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

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Lyrics submitted by TheInvisibleOne, edited by luke32113

Range Life Lyrics as written by Stephen Malkmus

Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group

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Range Life song meanings

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What is meant by "Range Life"?

Chartstopper wrote:

The title "Range Life" appears to be Malkmus's translation of the French term "une vie rangï¿½e," 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 rangï¿½e" 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.
What is meant by "Range Life"? Chartstopper wrote: >>The title "Range Life" appears to be Malkmus's translation of the French term "une vie rangï¿½e," 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 rangï¿½e" 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.

Reason:

moikon February 08, 2012 Link
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@moik

Interesting point. Roving means able to be shifted from place to place, not settled in one location - the opposite of a "range life". Maybe he's trying to draw attention to that by putting "range" in front? Shifting from place to place to different "ranges" so as to find where to settle down?... To be honest, I always thought that lyric was alluding to the Range Rover, the ridiculously expensive SUV. The second generation of the Range Rover came out in '94. Food for thought.

iamtehmadhaton April 28, 2012

Foolish is the idea that people who have stable jobs; decent reputations; earn good money, etc have boring lives. It's a stereotype, and sadly accepted. I have met the most fun people in my lifetime, and some of them were very successful financially (in business or law or the medical profession, etc) while having nice homes and families. They were also the wildest ones at the dance clubs...laughing, drinking, partying, etc. This idea that everyone falls into some round or square hole is silly. We each have multiple sides to us, and a different side shows depending upon the situation and the people we are with. "So the meaning is the same - the narrator yearns for a quaint, quiet, peaceful life - but not right now." There goes the narrator (like many) likening stability to boring. There goes the stereotyping. If I fell for a wild crazy woman, I would kick her to the curb if she changed once I entered her life. We fall for those who will accept us for who we are, providing we are working toward our full potential. Give a woman a recliner, a remote, and she gives us her friends...and I'd show her the door!

IllToast2Thaton December 30, 2012