killersfan12 March 8th, 2006 01:27AM  

This may seem wierd but this is what I think:
The narator has been giving the kids advice on relationships,"Save some face, you know you only got one" meaning don't go through relationshipd too fast then everyone that you've been with will add up and not be good. So by taking it slowly you'll enjoy it longer, then through the whole song he explains y how he went too fast and now he regrets it and see's his ex with another and grows jelious.

ShortMama234 February 5th, 2008 05:52PM  

I've heard that this song is about facetious people, perhaps the kind who lie to everyone and themselves to get them through life. They grin and bear whatever they have to but are miserable inside.

The singer is saying 'change your ways while you're young.' To me, the message to this person is ... don't make yourself miserable trying to please everyone else.
To me, the Occam's Razor of this song is pointing out the fact that a real smile and what is behind it is much more beautiful than a fake one.

anonymous March 13th, 2008 12:13AM  

Well, judging by everyone else I'm really off, but I took it as he was dead and looking back on the people that fill our place when we're gone, as if we were never there

gabasystem March 20th, 2008 02:58AM  

Save some face you've only got one
Change your ways while your young
Your rep is important in this world, so hold your head up high don't soil your shoes and air dirty laundry. Learn and change now we are all one bad decision away from disaster.

Smile like you mean it.
Fake it till you make it. People always tell me to smile and it pisses me off. I have learned that smiling actually does improve your mood and I intimidate people so it makes for an easier passage. DBT. taught me this.

These are proverbial sunsets as we get by day to day our dreams our lost and late change. Careless mistakes are made by all. We track of time because it speeds up. Someone is calling my name from the back of a restaurant- people from the past pop up- this has happened to me- keep that face on- Someone is playing a game in the house I grew up in and someone is driving my daughter down the same streets that I did, it's my daughter who is 15. I have taught her the message in this song. Oh, no,..... Scared, and hating that smile like you mean it is good advice.

anonymous May 27th, 2008 11:04AM  

I think it's about a man looking back on his life and remembering his first love or a certain girl he loved. At the time he was dating the girl he was miserable and smiled but didn't really mean it, he didn't really listen to her or take interest and without him even realising it he loses her to another man. While he's remembering he realises how much he loved her and how if he'd actually smiled like he meant it he might have not lost her.
This memory of the girl reminds him how easily you can lose things and how time passes you by really quickly and you should embrace what you have when you have it or live to regret it like he did.

anonymous August 6th, 2008 09:21AM  

This song seems up to much interpretation and re -interpretation, but one idea I came up with is a rather odd divorce situation, which explains itself in a mon-chronological order.

"Save some face, you know you've only got one
Change your ways while you're young"

He's telling his children to be good people, even if he's not going to be in their lives so much.

"Boy, one day you'll be a man
Oh girl, he'll help you understand"

His wife is going to be with another man, but he is assuring them he is a good man, will help them.

"Smile like you mean it
Smile like you mean it"

'Treat your to-be-stepfather well, care about him, don't resent him. When you smile at him, mean it.'

"Looking back at sunsets on the Eastside
We lost track of the time
Dreams aren't what they used to be
Some things slide by so carelessly"

This bit is directed to the wife. He loves her a lot, and once had so much fun with her, and he feels he neglected her, and the dream isn't their anymore.

"Smile like you mean it
Smile like you mean it"

He doesn't blame or resent his wife, and wants her to do the same and appreciate he did care about her.

"And someone is calling my name
From the back of the restaurant"

His life with his wife. I think they ran a restaurant together, and he is remembering that life with her. Alternatively, he's remembering dating her where he'd show up later than she did and she call out for him.

"And someone is playing a game
In the house that I grew up in"

He's known his wife since he was a child, they grw up together, were friend, and eventually they fell in love.

"And someone will drive her around
Down the same streets that I did
Down the same streets that I did"

He knows the other guy will love her as much as he did.

"Smile like you mean it
Smile like you mean it
Smile like you mean it
Smile like you mean it"

He wants everyone, especially his wife, to be as happy as possible and like each other.

"Oh no, oh no no no
Oh no, oh no no no"

Subconsciously, he is terrified and can't believe this is happening to him. He loves her so much and wants her to be his.

...Now I feel sorry for this guy. :(

anonymous November 6th, 2008 01:19AM  

Odd. A good friend of mine pointed out how thi song draws parallels to the novel The Great Gatsby. In the story the protagonist witnesses how fake everyone in the big city really was. How they all put on the facade of being happy when in truth no one was really satisfyed with their lives. There are numerous allusions. From 'watching the sunset in East Egg' to being called from a restaurant, of course the car accident, and how the dream Gatsby had of being with Daisy slip away

anonymous December 14th, 2008 07:01PM  

Well, I think it's about growing up and moving out of home and leaving and when you've left (anywhere) nobody ever cares what was there before

cammy052 January 23rd, 2009 10:06AM  

this has no interpretation, but this is my all time favorite song...ever! it's about love and saving yourself for the one you love. it's incredible how much this song means to me

goodgal May 22nd, 2009 11:15PM  

To me the song is saying that when young people grow up and start to become mature.. love and life get more challenging and harder to understand.

anonymous July 27th, 2009 07:00PM  

i think it means looking after his family after death and giving advice to his children and spouse. when he talks about " and someone will drive her around on the same streets that i did", it might be about his daughter, and how she will be growing up, and getting a boyfriend and he will drive her around the same streets her father used to, when they would have father-daughter time, and smile like you mean it is talking about how they should be happy, even if he is gone, and the "oh no, oh no, oh no no no" bit is about how they shouldn't be sad, it is as if he sees one of his children becoming depressed about their fathers death and telling them that they should be happy and that he will watch over them

anonymous August 19th, 2009 02:01PM  

My gosh! does every single Killers song have to be connected with Jenny and Andy?

musicsetsmefree September 2nd, 2009 03:23AM  

This song is a wake-up call to guys (and maybe, perhaps girls) that are selfish and put their loved one (their girlfriend/boyfriend) beneath them, neglect them, etc... Life has a way of coming back to haunt or help you, depending on the choices you make.

It's hard to listen to sometimes