anonymous November 29th, 2008 01:26PM  
This was the first song The Killers recorded for their Day & Age album, in fact it was recorded during their 2007 Sawdust sessions. Stuart Price, who worked with The Killers on several Sawdust tracks produced this. (Price is best known for co-writing and producing Madonna's Confessions on a Dance Floor.) Frontman Brandon Flowers told Rolling Stonemagazine how they persuaded Price to helm this track: "When we met him, we were just having dinner with him in London about what he was doing for us at Sawdust, helping us with Sawdust. So I just said, 'what are you doing after dinner?' He said he was free, and we went to his house - he has a studio there - and we recorded 'Human.' We just knew that it just sounded so good—it was only a couple hours we spent, and it wasn't much different that it is now." Price went on to produce the rest of their Day & Age.

Flowers told Rolling Stone the story of the song: "I think we were at a weird festival in Germany. I was just trying to have it be a simple tune, with classic chord changes. The way I described it to Stuart was - I remember saying this to him at dinner - "I got this thing, it's like Johnny Cash meets the Pet Shop Boys. Let's go record it." Flowers added that the band did "the meat and potatoes" then Price worked on the "landscape."

Many of the Killers' fans have been mystified why the song's chorus ("Are we human/ Or are we dancer?"), refers to "dancer" in the singular. Some have wondered if Flowers is in fact singing something else, such as, "denser." MTV News asked Flowers about the nonsensical chorus. He replied: "It's taken from a quote by [author Hunter S.] Thompson: 'We're raising a generation of dancers,' and I took it and ran. I guess it bothers people that it's not grammatically correct, but I think I'm allowed to do whatever I want." He added, laughing: "'Denser'? I hadn't heard that one. I don't like 'denser.'"

The Sunday Times November 16, 2008 asked Flowers how much this song is a critique of this tabloid celebrity era. The Killers frontman replied: "It's part of that. I'll say it's a mild social statement and I'm leaving it at that. I don't wanna be a preacher. The devotion part, I think of my parents being married for 45 years and how that's a dying thing and I'm trying to hold onto some of those things. I am very old-fashioned, I guess. And the older I get, the worse it is. But I dunno if that's what people want to hear!"

L1ghtchaser2 December 3rd, 2008 06:15PM  
"I seem to be human, so may I have this dance?"
I did my best to notice when the call came down the line: Aware of my time to move on.
Up to the platform of surrender: Death bed.
I was brought but I was kind: Brought to death; time to move on; I'm ready for what's next; I'm ok with it.
And sometimes I get nervous when I see an open door: Fear of death.
Close your eyes, clear your heart. Cut the cord: It's my time to move on. To die & leave this existence.
Are we human or are we dancer?: Do we exist solely as humans, in our human form, or are we temporal - eternal and have life after death?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold: An outward, visible sign of an inward & spiritual grace of a life that has it's origin other than in the physical.
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer: Praying, entering into a spiritual communion with God.
Pay my respects to grace: God's loving mercy displayed to man for the salvation of his soul.
...and virtue: An order of Angels (moral excellence & goodness).
Send my condolences to good: Sad to leave and say goodbye to the past.
Hear my regards to soul and romance: Say goodbye to my human form & close loved ones.
They always did the best they could: Taught me to live in grace & with virtue.
And so long to devotion. You taught me everything I know: Goodbye to love given with the whole heart & will (i.e. parents, family & friends).
Wave goodbye, wish me well. You've gotta let me go: It's my time to move on. Don't be sad, I'm moving to a better place.
Will your system be alright when you dream of home tonight: What will happen to your vital bodily functions, your ideas & images of the past, your place of birth (earth, this existence) when it happens (death)?
There is no message we're receiving: Written or spoken communication.
Let me know, is your heart still beating?: Have you left this life, this existence?
Single line - You've gotta let me KNOW: Is there more to it than I've been taught or heard of?
Last chorus - Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold.
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer.
Are we human or are we dancer... and leave tis existence because we surrender our spirit, our everlasting spirit, and go because it is time for the next phase? Does my soul exist for eternity? Do we exist in other forms? Do we return in another human form, as an animal, or as a spirit? Do we come back because we left business unfinished and we must try again to make things right? Do you believe in Karma? Do you ever get the feeling that we as humans aren't getting it right and also not doing it right. We are HUMAN so let's strive for balance and harmony. We are DANCER so let's free ourselves of fear. We can dance alone (since this is where it starts - a good inner you)and give instead of taking so much(as in GREED). And we can dance with partners - humankind, mother earth, and a supreme being be it God or any name you have to describe the center of your universe. We'll dance until...

Peace
IthinkI'm1

kirvinki January 3rd, 2009 08:46AM  
I hope I can convey this to you as best as I see it.

I think this song is about a generation of people who cannot stand up and take responsibility/control of their lives as they should.
We do see "open doors" and opportunities, however we do not know how to use them. "cut the cord"
We are a generation , or even a smaller smaller group of individuals, and we all understand and have morals, virtues, and great faith in each of us.
We were taught by our parents and upbringing everything we needed to survive in life. But as children of the 80's, 90's, we saw the world change drastically.
And this is where we have no answers. we know we are human, but we feel like dancers. Dancers have a short shelf life.
we do not know what the future holds "there is no message we're recieving"
let me know, is your heart still beating
To me, it asks how long will we have this planet that we call home.

anonymous January 5th, 2009 11:09PM  
The more understandable version of this song is the book "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. (and perhaps Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury)
To me, this song talks about a partying way of life: Are we dancers? Is dancing (partying) all we live for? (Or are we human and therefore have a larger purpose?)- Note that Hunter S. Thompson said America is "raising a generation of dancers."
Ultimately, this is a song, too, about nihilistic beliefs:
"Pay my respects to grace and virtue
send my condolences to good
give my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could
so long to devotion . . ."
These "useless" sentiments are dying out. And also:
"There's no message we're receiving."

Also, the decline of exploration and curiosity:
"Sometimes I get nervous when I see an open door"
We've become so comfortable and spoiled . . .
"Cut the cord" might be talking about growing up and breaking free of the corrosive trash culture.
"My signs are vital/My hands are cold" has a contradictory feel that could be questioning what "living" really means: are you "living" if all you seek is pleasure? What does it mean to be human? He's on his knees, forced down by the magnitude and importance of this question, praying that he can find the answer. As we all are . . .

danceprometheus December 13th, 2009 11:04PM  
It clicked when I watched their official music video, with the animals... It seems very obvious he is talking about death, "up to the platform of surrender," "cut the chord", and he is earnestly on his knees asking "Are we human or are we dance?" and there are some tigers, in the video, and they swap faces on picture frames of themselves, etc....namely, reincarnation, or some sort of transformation after death. The sad thing is though, I believe the answer is the only transformation we have is turning into worm food, then their poop, then maybe dirt, and so on, there is no concsiousness or immortalness of the soul.

anonymous December 18th, 2009 12:44AM  
I know this is probably not what The Killers meant for their song to mean, but this is how I first saw it.

It seemed to be about a breakup (cliché, I know, but stay with me).

The first verse is about the breakup itself -- how he didn't see it coming, but was respectable about it nonetheless ("I was brought but I was kind"). He is nervous about being apart (the "open door"), but he closes his eyes, clears his heart, and cuts the cord of their bond with one another.

The question "Are we human or are we dancer?" I thought to be a question about fate and destiny. Are we human (considered the highest, most intelligent life form and thus capable of controlling our futures), or are we dancer (merely puppets going through the already choreographed motions of life)? In relation to the breakup, he's basically asking if there was anything he could have done differently, or if this was meant to happen the way it did. When he sings, "My sign is vital, my hands are cold," I also thought of this in relation to the breakup -- he's alive still, but feels dead/numb somewhat. He wants to know if he could have done something differently.

The second verse, about saying goodbye to grace, virtue, good, soul, romance, etc. Seemed to mean that he's either giving up on relationships for the time being, or that he's prepared to go back out into the world after having learned a great deal from them ("you taught me everything I know").

"Will your system be alright when you dream of home tonight?" to me meant that although the two are no longer in a relationship, he still hopes she'll be okay when she dreams of home (being with him, or wherever her heart is). "There's no message we're receiving, let me know is your heart still beating?" could mean that they've stopped communicating, as most exes do after a breakup, and he just wants to know that she's still alive and okay.

And then back to the chorus.

Of course, this interpretation is purely my own. I just thought I'd share it.

anonymous January 21st, 2010 08:44PM  
The song is about the actual time we die. Dancer to me represents moving on past this life like when u dance in a club like Berlin those of u who don't live in chicago don't know. But to me it is about al the things that you did the best you can to live and believe in. Then youmove on. Or it could mean nothing.

anonymous February 3rd, 2010 01:30PM  
I think this song is saying are we acting and doing things for ourself or are we controlled by other things and people around us like the goverment for example that's just what I think

gtilto June 23rd, 2010 01:13AM  
I think Human has the most fascinating lines of lyrics that I have heard in years. The inspiration of the line, "are we dancer", certainly comes from Hunter Thompson, but I think it is misleading to read too much into the original source. Flowers said that he took the line and ran with it. Hence, I am not inclined to read too much into the original inspiration for the writing of the song.

I am more inclined to take my cues from the video, where I think The Killers indicate a different direction for understanding the underlying meaning of the song. The imagery from the video would suggest to me that the song contrasts the mortal state of being human against the possible state beyond mortality. Dancer then becomes a condition beyond what we can possibly fathom, and hence, I find the controversy surrounding the meaning of the word "dancer" altogether appropriate. We don't understand the meaning of the word "dancer" any more than we know what becomes of us upon our human death.

I think "when the call comes down the line" is a reference to the inevitable call we all face at the end or our human lives. Hopefully we all face it with some grace: "I was brought but I was kind". We obviously will be nervous upon the call, but the song encourages us to yield to the inevitable: "close your eyes, clear your heart, cut the chord."

At this point we don't really know what is on the other side. So we ask the question of whether we are human or whether we have a spiritual existence beyond our current lives. From the moment we are born we begin to die: "My sign is vital, my hands are cold." We keep looking for the answer. Are we human, or are we part of something that extends beyond this life - are we dancer?

If we leave this life in style, we pay our "respects to grace and virtue". We send our "condolences to good", though we full well know not all in human life is so. We treasure "soul and romance" for it gives us hope of what's to follow. Hopefully life's treasures of "soul and romance" served us well by doing "the best they could" do.

In the end we've known "devotion". It's what has made our spirits rise. But at the end of human life, it's time to "wave goodbye", please "wish me well", and "let me go". Those who have known me should continue on with their own human journey. But those who continue onward must face the question: "Are we human or are we dancer?"

Now we only can ask this question of those who have gone before us. We must ask them "will your system be all right?" While those who have departed may "dream of home tonight", for the living "there is no message we are receiving". We want to ask them whether the hearts of their spirits are "still beating"? With our questions unanswered, we must again ask ourselves "are we human or are we dancer?"

We're on our "knees looking for the answer". We plead with them to let us know. "Are we human or are we dancer?" Is there somthing that comes after? "You've got to let me know."