![[Lifes Rich Pageant]](lrp.jpg)
"When I was young and full of grace"
"Grace" is divine influence
in a person. [Ron Henry] * It also means effortless charm or beauty. [Chris Piuma]
"and spirited a rattlesnake."
"Spiriting a rattlesnake"
refers to snake handling Christian cults of US Appalachian region
who incorporate the handling of poisonous snakes into services
as fulfillment of Biblical verse about the holy taming the serpent.
[Ron Henry]
"on your honor"
This is taken from a Boy Scout
oath. [Ron Henry]
"I believe in coyotes"
"Coyote" being the wild
canine, but also the Native American holy trickster spirit. [Ron Henry]
"What you want and what you need"
See also Finest
Worksong. [Ron Henry]
"the horns of the day"
That is, dawn and dusk. [Ron Henry]
* According to ICFTS, the original version of this lyric was
"the hours of the day", but someone misread Stipe's
handwriting, and Stipe preferred the new version. [Chris Piuma]
"Silly rule golden words make"
This refers to the Golden Rule,
"Treat others as you would have them treat you". C.f
previous line: "Think of others and the others will think
of you." [Ron Henry]
"Perfect is a fault, and fault
lines change"
This is word-play linking fault
as in character flaw to fault as in geologic seam. [Ron Henry]
"Example is the checker to the
key"
The "checker" is a Checker
Marathon cab, which Stipe drove, but according to Stipe not significant
except for rhythm and sound of line. [Ron
Henry] * re:checker. i needed a rhyme
and drove a checkcab.doesnt mean a thing. its featured on the
cover of document behind me for the never believers. [Stipe, on AOL]
"And I believe the poles are shifting"
Major geologic and climactic shifts
in the Earth's history have been accompanied by a reversal of
the north and south magnetic poles. [Ron
Henry] * It could also be "polls"
that are shifting; i.e., popular opinion is changing. [Chris Piuma]