Range Life

Pavement

After the glow, the scene, the stage
The sad talk becomes slow but there's one thing I'll never forget
Hey, you gotta pay your dues before you pay the rent
Over the turnstiles and out in the traffic
There's ways of living, it's the way I'm living, right or wrong
It's all that I can do and I wouldn't want to let you be

I want a range life if, I could settle down
If I could settle down, then I would settle down
I want a range life, if I could settle down
If I could settle down, then I would settle down

Run from the pigs, the fuzz, the cops, the heat
Pass me your gloves, this crime, it is never complete
Until you snort it up or shoot it down, you're never gonna feel free
Out on my skateboard, the night is just humming
And the gum smacks are the pulse I'll follow if my walkman fades
Well, I got absolutely no one, no one but myself to blame
Don't worry, we're in no hurry, school's out, what did you expect?

I want a range life if, I could settle down
If I could settle down, then I would settle down
I want a range life, if I could settle down
If I could settle down, then I would settle down
Yeah

Out on tour with the Smashing Pumpkins
Nature kids, I, they don't have no function
I don't understand what they mean and I could really give a fuck
Stone Temple Pilots, they're elegant bachelors
They're foxy to me, are they foxy to you?
I will agree they deserve absolutely nothing, nothing more than me

Dreaming, dream, dream, dream, dream, dream, dream


Lyrics submitted by TheInvisibleOne, edited by luke32113

Range Life Lyrics as written by Stephen Malkmus

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC

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Range Life song meanings
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42 Comments

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  • +6
    General CommentMy girlfriend in college loved Smashing Pumpkins and hated Pavement because of this song and rivalry. Needless to say Pavement was/is my favorite band. They were always inspired, if lazy genius over hack technical proficiency. The best, laziest band ever.

    No, Tina and I didn't fall in love to Pavement, but years later, she's gone, probably a lawyer or some other crap. I'm a professional temp, but I bet I have more fun.

    And what about STP, they're foxy to me, are they foxy to you?
    DevastatorJr.on January 25, 2005   Link
  • +5
    General CommentWhat is meant by "Range Life"?

    Chartstopper wrote:

    >>The title "Range Life" appears to be Malkmus's translation of the French term "une vie rang�e," which means an ordered, structured life. A range life would be an ordinary life, an "arranged" life, a comfortable life, a life of shady lanes perhaps. Malkmus probably studied French at UVA. I realized that he must have been referring to "une vie rang�e" when I encountered the term in a poem I studied in a French class a few years ago. From what I've heard, he finally found his range life with his wife, his kids, and his well-established career. Maybe that's why his music doesn't do much for me anymore. There was so much emotion in his voice on those old Pavement records. <<

    I think this sums it up, but I always considered it to relate to an American idiom from "Home on the Range."

    Something like this:

    Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam,
    Where the deer and the antelope play,
    Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
    And the skies are not cloudy all day.

    Home, home on the range,
    Where the deer and the antelope play;
    Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
    And the skies are not cloudy all day.

    So the meaning is the same - the narrator yearns for a quaint, quiet, peaceful life - but not right now. Maybe the French idiom relates to the American song (?????)

    But there's another thought, also, in Elevate Me Later:

    Those who sleep with electric guitars
    Range roving with the cinema stars
    And I wouldn't want to shake their hand
    Cause they're in such a high protein land

    Is this also what SM means by "Range Life"? Probably not - but just a thought.
    moikon February 08, 2012   Link
  • +4
    General CommentPumpkins never will have the talent or the lyrical value that Pavement/Stephen Malkmus has.
    Corgan had a bogus reason too...he didnt like Malkmus, he demanded they be dropped from the tour or else he would leave.
    "People dont fall in love to Pavements music, they fall in love while listening to Smashing Pumpkins." -Billy Corgan

    Meaning of the song is pretty clear..its about the band on tour, no question.
    Amnesiac Angelson May 26, 2004   Link
  • +4
    General CommentBilly Corgan is one of the most pissy, egotistical bitches in the music industry. Why people actually like him or respect him, I will never know.

    He recently launched a ridiculously insulting and blatantly transphobic tirade against effects pedal designer Devi Ever.

    "you ugly piece of shit...if i ever run into you, anywhere, at anytime, for as long as i live, i will knock your fucking lights out. don't ever come near me, and if i hear even one more peep out of you in public about me, or the band, or the members of the band, i am gonna sue you for so much you'll never be able to afford so much as to even make a fucking guitar cable."
    RaygunShaunon September 03, 2011   Link
  • +3
    General CommentFucking Billy Corgan. Whatever, dude.

    ANYWAY, this is one of my favorite Pavement songs ever. I don't care what it means, and with Pavement ... who fucking knows anyway?
    nitsirhcon December 29, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General CommentOn the booklet that comes with the album Malkimus says that he wrote the part about the smashing pumpkins to prove a point that people and the media would get more caught up with him making fun off the smashing pumpkins then actually focusing on oh I dont know the music which is exactly what happened.

    I think the song is about living life and having all this excitement in your life and enjoying that but at the same time wanting to settle down
    rjbassgon January 31, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General CommentThis is probably the best country-rock song that's not on The Byrds' "Sweetheart of the Rodeo." Even if you don't care much about the Pavement/Pumpkins drama, you can still enjoy the catchy-as-hell melody.
    brilliantcareeron November 12, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General CommentI beg to differ that people don't fall in love listening to Pavement.

    I have. I have had my heartbroken to Pavement, and then had it sewn back up to Pavement.

    The Pumpkins have not made a significant dent in the life of anyone with whom I'm familiar or my own. Pavement thought, has honestly changed mine.

    Corgan has NOTHING on Malkmus.
    love your buttonson May 10, 2007   Link
  • +2
    General CommentThe title "Range Life" appears to be Malkmus's translation of the French term "une vie rangée," which means an ordered, structured life. A range life would be an ordinary life, an "arranged" life, a comfortable life, a life of shady lanes perhaps. Malkmus probably studied French at UVA. I realized that he must have been referring to "une vie rangée" when I encountered the term in a poem I studied in a French class a few years ago. From what I've heard, he finally found his range life with his wife, his kids, and his well-established career. Maybe that's why his music doesn't do much for me anymore. There was so much emotion in his voice on those old Pavement records.
    Chartstopperon October 14, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Commenti want a range life...
    purplehaze8xon March 25, 2005   Link

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