The Killers - Mr Brightside Song Meanings
 Top Rated Interpretation
DarkBlue04
July 10th, 2005 09:22PM
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The key in this song is its title. By calling himself Mr Brightside, the speaker is commenting on how he is incurably optimistic - he always looks at the bright side of any given situation.
The song is about his propensity for getting overly involved emotionally with women he has only just met, and suffering heartbreak when his love proves to be unrequited. His "destiny" is to continually experience such heartbreak because he always opens up his "eager eyes" to the next possible paramour.
To get into a closer reading, look at the first stanza:
Coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
Here, he is freeing himself from the emotional restraint that was protecting him from having his heart broken and allowing himself to become interested in a girl. The "all" that he wants refers to true love, the kind that you can only get if you are willing to give the entirety of yourself to someone else.
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss
It was only a kiss
Here, he's wondering how he's gotten to the point that he cares so deeply about her after just one kiss - the answer is because he allowed himself to invest that kiss with meaning that for her was not there.
The next couple stanzas basically tell the story of him seeing this girl that kissed him once hanging out with other guys - and because he feels so strongly for her, he becomes deeply jealous/angry. It's sort of like a situation where two people made out on a dance floor one night, and the girl felt like she was just having fun whereas the guy thought there was actually a connection.
Where we get the best crystallization of Mr Brightside's true nature and motivation is in the following stanza:
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside
Here, we should be getting that the "price" he pays is the intense feelings of jealousy, rage, and heartbreak that come from his penchant for getting too attached too fast. He asserts that it is out of his hands, that this pattern of behavior is simply part of his core personality by referring to it as his "destiny." His eyes are "eager" for the next girl that he will fall for, which is sure to happen because he is the perpetually optimistic "Mr Brightside" - always looking for and ready for love.
anonymous
July 4th, 2005 02:18PM
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I didn't really think it was about what actually happened, but rather the song writer's imagination running away with him. I found the previous interpretations too literal, and prefer to think of 'the cage' as an emotional restraint rather than physical. The most important part for me was the line 'and it's all in my head', which I think signifys imagination. I thought it was about jealousy - the thought of his girlfriend being with another man. Eventhough this doesn't explain the title, It is just the feeling I get when I listen to the song. Don't forget that songs don't have to make complete sense - it's the gist that's important, and it can have different meanings to different people. (But it would be interesting to know what the song writer intended!)
anonymous
July 6th, 2005 06:49PM
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I think this song is about a guy who really likes this girl, but he's too shy to tell her, and when he finally "comes out of his cage", she's already with another guy. I think the rest of the song is that the girl is still friends with him, and all he can do is just imagine what is going on between the girl and this new guy.
anonymous
July 9th, 2005 01:16PM
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I Think the song means that this guy had a girlfriend that is cheating on him and he knows but until now he hasn't said anything because the truth hurts too much. I never really thought about this having to do with killing people.
Coming out of my cage (He's going end this relationship because he refuses to be cheated on)
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all (He wants the girl all to himself)
It started out with a kiss (It was supposed to be a one time thing)
How did it end up like this? (How did he fall in love?)
Now I'm falling asleep (going to have a dream)
And she's calling a cab (to go cheat on him)
And she's taking the drag (The girl and her other lover)
And my stomach is sick (He can't handle it)
And it's all in my head (His imagination)
Let me go (stop the pain or something along those lines)
And taking control (He has to do something)
Jealousy
Turning saints into the sea (Making people go crazy)
Turning through sick lullaby (Probably him imagining his lover with another man)
Choking on your alibi (Not believing her alibis- or where she says she was when she was really out with another man)
But it's just the price I pay (to love someone- this is the price)
Destiny is calling me (he knows this is the right girl)
Open up my eager eyes (Even though she is cheating, he is still eager to see her because he loves her so much)
I'm Mr. Brightside (he looks on the brightside because maybe if he shows her how much he loves her she will stop cheating or whatever)
The only part I don't get is the "I never" part. Maybe it means that he could never break up with her.
anonymous
July 18th, 2005 02:25PM
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Moulin Rouge!
anonymous
August 8th, 2005 01:40PM
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One of the people on the band wrote this song about Brandon Flowers's ex-girlfriend who cheated on him, I know that for a fact!
anonymous
August 14th, 2005 11:28PM
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The video says it all. He's in love with a club dancer/prostitute. I knew that before the video was shown.
carlyandbrad
August 31st, 2005 09:27PM
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What is with you people thinking this is about murder? It is obviously a song about a guy and his girlfriend. The singer's girlfriend kissed another guy and now he doesn't trust her and keeps imagining her cheating on him and it's driving him crazy and bringing him down.
I think in the song he is talking to himself trying to get over it so he can go back to who he really is "Mr. Brightside". I think that everything he actually talks about is all in his head. As much as I would like to write the entire song out for you all ....i wont. It's just a song about imagined infedelity and the effects that it has on people in relationships.
anonymous
September 17th, 2005 09:31AM
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I think song has the same storyline as the movie "Moulin Rouge" and The Cure didn't write the song.
I was watching an interview with the band, and Brandon Flowers (the lead singer) said that Mr. Brightside was the first song he wrote.
brian
October 15th, 2005 02:54PM
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This song is about a guy wanting a girl. He's out of his cage so he's himself and he needs to act cool because it wants it all. He's known this chick for some time now and it started with a kiss just a kiss. But he isn't sure and when his mind just runs off with itself and he sees her with someone else and their getting closer and closer it's killing him and it's just taking control. He's jealous, and this can make even the best of us go bad, he's trying to tell himself it doesn't matter, he doesn't want to deal with this situation but he feels it's destiny he's made for her. and He sees all this going on and he helpless to do anything so all he can do it just look on the brightside
Boo-Yay The killers ROCK!!!!
Jules
November 22nd, 2005 03:45AM
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My god, some of you are obsessed with rape and murder. This was the first song that flowers wrote, so it has nothing to do with Midnight Show. It is about the way that jealousy makes you feel, his ex cheated and he could not confront the person, so the jealousy just tore him up. He said in an interview that it bothered him that much, he was physically sick. So sorry guys, no rape, murder, killing Jenny or getting out of jail.
SpoonerFisch
November 27th, 2005 07:54PM
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I think this song is about pure jealously. It's self explainitory.
I'm coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all [[He wants her all to himself]]
It started out with a kiss [[he liked her when they kissed]]
How did it end up like this [[she's with someone else]]
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss [[That's what started him to fall in love with her]]
Now I’m falling asleep
And she’s calling a cab [[as he's sleeping, thinking of her, she's with the other guy just leaving after their night together]]
While he’s having a smoke [[he's satisfied]]
And she’s taking a drag [[she took a puff off his cigarette]]
Now they’re going to bed [[they're going to sleep together]]
And my stomach is sick [[it makes him sick thinking about it]]
And it’s all in my head [[he's remembering what he had though about them together]]
but she’s touching his—chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go
I just can’t look its killing me
And taking control [[he's heart broken]]
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea [[Jealousy is taking over]]
Swimming through sick lullabies [[remembering his ideas of them together]]
Choking on your alibis
But it’s just the price I pay [[he thinks he derserves to lose her]]
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes [[he wants her]]
‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside
In the video, the girl obviously secretly loves him back, but keeps going back to the old ugly guy.. when Brandon Flowers is sweet to her and loves her.. and he's so hot.
Jellybean
November 28th, 2005 09:14AM
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I know this goes against most of what's been said so far but I'm not saying that there's only one meaning. My personal experience of the song made me think that it's about a guy who is having an affair with someone who is already going out with someone else. It was just a kiss and now they're having a full blown affair, and although he's in the wrong because he's cheating, he is still jealous. He knows she goes home to the other guy and he even sees them together but he can't say anything and the pain turns him into something awful (saints into the sea) and also someone more mature (destiny opening up his eager eyes). In the end destiny has opened his eyes to a life lesson: you can love someone but you can't always be with them.
ed
November 29th, 2005 12:43PM
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This song has a lot of meaning for me as the exact same thing happened to me. The story is that this guy's girl has left him, he still loves her with all his heart. He sees her in the arms of another man and begins to imagine them fucking and everything after he sees them kiss.he can't take it, it drives him crazy and he finds it hard to restrain himself from getting violent but he somehow manages to stay in control. It's about jealousy and anger and love and I should know, I went through it. He's telling himself its his imagination "and its all in my head". He loves her, she's moving on and he can't stand it because he needs that girl.
prongs666
November 29th, 2005 04:14PM
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Oh wow... It is definitely about jealousy, but why is everyone stuck on Jenny? It doesn't specify if he is mad that the guy is with his girl or the girl is with his guy, so it's very confusing...
anonymous
November 29th, 2005 06:06PM
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A lot of these already posted seemed to have hit the nail right on the head for me. I'm gonna go ahead and agree with the emotional restraint when he says that's he's coming out of his cage, that makes the most sense. But look at it this way, I don't think that he was actually with the girl that he kissed. She belongs to another guy. Thats why he says I just can't look, its killing me. If he was with the girl, he wouldn't be looking at the other guy kissing her, he would probably be kicking that guys ass. And in the video it's obvious that the girl is with the old rich guy, and she is playing games with the lead singer. She hooks up with him, and then runs back to her rich boyfriend/husband whatever he is, and then starts getting with other guys throughout the video. So he basically hooked up with a girl that is already devoted to someone and then he can't take it when he sees her with anyone else, because he's fallen in love with her. And that's the price he pays for falling so hard. The rest of the song is definately about jealousy, because that's what it does to you I know. It makes you physically sick, it makes you dream and constantly contemplate what she's doing. Hence the " Now I'm falling asleep" he's dreaming about it, and it possibly might now even be happening, that's just the impression he gets from his jealousy, " and its all in my head". Btw another kool thing I saw in the was the checkers game, it means more than it appears I think, if you look closer, you see that the girl is actually blending in with the checkers board, it symbolizes the two of them playing a game of checkers to see who wins her, and ultimately, he loses her. Then at the end of the video, after talking to her, he walks away, symbolizing that it's over, he knows she can't change and he's gotta move on. Great song wow. I can relate in so many ways.
Viddy
January 8th, 2006 07:51PM
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For all of you who have posted and said that this song is about jealousy and Flower's ex girlfriend, you are correct. That was the motivation behind the song.
For everyone who seems to think it's part of the murder trilogy, think about the difference in the feel of "Mr. Brightside" and "Midnight Show" and "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine." In Mr. Brightside, he's just lovesick and heartbroken. In the other two songs the narrator is clearly psychopathic. It is true that jealousy is a common factor in all three songs but that's about all they have in common.
rachel
July 25th, 2006 01:51AM
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I think this song is about the ending of a relationship. He's saying that his love for the girl started with a kiss and now maybe she has kissed someone elses or done something that makes him think she is cheating and then he's saying that he can picture all the situations that she's cheating on him but "it's all in my head"
He can't keep thinking like this because its hurting him but he can't help it because he's caught up in jealousy... "Jealousy turning saints into the sea" I think this part is about his girlfriend because he always thought she was so innocent but now he is analysing everything she does and so she doesn't seem so innocent and he wants her to go away.
"Destiny is calling me" is about the way he is..He's like the nice guy..Or he always knew the relationship would end because of his insecurities..
"Open up my eager eyes" this line is saying tell me your not..Give me a sign that your not.."I'm Mr Brightside" cause I don't want this to end and if you give me a reason I will believe you..
anonymous
September 29th, 2006 08:57PM
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Ok, before I get into the meaning of this song, I have to submit a seriouisly overdue correction to the person who has the first post here. The cure did not write this song! Honestly, what kind of statement is that? Let's set this straight. Now. Dave keuning had the music down. He wrote all that. He was looking for a sinegr to strat a band, and found brandon flowers. They got together, and flowers and keuning wrote mr. Brightside then and there. The cure were not involved at all. Do you understand me?
Onto the meaning...Mr. Brightside seems to mirror the killers murder trilogy. (leave the bourbon on the shelf, midnight show, jenny was a friend of mine) in the trilogy, they speak of a guy whose girlfriend is cheating on him. He finds out, and kills her, then throws her body into the ocean, and is later questioned by the police. Brightside is a song about jealousy, and anger. The guy is in love with thsi girl, and he's becoming paranoid. He thinks she's cheating on him, hence the "its all in my head". What makes me believe that it mirrors the murder trilogy is this: in midnight show, he throws his girlfriends body into the ocean, a.K.A. The midnight show. In brightside, he says "jealousy, turning saints into the sea, swimming through sick lullabies, choking on your alibis..." swimming, choking, and alibis all hint att he murder trilogy. So to me, this song, hints at the trilogy, it is not part of it, the killers have said that much. Now, in the song, he's beconing paranoid thinking she's cheating on him, and all the while, keeps telling himself, he's better than whomever she's with. "i'm mr. Brightside". Hes saying that he's the best thing she'll ever have, and he wishes she'd come back. At the end, he's simply stating that he's not sure if things will ever change, or go back to how they used to be (will his paranoia go away?) "I never..."
anonymous
October 9th, 2006 12:27AM
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I'm new at this so bear with me.. I believe that he just broke up with his girlfriend.. Being caged with all those emotions.. And he's gotta be down with everything she does because he still wants to be with her (wanting it all).. And he thinks of all of this starting from a kiss.. And just as he's about to sleep (because you think about your loved ones at night) he pictures her taking a cab to visit the guy.. The other guy is having a smoke and she's taking a drag.. Now if you know smokers there are those who smoke and those who take drags.. Totally different people.. So what if he feels that he's not fit for her.. Then he goes on to say that they're going to bed.. And he's getting sick.. Then he says she's touching his chest now.. But he wants to say dick because if you know music he abruptly stops to make himself believe it's not happening.. And he cries let me go because he doesn't want to feel that way.. And the chorus is self evident.. Jealousy.. Saints into the sea.. Enjoying the company of sick lullibies.. Making absent alibies.. He's so eager to see that she'll come back that he calls himself mr. Brightside.. Either that or he could be using eagre as the britain term.. Which means a flood of water.. So it's like crying eyes.. And he still tries to see the brightside through it.. He wants it all to work out.. And he waits patiently.. But he never imagined this to happen.. So I never.. Never wanted it to happen.. Leave comments please.. Thank you..
anonymous
October 29th, 2006 01:58AM
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I think a lot of what you guys are saying is a good interpretation... Except I think the singer is in love with the guy, not the girl... Prolly roomates or something and his roomie is doing this chick, and he is jealous.
And she’s calling a cab
while he’s having a smoke
and she’s taking a drag
now they’re going to bed
and my stomach is sick
and it’s all in my head
but she’s touching his—chest
now, he takes off her dress
now, let me go
think about those lyrics... When you are talking about the object of your affection you are going to say her, or direct your thoughts at the sensual things that's she is recieving... Not the other way around...
'while he’s having a smoke'
object of attention is him
'and she’s taking a drag'
sharing a cig is kinda personal, I think he is jealous that he's letting her take a drag.
'but she’s touching his—chest'
he is jealous that she's touching him, not that he is touching her.
'now, he takes off her dress'
again, emphasis on him, not her.
Just my 2 cents...
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