"Simple Kind of Life" is a song written by Gwen Stefani for American rock band No Doubt's fourth album, Return of Saturn (2000).

It received positive reviews from music critics, who noted the song's somber melody and raw lyrics.

[1] Stefani had been writing with bassist Tony Kanal that day, and she wrote the song late at night during what she referred to as "a PMS moment".

Adrian Young's drum parts were mixed through low fidelity filters to get the feel of a lo-fi power ballad.

[2] Stefani describes her relationship as unhealthy because of this disparity, comparing herself to "a sick domestic abuser looking for a fight.

[3] "Simple Kind of Life" is a power pop[5] and lo-fi song[1] composed in the key of C major.

"[7] Entertainment Weekly characterized the song as "manicured power pop" with a melody "buttery to the point of melting".

"[8] Slant Magazine found the song's melodic structure odd, but was pleased by how it "unabashedly delivers double-takes".

[10] In the United States, "Simple Kind of Life" was the most commercially successful single from Return of Saturn.

Stefani has a nightmare during the second chorus, in which she is in an endless hall full of wedding cakes, attempting to stop her bandmates from destroying them.

In the video, Young quickly stands up and leaves as Stefani sings the line "You seem like you'd be a good dad" to play with Dumont and Kanal.