anonymous July 20th, 2009 06:02PM  
he's being sarcastic!!! hes not optimistic at all. "cus im mr brightside" is actually sarcastic, implying that he is sad and in despair. and, its all in his head, he's imagining what the girl and her lover are doing. he thinks she loves someone else, but he is in true love with her. i know, because the same thing happened to me, and i got obsessed with this song.

anonymous July 20th, 2009 09:58PM  
People - the song isn't about love of a person...think like a rocker just starting out and wanting it all. The song is about destiny. The girl is fame, fortune and everything else that comes with it and its flirting with people lesser talents than the narrator. But he remains optimistic that he will get it all and hit it big time.

xXxTracexXx July 25th, 2009 05:39PM  
Brandon Flowers wrote it about a girl who cheated on him, he was heartbroken and though she was the one untill he got married to his wife I personaly love this song and it helped my best friend get through a cheating boyfriend "I never" repeated over and over i think means he would never cheat on her Jelousy, turning saints into the sea) means that the could break "comandmeants" Because of Jelousy swimming through sick lulabys chokeing on your alabis) Her lying to hi, but it's just the price i pay) for trusting her destany is calling me) for him to get together with someone eles Open up my eager eyes cause i'm mr. brightside) sarcasum saying that he's looking on the up side when he's heart broken

adampayne August 10th, 2009 07:33PM  
I feel the meaning of this song is given away in the title to a certain extent. The term ‘Mr. Brightside’ is describing a male character who tries to find the positive side of every difficult situation, he aims to seek the benefits of emotionally-damaging events and use them to help him move forward in life. This song describes this mentality and how it is applied to his love life. Firstly, “coming out of my cage” could describe how this man has escaped from the emotional chains of a failed past relationship- his isolation and loneliness caused by this bad experience has been washed away and he is ready to move on and escape the ‘cage’. “I’ve been doing just fine, gotta gotta be down, I want it all” tells us he is eager, confident and ready to find new love. “I want it all” states he wants a girl and a long-lasting, successful relationship, and that he feels confident enough to find this. However, the song then opens up a new chapter of this mans love life. “It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?” could be describing how a small kiss that this man interpreted as being meaningless and insignificant has come back to haunt him, and has transformed into yet another romantic travesty, a failed relationship. “And their going to bed, and my stomach is sick, and its all in my head but she’s touching his chest now, he takes off her chest now, let me go”, is describing how this man’s partner is cheating on him behind his back. “My stomach is sick” tells us how distraught and sickened this man is by the thought of his partner being involved with another man. “Let me go” is a lyric of great importance, it sums up how this man is trapped by the love and promise that his partner promises, but is begging to be let go from the heartbreak and disappointment that she is caused. “And I just can’t look, its killing me, and taking control” continues to suggest how this situation is controlling this mans life and making it a living hell. “Jealousy, turning saints into the sea” describes this mans jealousy towards the situation, he is jealous that his partner has been took away from him and he powerless to what she decides to do behind his back. “Swimming through sick lullabies, and choking on your alibis”, describes how his partner has tried to rescue their relationship by telling lies and producing untrue stories to excuse her untrustworthy behaviour, however “choking” tells us they are not working, she is digging herself into a deeper hole. “But it’s just the price I pay, destiny is calling me” highlights the vicious circle this man is trapped in. His eagerness and willingness to be open-minded and continue looking for love has once again backfired and proven to do nothing but break his heart and disappoint him. “Open up my eager eyes, because I’m Mr. Brightside” concludes the song by repeating the meaning of the beginning of the song. This man shall put the events of the past behind him, and continue to live on and find new love.

anonymous August 20th, 2009 01:17PM  
Contrary to what the top interpretation says, Mr. Brightside is really an old Englishman who was in love with a prostitute. She promised him she would give up her prostitution to be with him, but then he catches her with another man. That's what the song is about.

anonymous August 21st, 2009 11:37AM  
My interpretation is that this guy is either a cuckold or she is a Hotwife. There is a rollercoaster of emotions that goes along with either of these types of play, including jealousy. I believe he knows his woman is out and is accepting it, but there still is a whole lot of thoughts,i.e. "he's taking off her dress now", "She's touching his chest now." and emotions. I'm speaking from experience!

anonymous August 25th, 2009 02:49AM  
It's about that pit of jealousy in your stomach, plain and simple. When you know someone you love is with somebody else, and the intense pain and jealousy that it causes.

anonymous September 9th, 2009 07:27PM  
I think its about eggs that are waiting to be hatched. when he says Mr. Brightside he is obviously talking about the yellow part of the yolk which is brighter than the rest and wanting to get out. "coming out of my cage" and "gotta gotta get out" is referencing the yolk needing to get out of the shell. when he says "I just cant look its killing me" and "jealousy" its about the egg yolk seeing the other eggs hatching and envying them. no one else has thought of this meaning but to me it was obvious.

anonymous September 10th, 2009 05:22AM  
I Never... I Never! I Never I Never!!! The guy had a hard lesson to learn, it seems he will never get the one he wanted or loved. But it's only a song, thankfully

anonymous September 18th, 2009 11:18AM  
Coming out of my cage,
And I'm doing just fine,

--Being released from a mental institution, as his illness is under control, aided by medication that stops him from getting high's, which causes infatuation. He suffers from a form of bipolar disease. He has more than one side...One of the sides he labels Mr. Brightside.

Gotta gotta gotta be down,
Because I want it all,

--He has to keep taking his medication that keeps him from getting on a high, as this is when he infatuations for things kick in and control his life. The medication keeps him on a low. He wants all that his freind has:The girl of his dreams and a family with her.

It started out with a kiss,
How did it end up like this,
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss.

--On his release from hospital, he has met his best friend that kissed the girl of his dreams at a nightclub. They are happy together and they are now living as a couple and have children. How could a simple kiss have lead to all this, afterall it was only a kiss

Now I'm falling asleep,
And she's calling a cab,

--He has spent some time with the two of them and doesn't want to go home, but the girl thinks 3's a crowd and wants to get rid of him, so she calls him a cab.

While he's having a smoke,
And she's taking a drag,

--They are waiting for the taxi to arrive and the couple are acting like a proper couple, sharing things...the cigarette.

Now the're going to bed,
and my stomach is sick,
and its all in my head,

--He is in the cab on the way home, and imagining what the couple are getting up to. These thoughts are making him feel sick

But she's touching his chest,
now he takes off her dress,
now let me go,

--He has visions of them making love, and wants to be released from these thoughts and visions

And I just can't look its killing me,
And taking control

--Thinking about them is controling his every thought and move, and he imagines them making love with each waking thought, and he can't cope.

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea,
Swimming through sick lullabies,
Choking on your alibis,

--He is jealous of all that his friend has, and decides to commit suicide by drowning himself. He thinks of himself as a better person than his friend, almost saintly, perfect, Mr. Brightside. His friend must have done bad things in the past yet he has it all, the girl, the family. Jealousy is also a mortal sin. While drowning in the water himself he hears the lullabies that they sing to their kids, and he hears the excuses that his friend gives him about his familly coming first. Hearing the lullabies reminds him of the times his friend & the girl made love to produce these children, and these thoughts make him sick.

But its just the price I pay,
Destiny is calling me,
Open up my eager eyes,
Cause I'm Mr. Brightside

--Death is the price he pays for being jealous of his friend, and death/hell is his destiny. Being guilty of the mortal sin jealousy means he is going to/through hell.
He is dead now and his eager eyes are closed. But his alter ego questions how they can be closed, as he is Mr. Brightside.

anonymous September 23rd, 2009 06:57PM  
I heard it's about an ex-girlfriend of one of the guys from the Killers who cheated on him.

anonymous October 5th, 2009 11:41AM  
I think that its about how he is in love with a girl who is his friend but she is with another guy. They kissed once and it didnt mean anything to the girl but the guy fell in love with her. He now cant stand to see the girl with her boyfriend because he keeps imaging what might be happening between them.

anonymous November 11th, 2009 03:03AM  
I think just in saying "'cause I'm Mr. Brightside" is saying that he's still optimistic about life after this girl. Also, what does the chorus mean?!

anonymous November 11th, 2009 09:48PM  
Like some of the best song interpretations for this perticular song; I also believe that it's about a man who falls for girls too easily. It's about a man who becomes too easily attached to girls he meets in, for an example, a night club and has a passionate time with. Then he finds the girl is only doing this for a night of no-strings fun and he becomes jelous. What a lot of song interpretations don't take into account for this song is the constant changing betweeen first and third person. I believe it signifies the fact that a girl that he has become attached to can easily change between having fun with the song's first person character, and any other men she happens to meet and have fun with. The song's main character then takes a background role, watching the girl he has become attached to, and at times involving himself with her. It pains him to do so as he has strong feelings for her which are not returned, however she does not realise and it becomes a major part of his life.

anonymous November 11th, 2009 10:10PM  
This song is very well written. The song is about an optimistic man, hence the name 'Mr Brightside'. He meets a girl who takes an interest in him. She may have kissed him in a night club, for example. He then takes a strong attraction to her. However, the constant switching between first and third person signifies that he and other people both have been involved with this girl. An example may be; if the main character kisses a girl in a night club and takes a particular liking to her, but then she moves on and gets with other men. The main character felt he had a special bond with the girl, only to find she could enjoy herself as much with other men. This is an example of what the song signifies. However, the behaviour described is only natural; an evolutionary approach would suggest that the girl selects men based on who is the fittest or better looking, therefore the main character must accept that he is not this.

anonymous November 18th, 2009 10:29PM  
What i get from this song is.. They were in a relationship, it ended, hes left at home, while shes out with a guy, hes stuck thinking about it in his head, shes moving on from him with this other guy, hes asking for his eyes to be open so he can see the brightside.

Samalander November 22nd, 2009 03:06AM  
I agree with Lisa about the whole jail concept but "choking on your alibis" might mean he wasn't even able to come up with an alibi when confronted by the police. He stumbled, looked guilty, probably admitted to the murder(s) and is in jail. But he's Mr. Brightside (looking at the positive side), he was just protecting his new-found love, and his heart, right?

hindutimes November 24th, 2009 10:36PM  
Lisa's first interpretation is plain stupid. It's about a guy caring and thinking about a girl who just thought it was just for fun or who suddenly lost interest in him gradually- Mr. Brightside just came out from his cage (probably another heartbreak or saga in his life, work etc..) and he's just doing fine- but he wants it all, love including- then it ended up like that, it was only a gettin' to know her or a kiss is all. He probably imagines her with another guy whose better than himself making him jealous angry. It's not a freakin' murder. Stupid ass Lisa should go to hell by stating a stupid ignorant interpretation like that..

hindutimes November 24th, 2009 10:39PM  
Oh and I have experienced this sorta thing, and it's just a fuckin' thorn in the heart multiple times! you can't do anything because you're weak, you don't seem better, your not too good enough for her! all those kinds of stuff but I'm coping with it, best to do is be friends with her- that's what the status is with me now, hopefully more lots of fruitful relationship will come to me eventually.

anonymous December 10th, 2009 01:44PM  
I just saw the interview with lead singer and a few of those below were right. The song was written when Brandon went to a pub one night and saw his girlfriend kissing another guy. Hate to burst everyone's bubble...no prostitutes, nothing but pure dejected love!