Understanding 'The Middle'

There's some songs that you never really outgrow, and for me, The Middle is one of those. The relentless optimism of the track feels like a weird match for the dark cynicism of teenagehood in the early 2000s, but the earnest insistence that everything would be alright captured something about that moment in time, and it still resonates with me today. I have no idea how well-known a song it is these days, but for those of us who grew up in that era, it's something we'll probably never forget.

Huge thanks to our Elephant Club members:

Susan Jones
Jill Jones
Duck
Howard Levine
Brian Etheredge
Len Lanphar
Ken Arnold
Elaine Pratt
William (Bill) Boston
Warren Huart
Kevin Wilamowski
Grant Aldonas
Chris Prentice
Jack Carlson
Christopher Lucas
Andrew Beals
Dov Zazkis
Hendrik P
Thomas Morley
Jacob Helwig
Davis Sprague
Braum Meakes
Kelly Christoffersen
Hendrik Stüwe
Dan Bonelli
Kevin Boyce
Donal Botkin
Stephen Cook
Luke
David Bartz
Dhruv Monga
Ken Jones
Obadiah Wright
Carlos Rendon
Aleksandar Milojković
Kylie McInnes
Jody
Michael Mol
PhilRosas
Reiji Kobayashi
Catherine Berry
Neil Moore
Kai

And thanks as well to Henry Reich, Gabi Ghita, Gene Lushtak, Eugene Bulkin, Owen Campbell-Moore, Logan Jones, Oliver, Anna Work, Adam Neely, Rick Lees, Dave Mayer, CodenaCrow, Arnas, Caroline Simpson, Michael Alan Dorman, Blake Boyd, Charles Gaskell, Ian Seymour, Trevor Sullivan, Tom Evans, JH, David Conrad, Ducky, Todd Davidson, Chris Borland, Jake Lizzio, Elliot Burke, Tim S., Elias Simon, Aaron Epstein, Chris Connett, Jerry D. Brown, Kenneth Kousen, James, h2g2guy, W. Dennis Sorrell, Ohad Lutzky, Peter Leventis, Symmetry, Professor Elliot, James A. Thornton, Andrew Engel, Stefan Strohmaier, Shadow Kat, Adam Wurstmann, Peter Brinkmann, Angela Flierman, Richard T. Anderson, Kevin Johnson, Joshua La Macchia, Rodrigo "rrc2soft" Roman, Jeremy Zolner, Patrick Callier, Danny, Francois LaPlante, Volker Wegert, Britt Ratliff, Darzzr, Alex Keeny, John Bejarano, naomio, Alex Mole, Gary Butterfield, Steve Brand, Rene Miklas, Betsy, Tonya Custis, Dave Shapiro, Jacopo Cascioli, Red Uncle, Doug Nottingham, Rafael Martinez Salas, Walther, Nicholas Wolf, Graeme Lewis, Jake Sand, Robert Beach, Jason Nebergall, Mathew Wolak, Jim Hayes, S, Lincoln Mendell, Scott Albertine, Sam Rezek, Destros, Lucas Augusto, ZagOnEm, Evan Satinsky, RaptorCat, רועי סיני, Conor Stuart Roe, Jigglypuffer, leftaroundabout ., Jens Schäfer, Mikely Whiplash, Austin Amberg, Francisco Rodrigues, Dragix PL, Michael Tsuk, Kottolett, Dylan Vidas, ThoraSTooth, Brandon Legawiec, Hikaru Katayamma, Rob Hardy, Patrick Chieppe, Eric Stark, David Haughn, Gordon Dell, Brian Miller, Byron DeLaBarre, Matty Crocker, anemamata, Lee-orr Orbach, Eric Plume, Kevin Pierce, Jon Hancock, Bryn Davis, Pamela O'Neill, Jason Peterson, Peggy Youell, EJ Hambleton, Thomas Morgan, Ludwick Kennedy, Jos Mulder, Daryl Banttari, J.T. Vandenbree, Ridley Kemp, Mark James, John Castle, Adam Ziegenhals, Mark, Amelia Lewis, sonicolasj, Wayne Robinson, Gabriel Totusek, Mnemosyne Music, AkselA, Kristofer Hill, William Merryman, Ryan Mayle, Sam Plotkin, David MacDonald, Nellie Speirs Baron, Charles R., Joshua Lewis, Justin St John-Brooks, type inference, Sam, DialMForManning, Wayne Weil, Joseph Satin, Piush Dahal, Matthew Moore, James, David T Peterson, Bryan C. Mills, Andrew Wyld, XCompWiz, JD White, Michael Blaby, Bean, A Devoted Servant, Milan Brezovsky, Edmund Horner, NinoDoko, M. Bock, Daniel Joseph Moynihan, Joe Johnston, Jordan Friendshuh, Josh Witkowski, Rapid Offensive Unit, Graham Orndorff, Hakim C, Claymore Alexander, Dixon Roberts, Jason McPherson, Chris Robson, A.J. Yates, Matt Moulder, Leander Tietjen, gunnito, Alex Tafur, Chris Davis, findRED, Howl’s one-handed, Gary Backaus, Eugen Lounkine, Fernando Gros, Geoffrey Barnett, OVB_2nd, William, Joe Molloy, Daniel Sim, Chris Breault, RoxyPop, David Wagner, Paul Tanenholz, Lev, Julio D, Douglas Anderson, Foreign Man in a Foreign Land, Vigilance Deadname, Liz Webb, Boomer Dell, Justin Zboyovski, Adam Poata-Smith, J.R. Hyde, A, Christopher Beattie, triskadecaepyon, Abie, Charles Jordan, Kelly Walker, William Christie, and Damien Fuller-Sutherland! Your support helps make 12tone even better!

Also, thanks to Jareth Arnold!

[tone]

Some additional thoughts/corrections:

1) I could imagine the thumbnail for this video being misinterpreted, so I figured I'd clarify my intent. As I hope the video makes clear, Jimmy Eat World (and this song in particular) mean a lot to me, but they feel like something of a time capsule. The music speaks so clearly to very specific point in my life that listening to it always takes me right back there. I don't think about it all that often, but whenever I do it brings up tons of other memories, and I suspect many kids in my generation have similar relationships with it. The point of the thumbnail was as a tongue-in-cheek way of evoking that memory cascade, not to imply that Jimmy Eat World isn't worth remembering. They are, they're great.

2) I think, on the guitar part from the second half of the verse, I slightly screwed up my transcription. Listening to it, I think the last note in bar four is a D-G dyad, not a D-C# dyad. As far as I know, though, everything else is correct.

3) On the chorus, I'm not actually sure they're playing full chords all the way through. There's a clear F# on top of the first D chord, and I'm pretty confident I hear a C# inside the A chord, but if there's a B in the G chord, it's buried a bit, and I believe the final D is a power chord. There's something to be said here for the removal of intermodulation leading to a greater sense of closure on the final D chord, but I wasn't confident enough in my transcription to put it in the script.

4) Slight transcription error in the chorus drums as well: I assumed the two halves were the same, but on beat 1 of bar 3, he plays an extra 8th note kick right after the downbeat. It's not hard to hear in the stem, I just wasn't listening for a difference. Whoops.

5) Technically, the third statement of the motif in the first half of the verse has a slide in the middle of the second note, so I guess you could argue it's not _really_ three quarter notes, but I don't think that fundamentally changes the experience of the structure, especially since it doesn't happen in the second half. (I also think it's more obvious in the isolated vocals. In the full mix it feels more like a drop off the note than a slide to a new one.)

6) Yes, A is an available tension over a G major chord. That's a perfectly fine explanation, but because of the missing harmony, I don't really hear the A as carrying the sense of complexity and richness one would expect from a tension, and it misses the important relationship that line has with the next one. But, as always, your mileage may vary, and if you find it more useful to consider it a tension, I certainly won't stop you.

7) I should note that, for the period thing, G going to A would work perfectly fine _if_ there was harmonic support. If the first phrase ended on an A chord, everything would work fine. But since the harmony is resolving, the melody can't or the whole thing would feel resolved.

8) I suppose it's not quite true that the chorus has a range of a perfect 4th, he does kinda drop down to A at the end, but again that feels more like sliding off a D then sliding to an A, so I'm counting it. If those As wind up too low for an amateur singer, it wouldn't feel weird for them to just miss it.

[bradbarker]

Understanding "The Middle" just takes some time, but everything will be alright, alright.

[LouisWritingSomethingCrazy]

Well, the point of the lyrics was a response to a fans letter. A 13 year old girl wrote them and said they were being picked on for their love of the band. They wanted to know what to do and this was their response, telling her that everything will be alright and not to worry too much.

To me, it's a bit more heart warming once you know the full story of it.

[TartarusHimself]

“Am I reading too far into this? Yes. But who’s gonna stop me?”

Fucking legend

[loganstewart]

My theory teacher once defined syncopation as “A rhythmic event when you don’t expect there to be one, or a lack of a rhythmic event when you expect it.” I’d say melodic movement a quarter note earlier than expected fits that definition perfectly.

[sebastianswaltz]

The entire "Bleed American" album, in my opinion, is near perfect. I used to dislike The Middle, thinking that it had been way too overplayed on the radio. But in the context of the rest of the tracks around it, it fits perfectly. By the way, most of the songs on that album are in Drop D.

[megsley]

I was in high school when this song came out, and I remember really really loving it! 10 years later, driving to my outdoor wedding in the rain and stressed to the max, "The Middle" came blasting out over the radio and instantly I felt so much lighter 💙

[arkadye]

One thing with the quiet after the solo preserving tension is that it REALLY adds to the anthemic, sing along quality of the song.

By the time you get there the audience has heard the song and knows the words. The break from the lyrics has given those who sing along to all of it a rest for their voice. They're ready to come back in. The lead in from the solo just screams to build the energy. And this last one is incredibly clear of you ever see this song performed live - the silence invites the audience to fill the gap themselves, and hear the voice of the crowd singing it over the band. (From what I can find online they don't seem to perform it that way, but I couldn't find any video of them playing as headliners either.)

[jamesy]

"it's like a weighted blanket" for the Bass tone description is the PERFECT way to capture it. I also absolutely adore this song, so I'm partial to good, well thought-out analysis of it. Great video

[adultnewborn]

Am I the only one who didn’t realize this was about being a teenager and In the middle of an adult and child ? I’ve listened to this song so many times and never realized that’s what it was about

[emmbeesea]

I remember first hearing this song in GH: World Tour. Those are some memories, all right.

Thank you for the wonderful analysis 12tone!

[BMoney]

I’m 22 and I went to this alt rock rager a month or two ago. Most people there were older than me and a woman was shocked when I told her that I love music from the 90s and early 2000s. I love emo, I love grunge, I love pop punk and I live rock. Being born in 2000 I know I didn’t get to experience the 90s but it’s through music that I have a better understanding of what it was like. Pop punk is still my favorite genre along with rock and I saw Simple Plan and Sun 41 at Radius back in May. The concert was amazing and the atmosphere was perfect. People were singing along with every song, jumping and just having a great time! I’m happy that bands like that are still around today and I hope their music goes on through generations!

[DougSalad]

This song is so good at what it's trying to do.
It very much feels like both a peer telling you they're going through it too and it'll be okay, and like a parental figure bringing comfort to their children.

[tonystark]

I'd love for you to analyze the music chosen for the "Tony Hawk's Pro Skater" series.

[Tomoka]

I'm a bit younger than you at 24 but I will.absolutely always remember The Middle as one of the songs that comforts and energizes me when I need just that little bit of reassurance. Thanks for this.

[ricky]

What's funny is that artists do this stuff naturally, and there are people behind that know the theory and how to translate it

[Lucas.Blevins]

Hey, I literally woke up from a nightmare and needed something to calm my mind and seeing this video cross my feed analyzing what is a warm sense of relief all wrapped up in a nostalgic song was exactly what I needed. Thank you 12tone :)

[chloemchll]

It’s weird…

This was the first Jimmy Eat World song I heard and knew was their song, and I hated it at first. Between it and Sweetness (which for some reason I started associating with the Cher song Believe which I loathe in a very deep way I won’t detail here except to say it colored my initial experience of Sweetness once I made the association) I basically wrote off Jimmy as a band I should bother with. Maybe there was an element to that dislike that came with how inescapable those songs felt while they were popular. In any case, I heard the songs, didn’t like them, and had a negative view of Jimmy as a band because of them.

But, much like the lyric of the song, I guess I didn’t completely write them off, because when Futures came out and in particular when I first heard Work, I started paying attention. I downloaded some more songs off the album based on a friend’s recommendation, and from that I was hooked. Got the album and started playing it constantly (still is my favorite album of theirs). That led to me looking at their back catalogue, and I pretty immediately took to Clarity as an album as well. But the Bleed American album that had The Middle and Sweetness was a slower pick up for me. There were definitely songs I liked immediately (the title track, A Praise Chorus, and Cautioners stood out in particular) and I think this greater context of hearing a wider variety of their music (in particular, that there were songs that weren’t relentlessly optimistic) allowed me to reevaluate the two songs I originally disliked. The Middle in particular actually became a favorite of mine after an extreme negative reaction to it initially, because I needed to have it be the middle of my experience of them rather than the introduction to really understand the point of the song.

I consider myself a reasonably big fan of theirs to this day; I try to catch them when they tour and have seen them do both Clarity and Futures on anniversary tours, as well as several other times in support of whatever their most recent release was.

Thank you for choosing to do one of their songs, and for reading my novella.

[MrMorbitron]

I absolutely love how many Hollow Knight characters you sprinkle into these. Grimm was such an iconic boss.

[Haights]

"if everything had just resolved, the song would feel pretty compleat" I see what you did there