Caught in the Middle Lyrics
I can't think of getting old
It only makes me want to die
And I can't think of who I was
'Cause it just makes me want to cry, cry, cry, cry
Can't look back, can't look too far ahead
You got the point, You got the message
I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
I try to keep going but it's not that simple
I think I'm a little bit caught in the middle
I gotta keep going or they'll call me a quitter
Yeah, I'm caught in the middle
I was dreamin' life away
All the while just going blind
Can't see the forest for the trees
Behind the lids of my own eyes
Nostalgia's cool, but it won't help me now
A dream is good, if you don't wear it out
And I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
I try to keep going but it's not that simple
I think I'm a little bit caught in the middle
I gotta keep going or they'll call me a quitter
Yeah, I'm caught in the middle
No, I don't need no help
I can sabotage me by myself
I don't need no one else
I can sabotage me by myself
I don't need no help
I can sabotage me by myself
I don't need no one else
I can sabotage me by myself
I don't need no help
(All the glory days are gone)
I can sabotage me by myself
(It's over now)
I don't need no one else
(I'm on my own)
I can sabotage me by myself
I don't need no help
(All the glory days are gone)
I can sabotage me by myself
(It's over now)
I don't need no one else
(I'm on my own)
I can sabotage me by myself
And I'm just a little bit caught in the middle
I try to keep going but it's not that simple
I think I'm a little bit caught in the middle
I gotta keep going or they'll call me a quitter
Yeah, I'm caught in the middle
I'm caught in the middle
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I really like this song as (although I'm a lot older than Hayley) I feel the same way myself, even though the anxious sentiments and the jaunty funk music are something of a paradox!
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I think in the beginning of the song she has this fear of her past and what's next to come in the future. (Can't look back, can't look too far ahead) she's caught in the present (in the middle) and it's still not easy, she still has that fear or anxiety that bad things are going to happen because of what shes gone through in the past and she doesnt want to go through it again. However, despite it all she just keeps going because she doesnt want to be a quitter and she doesnt want others to see her as one. In this line, "I was dreaming life away All the while just going blind" and the lines that follow, i believe shes talking about how she constantly escaped reality/the real world to supress her anxiety about bad things happening (maybe failure) and what not. Again though, she's come to realize (when she says "nostagias cool, but it wont help me now) that she can't keep pushing out the world because it will only bring her down again when she finally comes back to reality. Finally, (where she says "I dont nees no help I can sabotage me by myself") she's reminding herself that she is her own worst enemy. She can bring herself down and (I think) what shes trying to convey is that you can pull yourself out of it too, that you are strong enough to overcome your fears and worries and to not let those worries consume you etc. It's not simple, and you might be stuck for awhile but you have to remind yourself that you are capable of change and you can do anything you put your mind to. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent" and I truly think this is the perfect quote to summarize this song!
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Kind of a curious song for Paramore, since most of their lyrics contain certainty. This one seems to talk of a person old enough to figure out a lot of the deadends in life, while also unable to ignore who they like being the most, and also just sort of tired and worn out by everything, including the overbearing claims coming at them from society. Who they are and what they do and what society wants seems to be in conflict. When Hayley sings the little mantra about self sabtoage, her tone starts off like a children's nursery rhyme, and by the end, her tone is closer to raging at the stupidity of the idea, as a fully realised adult. Who is she sabotaging again? Which part of her life has to lose out? To whose rules and measures? Perhaps it's reflecting the pressures they are all under, since Paramore change and explore so freely, while no doubt people would want them to return to an earlier sound.