About The Song
“Feelin’ Alright” began as a deliberately simple two-chord song Dave Mason wrote while stepping away from Traffic’s early whirlwind. In a later songwriting interview, Mason said he left the band for a time, traveled with a guitar, and wrote the song on the Greek island of Hydra. He also emphasized the punctuation: it was “feelin’ alright?” with a question mark, because the lyric is really about not feeling alright—an unrequited, off-balance state dressed up as a catchy refrain.
Traffic first recorded the song for their self-titled 1968 album Traffic, and it quickly became the kind of composition other singers wanted to reshape. Mason later credited Joe Cocker’s arrangement as the version that helped spark the song’s huge afterlife, with countless covers following. Three Dog Night joined that chain early, cutting their own take for Suitable for Framing, released June 11, 1969 on Dunhill.
For Three Dog Night, the choice fit their identity: they were expert interpreters who could take strong outside material and make it sound like a band trademark. They even put “Feelin’ Alright” in the most revealing spot—track one. The sessions also added a notable ingredient: members of the Chicago horn section appear on the recording (and on “Celebrate” from the same album), giving the track a punchier, more soul-leaning profile than a straight rock cover.
Suitable for Framing was a commercial step forward. The album reached No. 16 on the Billboard 200, and it produced major U.S. singles such as “Easy to Be Hard” (No. 4 on the Hot 100), “Eli’s Coming” (No. 10), and “Celebrate” (No. 15). “Feelin’ Alright” was not the primary single in the United States, but opening the LP with it signaled what kind of record they were making: confident, eclectic, and built to work as an album, not just a playlist of singles.
There’s also a live-life clue to how much the band valued the track. Later in 1969 they released Captured Live at the Forum, and “Feelin’ Alright” was one of the songs chosen to represent their stage show from that period. Three Dog Night’s reputation was as much about performance force as studio polish; if a song earned a place on a live album, it usually meant it delivered in the room.
The core idea stays intact even as the delivery shifts. Mason wrote it as a personal “not okay” statement hiding inside a phrase that sounds upbeat. Three Dog Night turn it into a group declaration, sharing the lead among Danny Hutton, Chuck Negron, and Cory Wells, while the horns underline the tension between the words and the groove.
That’s why their version remains worth hearing on its own terms. It keeps Mason’s question-mark premise, but it also captures Three Dog Night at a key moment—tight vocal blend, smart song selection, and a production choice (brass) that nudged the song toward American soul-rock without erasing its British roots.
Video
Lyric
Seems i’ve got to have a change in scene
Every night i have the strangest dreams
Imprisoned by the way it should have been
Left here on my own or so it seems
I’ve got to leave before i start to scream
Someone’s locked the door, she’s took the key
Feelin alright?
I’m not feelin to good myself
Feelin alright i’m not feeling to good myself
Well, boy you sure took me for one big ride
And even now i sit and wonder why
And when i think of you i start to cry
I just can’t wipe my face, i must keep dry
I gotta stop believin’ in all your lies
Cause there’s so much to do before i die
Feelin alright?
I’m not feelin to good myself
Feelin alright i’m not feeling to good myself
(feelin’ alright)don’t believe in all i say
(i’m not feelin’ to good myself)
Cause at that time i really felt that way
(feelin’ alright)but that was then and now it is today
(i’m not feelin’ to good myself)
I can’t get off so yet, i’m here to stay
(feelin’ alright)till someone comes along and takes my place
(feelin’ alright)with a different name and yes a different place
Feelin alright?
I’m not feelin to good myself
Dee dee dee dee dee dee dee
Feelin alright, alright, alright, alright, i’m not feeling to good myself
Good god, good god almighty i feel good
Feelin alright, alright, alright, alright, i’m not feeling to good myself
Feelin alright?
I’m not feelin to good myself
Feelin alright, alright, alright, alright, i’m not feeling to good myself