Cruelwinter December 14th, 2005 07:18PM  

Jenny and the singer where in a deep relationship that ended badly one night. Jenny goes missing and is found dead, the singer is under investigation by the police. The singer is saying why would I hurt Jenny? "Jenny was a friend of mine". But the singer begins to let more and more tibits about the iner workings of there relationship leak out, showing the police that there is more to story. He loved her, but things went really bad.

lola January 15th, 2006 02:27AM  

It's a case of "I love you, but I'm not in love with you"
(she said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go)

and he goes into a jealous rage and smothers her to death
(she couldn't scream when I held her close, I swore I'd never let her go)

classic case of "if I can't have you, then no one will"

dez June 7th, 2006 02:09PM  

This song is a little tricky because it has a very open ending, you can take to a darker side or a lighter side.
My opinion- The singer and Jenny used to date but Jenny wanted to end it. The singer couldn't face losing her ("I swore i'd never let her go.."), and thus the crime is committed. It isn't exactly clear whether he killed her or just assaulted her. "I held her so close, she couldn't scream," suggests there was a physical struggle between the two but it may not mean he killed her. We know it was a crime because the word is thrown around a lot, so whether the singer roughed jenny up or went all the way with murder (whether accidental or not),it is left to the listener's imagination.

prongs666 July 17th, 2006 10:58AM  

It doesn't necessarily say that she broke up with him...

anonymous September 17th, 2006 03:54PM  

Listen to "midnight show".. Then listen to "jenny was friend of mine" it makes sum sense to me

anonymous November 9th, 2006 07:50PM  

He must kill her, 'i held her close... Etc' and also 'there ain't no motive for this crime4'

anonymous February 19th, 2007 03:51PM  

"We took a walk that night but it wasn't the same,
We had a fight out on the promenade out in the rain."

I think that Jenny and the singer were friends - only he was in love with her. She, however, only loved him as a friend, and when he told her he was in love with her, she freaked out a little.

"She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go."

I think that's definitely Jenny trying to get away from him, because he's starting to scare her. The singer can't take the rejection because he loves her so much, and ends up killing her.

"She couldn't scream while I held her close, I swore I'd never let her go."

Naturally, he gets arrested for murder, and he's talking to the police. The repetition of 'Jenny was a friend of mine' is ironic because all that they had was friendship, but he wanted much, much more.

anonymous August 26th, 2007 07:06PM  

"I swore I'd never let her go" This can only mean he won't let go of her girlfriend. "Let go of something" can only refer to something you "have". You "don't let go of something you HAVE". And "have" in this context can only mean a girlfriend. He wouldn't say that of a lover or a friend. So he MUST have a girlfriend.

He is talking to the cops, and talking about how he swore never to let go of her girlfriend, etc. So the cops MUST KNOW about his girlfriend. And thus, the crime must be upon her.

Now, there IS a crime. That's why he is being interrogated. I think he does commit the crime, because of his oath. But I'm not sure of that. But lets assume for a while I'm right.

Why does he have to commit a crime? Surely, his girlfriend either wants to leave (doesn't love him any more)or will leave eventually (if she finds out something like him having an affair).

Now... Jenny is NOT his girlfriend. She is either his lover or just a friend. But given the options, "just a friend" doesn't fit, so she is probably his lover. She is not his girlfriend because he is talking to the cops about her girlfriend, and at the same time he says that Jenny is just a friend. So lets add.

What I think happened is that the girlfriend found out about Jenny, and wanted to leave, but didn't know how to tell him. He started to notice weird actions, and then they had a fight. He was so obsessed with not leting go of her girlfriend, that accidentally kills her. Then, the cops take him in, and he has to start explain. He tries to say he didn't do it, that there wasn't a motive, and that jenny was just a friend.

Another explination is that his girlfriend only though that jenny was his lover, but actually wasn't. And the rest is the same.

anonymous September 26th, 2007 09:02PM  

Seems to me the whole song is about the singer speaking with the cops after Jenny is found murdered. I don't see much indicating that he is guilty, it seems that he is innocent. He's explaining that the police don't have a motive, because Jenny was his "friend".

sophie123 October 23rd, 2007 01:35PM  

I heard somewhere that there's a murder trilogy: "Leave The Bourbon On The shelf," (to be on their 3rd album,) is the 1st part, then "Midnight Show" is about the actual murder and "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" is the interrogation. But when I listen to "Mr Brightside" I seem to think that fits in somewhere...?

HottBeeotch November 4th, 2007 03:18AM  

There really isn't much to say about the last part of the Murder Trilogy. But here's a summary.

The boyfriend is being interrogated on the whereabouts of Jenny-the police assuming that she's missing. He tells them that he and Jenny had a fight on a promenade and she just left him out on the rain. Then saying that he didn't and to add on for you all to understand," Why would I do such a thing to a nice person like that" is pretty much said in any crime movie are detective show-there for, he is saying why would he do it if he doesn't have a motive, the alibi he has it that, along with the fact the words he keeps on repeating are:"Jenny was a friend of mine". He wants to leave and he's freaking out saying that he gave them all the information that he had and then repeating his story again. With the rest of the song lyrics ending with "Oh come on, Oh come on, Oh come on" probably saying that the police are not letting him out and he's begging for then to let him out.

Ugh, these interpretations are making my hands sore.

anonymous January 17th, 2008 06:15PM  

The song is about the movie The Outsiders. Jenny really means Johnny.

"We took a walk that night..." When Ponyboy and Johnny run away.
"We had a fight..." The rumble
"She said she loved me..." Cherry Valance
"I know my rights, I've been here..." Dallas Winston.

Theres many more connections, I recommend you read the book or watch the movie.

anonymous February 3rd, 2008 07:49PM  

I heard that this was the second part of a murder-trio that Brandon Flowers wrote, with the first being Mr Brightside, the second being this song and the third as yet unreleased.

He's jealous and we see the motive in Mr Brightside, and then the murder in jenny. I don't know what the third one is about, but makes sense that its him repenting or something?

anonymous February 9th, 2008 07:38PM  

The whole thing is him being questioned by the police. And the police officer says "I know what you're doing here" Knowing that he is the one who killed Jenny. And the singers says to him "There was no motive for this crime. Jenny was a friend of mine." which this phrase here is what should be questioned. He could be saying "No one would have a motive to kill her because she's my friend and I know that she is a good person." or he could be saying "I would have no motive to kill her, she's my friend." Which is really ironic because if he did kill her it would be because he wanted to be more than friends.

iheartjakeryan March 28th, 2008 11:37PM  

I know this had nothing to do with the song, but I thought I would bring it up. In the movie "Corinna, Corinna" (the movie with Ray Liotta and Whoopi Goldberg), Ray Liotta's character is trying to defend his relationship with a woman named Jenny by telling his mother, "Jenny is a friend of mine." I wonder if that has something to do with why The Killers chose the title. I love this song and I do think that it's about the narrator killing Jenny and being brought in for questions with the police. Notice that the title is Jenny WAS A Friend of Mine as in past tense.

anonymous April 2nd, 2008 07:24AM  

Ok I think that the boy in this song had a friend called wait for it 'Jenny'. His girlfriend was obsessed with the fact that he was cheating on her with Jenney but the boy insists he is only friends with her which is true. At the end he is so frustrated from the interrogation he is getting from his own girlfriend he says 'tell me what you wanna know, oh come on oh come on oh come on..' and in the end when the questioning continues screams 'LET HER GO!' to his girlfriend to let Jenny go, and forget about her as he is not cheating with Jenny, and her wants his girlfriend to forget about her and move forward in their realtionship. There: nothing to do with rape, murder or police interrogation, just an argument between boyfriend and girlfriend over Jenny his friend.

Beatlemaniac April 10th, 2008 11:48AM  

I think that Jenny and the singer were walking one night, and they got in a fight(Obviously). Then they both leave each other, and later the cops find him, and bring him in for questioning, telling him that Jenny died. He says " Why would I kill her, we were friends."

They could have been fighting over the fact she was leaving, and then they said goodbye to each other, holding each other close. And then he never sees her again.

anonymous May 27th, 2008 10:22AM  

Jenny was a friend of mine is the last in a murder trilogy which includes 'leave the bourbon on the shelf' and 'midnight show'. Leave the bourbon on the shelf is the first part, in which the motive happens and the plan is made in which to kill Jenny, Brandon Flowers has said it involves water but she doesn't drown. Midnight Show is the next part with the murder and attempted escape, then Jenny was a friend of mine which is the interrigation and capture of the criminal.

anonymous June 5th, 2008 12:55PM  

Here's mine.

I'm going with the murder trio theory starting with Mr. Brightside. Not really murder in my seeing, but cha.

After "Mr. Brightside", if you will, he follows the chick for a while. Tells her he loves her and she freaks, tries to get away.

Then he grabs her, puts his hand over her mouth "Couldn't scream..." and rapes her.

Just how I see it.

anonymous July 5th, 2008 01:56PM  

The song's about the singer, who saw his girlfriend that night. But he didn't kill her, next day.. The police questions him. Unfortunately they don't believe him and they think he did it. The judge decides to punish him to death. They give him a syringe and he falls asleep (read: dies) at the moment that he's dead, the police was called. The real murderer confessed at that moment. That's the true meaning of this song.