# "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:** 3
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/41 "2004-02-09T15:16:24Z")
Dylan - great songwriter. Terrible harmonica player. Fucking AWFUL singer. Nuff said. ---
**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 9, 2004, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/42 "2004-02-09T15:41:37Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > 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. I guess you hate the sport of baseball then. Lots of stealing going on every day but nothing being taken away from someone else. ---
**Author:** ![cowgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@cowgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cowgirl)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/43 "2004-02-09T17:01:37Z")
“Been Through the Desert on a Horse with No Name” is not by Neil Young. Thank you. ---
**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, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/44 "2004-02-09T19:04:40Z")
[hijack] **Jonathan Chance** , great. Nice job. Now I have that stupid song in my head… Who is it, David Cassidy? “I think I love you…” blech. I’m probably the other Doper who’s been touting XM on these boards, for at least a year. I’m all for promoting it… especially since I just bought stock! I’m stuck on Fred and Ethel, channels 44 and 48. I’ll check out Lucy. [/hijack] Sorry folks. Maybe he and I should start a satellite radio appreciation thread, wherein we rub against each other and you all watch us wax eloquent about the pleasures of satellite radio? (Well, not literally…) ---
**Author:** ![carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrot)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/45 "2004-02-09T19:55:58Z")
> [@cowgirl](#): > > “Been Through the Desert on a Horse with No Name” is not by Neil Young. > > Thank you. That one, oddly enough, **is** by Richard Wagner. ---
**Author:** ![umop\_ap\_sdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/dbc845/32.png) [@umop\_ap\_sdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/umop_ap_sdn)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/46 "2004-02-09T21:42:56Z")
> [@carrot](#): > > That one, oddly enough, **is** by Richard Wagner. Are you sure? He’s not listed as a performer or writer of Horse With No Name in [AMG](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=H593211). 😕 ---
**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, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/47 "2004-02-09T23:57:59Z")
> [@Jeff Olsen](#): > > I guess you hate the sport of baseball then. Lots of stealing going on every day but nothing being taken away from someone else. Yeah, and nobody gets punished for it either. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/48 "2004-02-10T01:02:13Z")
> [@carrot](#): > > That one, oddly enough, **is** by Richard Wagner. The Waltz King? ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/49 "2004-02-10T01:07:10Z")
And then there’s the dipshit I met in the embassy bar in Warsaw who got all belligerant with me about who sang “Feel I’m Fixin’ To Die”. He insisted that it was Arlo Guthrie, while I was equally adamant (correctly) that it was Country Joe and The Fish. Fucker bet me $50, knowing that there was no way to prove him wrong in (at that time) communist Poland. So if you’re reading this post, asshole, you owe me $50. ---
**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 10, 2004, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/50 "2004-02-10T01:46:56Z")
> [@Hyperelastic](#): > > Yeah, and nobody gets punished for it either. Of course, nobody has declared stealing bases or handsignals illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Coulbean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Coulbean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Coulbean)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/51 "2004-02-10T04:26:12Z")
> [@cityboy916](#): > > Are you sure? He’s not listed as a performer or writer of Horse With No Name in [AMG](http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=H593211). 😕 I thought “A Horse with No Name” was by America… ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/52 "2004-02-10T07:59:24Z")
> [@carrot](#): > > That one, oddly enough, **is** by Richard Wagner. I’m glad I just finished eating my naan before I opened this thread, because otherwise I probably would have choked on it when I read this one. 😃 (To those of you who were confused, yes, “Horse With No Name” is by America. **carrot** was making a _joke_.) Back to the OP, whenever this subject comes up I always feel sorry for Edwyn Collins. The poor guy had one hit, “A Girl Like You”, but if you were to go looking for this song online you’d find that everyone thinks it’s either by Bowie or Iggy Pop. Bad enough to be a one-hit wonder, worse to not even get credit for your one hit! ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/53 "2004-02-10T09:26:26Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > And then there’s the dipshit I met in the embassy bar in Warsaw who got all belligerant with me about who sang “Feel I’m Fixin’ To Die”. He insisted that it was Arlo Guthrie, while I was equally adamant (correctly) that it was Country Joe and The Fish. Fucker bet me $50, knowing that there was no way to prove him wrong in (at that time) communist Poland. > > So if you’re reading this post, asshole, you owe me $50. You’re both wrong. Bukka White sang that long before Country Joe. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Futile\_Gesture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f05b48/32.png) [@Futile\_Gesture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Futile_Gesture)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/54 "2004-02-10T11:21:40Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > whenever this subject comes up I always feel sorry for Edwyn Collins. The poor guy had one hit, He also had hits with Orange Juice, his first band, so not exactly a one hit wonder. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/55 "2004-02-10T11:24:33Z")
rip it up and start again… As for Edwyn Collins, he’s making an absolute fortune from Revlon (and many other companies) using A Girl Like You, and a core of fans of his music, so I doubt he’s that upset 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lodoen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b3f665/32.png) [@Jeff\_Lodoen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lodoen)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/56 "2004-02-10T11:44:15Z")
Perhaps you heard of the song “Angel Of The Morning”… ok but you should since it has been recycled since the 1960’s. Percy Faith \*\*and \*\* Ray Connif! Shaggy did a hiphop version a couple years ago. The Pretenders did it for “Friends”. Anyway, people confused the 1981 Juice Newton cover with Donna Fargo, Crystal Gayle and Dusty Springfield. And some people thought The Pretenders were The Carpenters. ---
**Author:** ![Fern\_Forest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/71c47a/32.png) [@Fern\_Forest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fern_Forest)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/57 "2004-02-10T12:20:09Z")
> [@CanvasShoes](#): > > 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. I believe they were on Weekend update. Dylan was in the hospital for something. Miller got him on the video wall to interview but couldn’t understand him so they brought in Petty to translate. Couldn’t understand him so they brought in Keith Richards to translate for Petty who was translating for Dylan. _This, I remember?_ Gee, I hope that’s correct ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/58 "2004-02-10T13:40:44Z")
And Andrew Lloyd Webber did not compose “Les Miserables.” ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/59 "2004-02-10T16:49:33Z")
> [@TwistofFate](#): > > As for Edwyn Collins, he’s making an absolute fortune from Revlon (and many other companies) using A Girl Like You, and a core of fans of his music, so I doubt he’s that upset 😉 But what if the people at Revlon went looking for his song online? They’d probably get so confused they’d end up sending the royalty checks to David Bowie by misake! Or possible Richard Wagner. . . More seriously, although I don’t Mr. Collins cries himself to sleep at night over this, his name is almost completely unknown in the US. Practically everyone has heard “A Girl Like You” (aside from commercials/TV/films, I hear it’s also a strip club favorite), but the sort of person _I’ve_ never met is an American who could correctly identify the artist. If they don’t think it’s Bowie, they think it’s Iggy. Collins might have sold a few more CDs Stateside had there been less confusion on this point, and mislabeled MP3s can’t be helping matters. People might sometimes be motivated to buy a recording by an artist they discovered via MP3, but it’s hard to do that if they don’t know the correct name! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2004, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106/60 "2004-02-10T17:44:56Z")
So I get an email from a friend who found something he didn’t know existed: a copy of Led Zeppelin doing “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” And he attaches the MP3. And it’s really being sung by Guns ‘N’ Roses, which would have been apparent to anyone who had ever heard Guns ‘N’ Roses. That it was not Led Zeppelin would have been apparent to anyone who had ever heard Led Zeppelin. “Knawk knawk knawkin’ on heaven’s dawh-waaar” ad infinitum. There should be a special punishment for those who offer GNR in the guise of Led Zep. Julie [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stuck-in-the-middle-with-you-is-not-by-bob-dylan/228106.md?page=4)