’s the spirit of the movement, people! Share your stolen music!! Hey, just a friendly reminder, **Coulbean** : you get what you pay for. ---
**Author:** ![Coulbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Coulbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coulbean)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/30 "2004-02-08T22:45:45Z")
To let you all know… I own 16 store-bought, completely legal Dylan CD’s. I usually use stolen music to preview before I buy and to get ahold of rare stuff that I **can’t** buy in a store. I also own a store-bought copy of Claire de Lune… I also like to have the music available in MP3 form to make compilations and what-not. (and I haven’t found a good ripper yet.) To all those who flamed Bob Dylan… I just feel sorry for you. If you can’t recognize one of the greatest poets of our time… _sigh_ Dylan’s music has influenced thousands… (even P. Diddy, sadly enough, sites Dylan as an influence) Ah, its pointless anyhow… ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2004, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/31 "2004-02-08T23:42:21Z")
His lyrics! His lyrics! > [@](#): > > Then take me disappearin’ through the smoke rings of my mind, > Down the foggy ruins of time, far past the frozen leaves, > The haunted, frightened trees, out to the windy beach, > Far from the twisted reach of crazy sorrow. > Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free, > Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands, > With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves, > Let me forget about today until tomorrow. I find those lyrics timeless! They’re **fantastic**! and > [@](#): > > Now your dancing child with his chinese suit, > He spoke to me, I took his flute. > No, I wasn’t very cute to him, > Was i? > But I did it, though, because he lied > Because he took you for a ride > And because time was on his side > And because I . . . > I want you, I want you, > I want you so bad, > Honey, I want you. Um, on reflection, these last ones from “I want you” aren’t nearly so good. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/32 "2004-02-09T01:25:22Z")
[QUOTE=county] > [@spooje](#): > > Yeah, but he can’t sing. Or play guitar. Or the harmonica. > Well, he has been doing all three for decades. And doing a damn fine job. Fuck, man. **I’ve** been doing all those things for decades…and better…FAR better. No one’s calling _me_ a poet. You want someone who can write, play and sing and has a sense of humor about what’s a really absurd way to make a living? Get yourself some Loudon Wainright III. He’s everything Dylan promised and never delivered on. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/33 "2004-02-09T01:37:03Z")
> [@Starving Artist](#): > > FYI: The lead singer of Stealers Wheel was Gerry Rafferty. He went on to have a big hit in the late seventies with the song “Baker Street.” Huh, never made that connection. Interesting. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/34 "2004-02-09T01:57:18Z")
> [@Coldfire](#): > > But this thread will get closed when the discussion focuses on _ways_ of sharing files. We know it happens, and we know we can’t stop it. But we won’t become a conduit for information on how to steal intellectual property. I certainly will not argue against this website’s right to set whatever limits it chooses on what can be discussed in this generously provided free forum. And I don’t condone downloading copyrighted materials without permission. But “stealing intellectual property” is a phrase that rubs me the wrong way. First of all, the commonly accepted meaning of stealing implies that the guy you stole it from no longer has it. This is not the case with unauthorized copying, and despite the efforts of some to equate copyright violation with theft, it is an abuse of the language. If anything is being stolen, it is the payment due the copyright owner for making a copy, not the material itself. Second, “intellectual property” is a catchall term covering copyrights, patents, trademarks, trade secrets and other constructs that has no legal meaning in itself. It is frequently used expansively by those asserting a natural right to prevent dissemination of information they want to control. Such a right exists neither in nature nor in law. Things like patent rights and copyright are temporary, artificial restraints on trade that societies impose in order to stimulate the creation of useful knowledge. They are not legal expressions of a natural right, like free speech. The way things are going, researchers are going to start copyrighting and patenting every discovery and suing people who Xerox their papers. I don’t think that is a world any of us want to live in. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/35 "2004-02-09T01:59:54Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > The way things are going, researchers are going to start copyrighting and patenting every discovery and suing people who Xerox their papers. …and then the Xerox Corporation is going to sue people who use their trademarked name as a verb. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/36 "2004-02-09T02:41:18Z")
Dylan didn’t write “Cat’s in the Cradle” either, which was something I always saw credited to him during the first version of Napster. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/37 "2004-02-09T02:52:54Z")
> [@Jonathan Chance](#): > > You want someone who can write, play and sing and has a sense of humor about what’s a really absurd way to make a living? Get yourself some Loudon Wainright III. He’s everything Dylan promised and never delivered on. By giving us such enriching lyrics as these: > [@](#): > > Dead skunk in the middle of the road > Dead skunk in the middle of the road > Dead skunk in the middle of the road > And it stinks to high heaven. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/38 "2004-02-09T03:28:33Z")
Well, Bob liked animals, too: > [@](#): > > He saw an animal up on a hill > Chewing up so much grass until she was filled. > He saw milk comin’ out but he didn’t know how. > "Ah, think I’ll call it a cow. From “Man Gave Names To All the Animals” ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/39 "2004-02-09T14:37:37Z")
First, nobody said that Dylan isn’t a brilliant poet. I love Dylan’s music… when someone else sings the songs. He shouldn’t sing, I think, is the point. He should have made his brilliant career writing brilliant songs for everyone else, like Bernie Taupin. Second, “Tainted Love” is NOT by Depeche Mode. In fact, all 80’s new wave pop is not by Depeche Mode. The mislabeling makes me wonder where the sharers got their mp3s in the first place. If one owns an original, paid for, copy, then it should be an easy check to verify who the freaking artist is. I’ve stopped downloading music because it’s too time consuming to wade through dozens of poor quality, mislabled tracks before finding what I’m looking for. Instead, I go listen to my satellite radio… Hey, I have 100 stations to listen to. If the song I’m hearing sucks, chances are I can find something I like more on another station. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/40 "2004-02-09T15:06:33Z")
Dogzilla…I think I love you. I’m listening to ‘Lucy’ right now. Channel 54: The best of alternative! Their motto: “Songs you thought were great…right before you made the mistake of getting an Art History degree.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106.md?page=3)