The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range

Roger Waters

You have a natural tendency
To squeeze off a shot
You're good fun at parties
You wear the right masks

You're old but you still
Like a laugh in the locker room
You can't abide change
You're at home on the range

You opened your suitcase
Behind the old workings
To show off the magnum
You deafened the canyon

A comfort a friend
Only upstaged in the end
By the Uzi machine gun
Does the recoil remind you

Remind you of sex
Old man what the hell you gonna kill next
Old timer who you gonna kill next
I looked over Jordan and what did I see

Saw a U.S. Marine in a pile of debris
I swam in your pools
And lay under your palm trees
I looked in the eyes of the Indian

Who lay on the Federal Building steps
And through the range finder over the hill
I saw the front line boys popping their pills
Sick of the mess they find

On their desert stage
And the bravery of being out of range
Yeah the question is vexed
Old man what the hell you gonna kill next

Old timer who you gonna kill next
Hey bartender over here
Two more shots
And two more beers

Sir turn up the TV sound
The war has started on the ground
Just love those laser guided bombs
They're really great

For righting wrongs
You hit the target
And win the game
From bars 3,000 miles away

3,000 miles away
We play the game
With the bravery of being out of range
We zap and maim

With the bravery of being out of range
We strafe the train
With the bravery of being out of range
We gain terrain

With the bravery of being out of range
With the bravery of being out of range
We play the game
With the bravery of being out of range


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The Bravery of Being Out of Range Lyrics as written by Roger Waters

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The Bravery Of Being Out Of Range song meanings
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17 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment
    It's probably George Bush Sr. Roger was very critical of the Gulf War. Basically all Roger is saying "Don't you feel brave that you're able to blow the shit out of country that has marginally effective airforce from the safety of an isolated country 3,000 miles away and then posting this all over the tv like this is some kind of fucking form of entertainment or a tv show?"
    BrainDamageon August 24, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment
    the title pretty much says it all...this album amazes me every time i listen to it. The intelligence it took to come up with this and then present it on such a grand scale amazes me... great song
    pinkubus_floydon July 08, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment
    this was originally about ronald reagan but when he put the finishing touches on the piece it was directed more towards Poppy Bush, and BrainDamage is right. thats what american republicans do, blow up 3rd world countries, and they're damn good at it, which is a good thing cause they're not good at anything else. Brain damage was quoting Carlin. Carlin described war as a bunch of men standing in a field waving their pricks at one another and the gulf war was nothing but a big prick waving dick fight in order to improve our self esteem and compensate for our inferiority complex. Well said carlin, good song roger
    DarkSideoftheWallon April 28, 2003   Link
  • +2
    General Comment
    Amused to death is a concept inspired by the book "Amusing Ourselves to Death" by Neil Postman. Each of the songs on the album relate to, and express his distaste of how ALL television - even the news - is, or is becoming entertainment. In "the Bravery of Being Out of Range", Mr Waters is making a number of points. Initially, he seems to be sneering at George Snr, expressing his horror at the cavalier attitute that Bush showed going to war with Iraq and then shakes his finger at the gentlemen that ask the bartender to turn up the TV so they can look at, hear and enjoy the war effort without getting out of their seats.
    Banjaxedon September 30, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    I think the idea is not that the song is against fighting from out of range, but picking on weaker opponents in such a way that they have no possible chance of retaliation. You longer need a good military, just good weapons. Also, we prevent these countries from ever having a chance to defend themselves, which means that if we are wrong, we suffer nothing for it. Also, this "smart" warfare, as you call it, hagakure, encourages warfare. When you can attack anyone and anything without fear of retribution, you will not be inhibited by anything but your conscience (and we all know how reliable that is). And honestly, there really is very little "smart" warfare. Still, an interesting view.
    inpraiseoffollyon July 15, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    the 'old man' always makes me think of Ronald Reagan, for some reason.
    FelixCloudon July 27, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    It could also be about the Falklands War as the British had superior fire power to the Argentinians and could hit a target from twice the distance the Argentinians could so the British were effectively "out of range".
    Arnold Layneon April 04, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Awsome song, awesome album. I think Roger on his own is better than Pink Floyd ever was.
    werummon February 25, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    It's about long range missiles, and how their's no honor in war anymore, because all you have to do is push a button to blow the enemy to smithereens.
    inpraiseoffollyon June 03, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Waters was very anit-war. This is clear throughout his entire career. If I may go off topic... I won't deny that Republicans fight horrible wars... But what about that one war called Vietnam? Anywho, this is obviously lambasting modern warfare PERIOD. War has become COMPLETELY impersonal, war can be waged from the comfort of a computer desk. There's no honor in clicking somewhere on a screen and then wiping out a few dozen human beings.
    Ingannoon June 06, 2006   Link

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