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Out Of Range

by Ani DiFranco

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1.
buildings and bridges are made to bend in the wind to withstand the world that’s what it takes all that steel and stone are no match for the air my friend what doesn’t bend breaks we are made to bleed and scab and heal and bleed again and turn every scar into a joke we are made to fight and fuck and talk and fight again and sit around and laugh until we choke i don’t know who you were expecting probably some bitch who does not budge with eyes the size of snow i may get pissed off sometimes but you seem like the type to hold a grudge and in the end i just let it go buildings and bridges are made to bend in the wind to withstand the world that’s what it takes all that steel and stone are no match for the air my friend what doesn’t bend breaks
2.
just the thought of our bed makes me crumble like the plaster where you punched the wall beside my head and i try to draw the line but it ends up running down the middle of me most of the time boys get locked up in some prison girls get locked up in some house and it don’t matter if it’s a warden or a lover or a spouse you just can’t talk to ‘em you just can’t reason you just can’t leave and you just can’t please ‘em i was locked into being my mother’s daughter i was just eating bread and water thinking nothing ever changes then i was shocked to see the mistakes of each generation will just fade like a radio station if you drive out of range if you’re not angry then you’re just stupid or you don’t care how else can you react when you know something’s so unfair when the men of the hour can kill half the world in war or make them slaves to a superpower and then let them die poor i was locked into being my mother’s daughter i was just eating bread and water thinking nothing ever changes then i was shocked to see the mistakes of each generation will just fade like a radio station if you drive out of range just the thought of our bed makes me crumble like the plaster where you punched the wall beside my head and i try to draw the line but it ends up running down the middle of me most of the time baby i love you that’s why i’m leaving there’s just no talking to you and there’s just no pleasing you and i care enough that i’m mad that half the world don’t even know what they could’a had i was locked into being my mother’s daughter i was just eating bread and water thinking nothing ever changes then i was shocked to see the mistakes of each generation will just fade like a radio station if you drive you just gotta drive out of range
3.
don’t ask me why i’m crying i’m not gonna tell you what’s wrong i’m just gonna sit on your lap for five dollars a song i want you to pay me for my beauty i think it’s only right ‘cause i have been paying for it all of my life i’m gonna take the money i make and i’m gonna go away we barely have time to react in this world let alone rehearse and i don’t think that i’m better than you but i don’t think that i’m worse women learn to be women and men learn to be men and i don’t blame it all on you but i don’t want to be your friend i’m gonna take the money i make and i’m gonna go away i was eleven years old he was as old as my dad and he took something from me i didn’t even know that i had so don’t tell me about decency don’t tell me about pride just give me something for my trouble ‘cause this time it’s not a free ride i’m just gonna take the money i make and i’m gonna go away don’t ask me why i’m crying i’m not gonna tell you what’s wrong i’m just gonna sit on your lap for five dollars a song i want you to pay me for my beauty i think it’s only right ‘cause i have been paying for it all of my life now i just wanna take i’m just gonna take i’m gonna take and i’m gonna go away
4.
Hell Yeah 05:01
life is a b-movie it’s stupid and it’s strange it’s a directionless story and the dialogue is lame but in the he said she said sometimes there’s some poetry if you turn your back long enough and let it happen naturally oh yeah hell yeah i got a face like a limp handshake hair like an accident scene i’ve been waking up slowly savoring the same old dream and somewhere in between the folds of your memory i was sleeping soundly oh yeah hell yeah ‘cause i like you but i know you don’t know it i like you so much i talk to everyone but you and i wonder what you would think of this little number yeah i wonder what you would say if you knew if you don’t ask the right questions every answer feels wrong i was a terrible waitress so i started to write songs and i don’t know how i feel but i wonder if you feel like me do you ever get wrapped up in the folds of my memory oh yeah hell yeah ‘cause i like you but i know you don’t know it i like you so much i talk to everyone but you and i wonder what you would think of this little number yeah i wonder what you would say if you knew there’s a river of people that runs past my eyes it’s beautiful enough just to watch it go by but the trouble with water is she’ll always leave you for gravity i never even told you i had a crush on you or anything oh yeah hell yeah life is a b-movie it’s stupid and it’s strange it’s a directionless story and the dialogue is lame but in the he said she said sometimes there’s some poetry if you turn your back long enough and let it happen naturally oh yeah hell yeah
5.
you could always hear the rub squeaking of those two tree limbs ‘til one day one of them came down taken down by the wind but on the one that’s still there you can still see where the bark was rubbed bare it’s a metaphor if you know what i mean how have you been me and you and your girlfriend makes three in the interest of even numbers i will make myself scarce i’ll make myself scarcely me but i’ll be outside your window at night pull up your shades leave on your light ‘cause i don’t want to come in between i just want to know how have you been i leave for a living music is just something i do on my way to the door and i’d do almost anything once something about you i think i’d do you more if i had my way i’d stay here and watch your hair grow for awhile makes me smile just to dream of it how have you been
6.
Overlap 03:44
i search your profile for a translation i study the conversation like a map ‘cause i know there is strength in the differences between us and i know there is comfort where we overlap come here stand in front of the light stand still so i can see your silhouette i hope that you have got all night cause i’m not done looking yet each one of us wants a piece of the action you can hear it in what we say you can see it in what we do we negotiate with chaos for some sense of satisfaction if you won’t give it to me at least give me a better view come here stand in front of the light stand still so i can see your silhouette i hope that you have got all night cause i’m not done looking yet i build each one of my songs out of glass so you could see me inside them i suppose or you could just leave the image of me in the background i guess and watch your own reflection superimposed i build each one of my days out of hope and i give that hope your name and i don’t know you that well but it don’t take much to tell either you don’t have the balls or you don’t feel the same come here stand in front of the light stand still so i can see your silhouette i hope that you have got all night cause i’m not done looking yet i search your profile for a translation and i study the conversation like a map ‘cause i know there is strength in the differences between us and i know there is comfort where we overlap
7.
some guy tried to rub up against me on a crowded subway car some guy tried to feed me some stupid line in some stupid bar i see the same shit every day the landscape looks so bleak i think i‘ll take the first one of you’s home that does something unique some chick says thank you for saying all the things i never do i say you know the thanks i get is to take all the shit for you it’s nice that you listen it’d be nicer if you joined in as long as you play their game girl you’re never going to win today i just want someone to entertain me i‘m tired of being so fierce i’m tired of being so friendly you don’t have to be a supermodel to do the animal thing you don’t have to be a super genius to open your face up and sing somebody do something anything soon i know i can’t be the only whatever i am in the room so why am i so lonely why am i so tired i need backup i need company i need to be inspired
8.
you give me that look that’s like laughing with liquid in your mouth like you’re choosing between choking and spitting it all out like you’re trying to fight gravity on a planet that insists that love is like falling and falling is like this feels like reckless driving when we’re talking it’s fun while it lasts and it’s faster than walking but no one is going to sympathize when we crash they’ll say you hit what you head for you get what you ask and we’ll say we didn’t know we didn’t even try one minute there was road beneath us and the next just sky i’m sorry i can’t help you i cannot keep you safe sorry i can’t help myself so don’t look at me that way we can’t fight gravity on a planet that insists that love is like falling and falling is like this
9.
10.
You Had Time 05:49
how can i go home with nothing to say i know you’re going to look at me that way and say what did you do out there and what did you decide you said you needed time and you had time you are a china shop and i am a bull you are really good food and i am full i guess everything is timing i guess everything’s been said so i am coming home with an empty head you’ll say did they love you or what and i’ll say they love what i do the only one who really loves me is you and you’ll say girl did you kick some butt and i’ll say i don’t really remember but my fingers are sore and my voice is too you’ll say it’s really good to see you you’ll say i missed you horribly you’ll say let me carry that give that to me and you will take the heavy stuff and you will drive the car and i’ll look out the window and make jokes about the way things are how can i go home with nothing to say i know you’re going to look at me that way and say what did you do out there what did you decide you said you needed time and you had time
11.
i’m invincible so are you we do all the things they say we can’t do we walk around in the middle of the night and if it’s too far to walk we just hitch a ride we got rings of dirt around our necks we talk like auctioneers and we bounce like checks we smell like shit still when we walk down the street all the boys line up to throw themselves at our feet i say i think he likes you you say i think he do too i say go and get him girl before he gets you i’ll be watching from the wings i will come to your rescue if he tries anything it’s a long long road it’s a big big world we are wise wise women we are giggling girls we both carry a smile to show when we’re pleased we both carry a switchblade in our sleeves tell you one thing i’m going to make noise when i go down for ten square blocks they’re gonna know i died all the goddesses will come up to the ripped screen door and say what do you want dear and i’ll say i want inside i say i think he likes you you say i think he do too i say go and get him girl before he gets you i’ll be watching you from the wings i will come to your rescue if he tries anything
12.
The Diner 04:39
i’m calling from the diner the diner on the corner i ordered two coffees one is for you i was hoping you’d join me ‘cause i ain’t got no money and i really miss you i should mention that too yes i know what time it is in fact i just checked i even know the date and the month and the year i know i haven’t been sleeping and when i do i just dream of you dear i miss watching you drool on your pillow i miss watching you pull on your clothes i miss listening to you in the bathroom flushing the toilet blowing your nose i’m calling from the diner the diner on the corner i ordered two coffees one is for you and the cups are so close that the steam is rising in one stream how are you i think yer the least fucked up person i’ve ever met and that may be as close to the real thing as i’m ever gonna get but my quarter’s gonna run out now or so i’m told i guess i’d better go sit down i will wait for you ‘till my coffee gets cold

about

Out of Range could charm the speakers off of a stereo. DiFranco's percussive guitar style and lyrics provide a playful atmosphere that will make you crack a smile and put a swagger in your step. There are many colors at work and while the songs are at times confrontational, they are never without humor. Throughout the record there is a dynamic conversation between poetry and music.

Many of these ditties still compete for space on Ani's setlists and with good reason. The title track "Out of Range" explores the timeless rebellion against the status quo of gender roles handed down from generation to generation. Another contender is "Letter to a John," this sex worker classic gives AC/DC's Back In Black a run for its money at countless strip bars across the country. The heart provoking "You Had Time" features Ani's piano playing as well as the usual bevy of beauty created with her guitar and singing.

Out of Range is chalk full of guest musicians and a variety of sounds. Andy Stochansky's presence on drums and backing vocals is always a recipe for fun. The album is predominately acoustic guitar based but some other instruments strutting their stuff are horns, steel/bass/electric guitars, accordion, piano, and table setting percussion. The expansive arrangements include percussive call and response joy rides as well as the spare intimate guitarification* synonymous with the Folksinger.

Both eloquent and evocative, Out of Range is another gem in the big dish of sparkly things in the Ani DiFranco repertoire.

*guitarification: ferocious finger picking and sonic scintillation most commonly found on or about Ani DiFranco's guitar.

Hair: Green
Love: Lighthearted and Sincere
Artwork: Mixed media collage
Misc. A live version of "Overlap" with guest musicians Julie Wolf and Erin McKeown appears in the film Render: Spanning Time With Ani Difranco.
RBR: Scot Fisher, Ani's best friend and manager, plays accordion on "Face Up and Sing." He also took those pretty pictures that make up the album art.
Additional Players: Alisdair Jones – bass, Chris Brown – piano, Sara McElcheran – trumpet, Collen Allen – saxophone, Stephen Donald – trombone, Scot Fisher - accordion

credits

released March 1, 1994

1994, 1994 Righteous Babe Records distributed by United For Opportunity

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Ani DiFranco New Orleans, Louisiana

Grammy winner and feminist icon Ani DiFranco began her career as a proponent of the artist-run label, creating her own Righteous Babe Records in 1990. Since then she has released over twenty studio albums and supported a broad range of social causes including racial justice, reproductive rights, gender equality, environmental issues and prison reform. ... more

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