anonymous 2007-08-26 19:06:46    

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"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 2007-09-26 21:02:36    

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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 2007-10-23 13:35:04    

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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 2007-11-04 03:18:24    

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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.

CIN 2007-12-05 00:08:30    

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Why does everyone put Brandon in the first person perspective? Singing a song in first person perspective doesn't mean you were the one the song was about....... I don't understand this? any way the lyrics are quite tricky! “We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same” insinuates that something has already happened to cause a change in the relationship between the narrator and Jenny “We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain” a promenade is a leisurely walk, especially one taken in a public place as a social activity or a public place for such walking. So this is letting the listener know that they were in public maybe for alibi sake. “She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go” is telling in that Jenny was parting ways with the narrator…“She said she loved me” is self telling this is the narrator directly quoting Jenny and could also be reassuring himself of this love “She couldn't scream while I held her close” could be Jenny is crying and he is consoling her or you could take this to a darker side and understand it to mean he is being aggressive and forceful.” Here’s where the rough interpretation comes in “I swore I'd never let her go” this can mean many thing only some are listed here…He could be telling the listener that Jenny will always be loved, or that she will always be welcomed in his arms or heart ect. This could also mean that the narrator was having difficulty letting her go to where she needed to be.(see above) he could be actually holding her and telling her hell never let her go meaning protecting her ect. “Tell me what you wanna know Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on” is simply put he’s asking what his interrogators want to hear from him this could be said in either a sarcastic way or an actual question. Hers another tricky one “There ain't no motive for this crime” could be the narrator way of excluding himself from the suspect list or simply stating that there was no reason this happen meaning what ever happened to Jenny was by chance. Jenny was a friend of mine” interprets as past tense. Meaning that Jenny is no longer his friend or is not with him anymore or is gone or dead this is very open-ended “I know my rights, I've been here all day and it's time For me to go, so let me know if it's alright I just can't take this, I swear I told you the truth” clearly shows some sort or interrogation as mentioned above. Whether it be official or unofficial the narrator does seem to sate that he knows what is happening to him and that he wishes to leave. He is also asking for permission showing us that he is being cooperative to the interrogation to this point. The fact that he is stating that he has told the truth tells us that he has given his story to the listener and is declaring his story true. The lyric repetition in this song “She couldn't scream while I held her close I swore I'd never let her go” give us a strong sense that the narrator wants this understood for reasons unknown. “And then you whisper in my ear I know what you're doing here” could be read as the narrator saying I know what your doing here or it could be read as the interrogator sating it. It gives different meaning of the phrase by who said it. If the narrator is saying it to the interrogator the he is stating that he knows the tricks or reasons the interrogator is doing what he is doing. If the interrogator is saying it to the narrator then the same could be said or he could be telling the narrator that he knows what he’s trying to do. So anyway you have it there are only a few options to what is being said. Oh and all the hims can be changed to hers think of it as if a woman was the narrator see how that fits. Just because the narrator is being questioned doesn’t mean he or she is a suspect in a crime they could simply be questioning a girl-friend of Jenny’s about her whereabouts before the crime was committed. And we never are told what the crime was it could be anything murder rape a beating anything is possible with a open-ended song like this. Good luck in figuring this out if your not the writer peace out yall ~cin~

anonymous 2008-01-17 18:15:00    

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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 2008-02-03 19:49:12    

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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 2008-02-09 19:38:56    

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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 2008-03-28 23:37:05    

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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 2008-04-02 07:24:51    

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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 2008-04-10 11:48:19    

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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 2008-05-27 10:22:46    

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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 2008-06-05 12:55:20    

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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 2008-07-05 13:56:34    

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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.

anonymous 2008-07-14 04:41:01    

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I reckon it goes like this:
'We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go'.
So they have the fight, and she leaves, upset and angry.
Later, the boy feels bad, so he goes to find her to say sorry. When he does, she's been attacked/raped etc.
'She couldn't scream while I held I close
I swore I'd never let her go'.
I think the 'couldn't scream part' wasn't a dangerous possessive thing, but more a protective thing, with the boy holding her and wanting to help her.
I think the choruses are obviously about the boy being interviewed by the police and trying to defend himself, saying he found her and tried to help.