The Killers - Mr Brightside Song Meanings Lyrics:
Mr. Brightside
I'm coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started ...
(See the rest of these lyrics)
 Top Rated Interpretation
2005-07-10 21:22:40
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
2006-07-09 10:06:58
First of all, there is no way The Cure wrote this song. After all, an ex band member sued the band claiming he wrote the song, which The Killers dispute of course.
Anyway, I think this song is about a guy who gets a girlfriend who cheats on him and it is really hard for him to move on but he knows better things are in the future.
jcloud11
2006-07-13 22:36:53
This song in my mind can be seen many diffferent ways...I don't see murder or anything crazy like that though. I think some people have touched parts of it but in my mind its more like this. He's coming off a relationship with a girl and it was serious but he thinks he's doing just fine. He starts feeling worse because he imagined he was over her and felt better and wanted to feel better. He then says how could all of this (relationship and feelings) have come from a kiss, because it was only a kiss. "Now I'm falling asleep and she's calling a cab" she's leaving him to go see someone else, after he goes to sleep, after they were hanging out together, but he still feels a lot for her. Then he sees her taking a puff of the 'other' guy's cigarette, then he sees them going to bed together and he feels sick and thinks its all in his head but then it becomes real when he see's her touch his chest and wants to be let go emotionally(to not be in love with her anymore). He can't look because he is dying inside seeing her with another guy and wishes it was fake but its not and the sickness, anger and jealousy he feels begin to take over his mind.Choking on your alibis refers to her lying about where she was(when she was with another man...maybe cheating?) And that's the price he pays for loving her...and destiny is calling him(telling him to move on to better things)...and open his hopeful(eager) eyes towards something or someone else...Because he's mr. brightside and is optimistic to move on from her.(sarcstic or not). Those are my thoughts on this song...this is quite possibly one of the best songs ever written.. It really has a feeling to it that you can't explain with most songs....This is the first song they wrote together and it was by far a good one to start with...the killers are amazing
bf25...
2006-07-16 18:02:58
''because I want it all it started out with a kiss how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss it was only a kiss''
this video is very similiar to the movie ''moulin rouge'' and I get the idea that he is in love with a prosititue and she could very well be in love with him.And that he started out as one of her customers
''he takes off her dress now
let me go
and I just can't look
it's killing me''
he si imagining her with other men
blink182chik
2006-07-19 18:58:54
This is about a guy who went or wants to go out with the girl and seeing her with another guy is tearing him apart inside.I can rekate.I lost my girlfriend to a guy and it broke my heart and teared me apart....
anonymous
2006-07-20 02:12:02
So after barney is so lonely after his family died (see s.O.A.D-lonely day interpretation to see what the hell I'm talking about)he is so upset but then he meets kermit the frog and realizes he's gay. So they get married and have lots of gay sex and then he's really happy hence the name "mr.Brightside" the end
see all my lyric interpretations in this order: metallica - fuel, red hot chillis - dani california, red hot chillis - californication, s.O.A.D - byob, s.O.A.D - lonely day and this one!
Alec
Spen
2006-07-20 14:19:55
I think that my interpretation is along the lines of many others here, I think that he's spent the night with this girl (an that was started with a kiss, an he ended up taking her home). Not sure if she's a random or a friend (probably a friend). But I think he's watching her leave his place. The taxi guys havin a fag whilst waiting an she has a drag of it when she come out. Thats when he lays down to bed. Don't know about you but when I lie in bed my imagination goes nuts, so his mind is coming up with the worst case scenario, she ends up sleeping with the taxi guy! So he obviously likes the girl very much to be bothered by this. So I think the song title is ironic. He's got pesimistic imagination. Like me!
cheyras
2006-07-20 20:51:40
I am inclined to think that this song doesn't have anything to do with killing anyone, nor do I think it has anything to do with the other killers' songs (i.E. Jenny was a friend of mine.)
i think this is about a guy who lost his love, perhaps she has gotten married to another man. He is basically imagining her with this other guy, and he doesn't want to look, because the thought of her with someone else is unbearable. Nevertheless, he knows there is nothing he can do ("destiny is calling me") and he is anxious to move on with his life. The term "mr. Brightside" is usually one used to denote someone who has an optimistic attitude. Therefore, he is ready to press forward with his life with an optimistic attitude.
"open up my eager eyes,
'cuz I'm mr. Brightside."
neecoolee123
2006-07-21 15:42:02
Back to what someone else said up there... Who in their right mind would cheat on brandon flowers!??
And all of you are looking way too deeply into this.
This is what I think:
it's about jealousy.
And flowers isn't gay!! :(
rachel
2006-07-25 01:51:00
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
2006-09-06 09:38:46
Ok I'm pretty sure this is wrong but I immediately thought of a guy coming off drugs (out of his cage) :s and he's hallucinating...
Also, who's to say that it's not the guy in the song that he's after? It's more likely to be the girl but it could be either...
Anyway I'm really interested in where songs came from but it's more important to take from it what you want, if it's about jealousy to you then great, if it's about drugs, or murder or whatever then fine! Just my opinion :)
anonymous
2006-09-29 20:57:00
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
2006-10-07 20:29:39
Ok first of all where do they mention murder at all in the song? You guys who said it's about jail, rape or murder are wrong. If you want to know what the song is really about, keep reading and its gonna be long:
1st verse-"im coming out of my cage" means that he's coming out of his emotional restrain because he is jealous the girl he's in love with is with another guy. The "gotta, gotta be down" part means he thinks he needs to be depressed and jealous in order to win back the girl because he "wants it all" the "it started out with a kiss" line means that he is in shocl because the girl he loves is in a serious relationship and more (sex) after the first kiss.
When he is "falling asleep" that's when he's dreaming about watching through a window I'm assuming its a window, the girl he loves and her boyfriend having sex. When he says "shes touching his chest" it means she's touching down lower then his chest if you know what I mean,and not stomach either.
Chorus-"jealousy, turning saints into the sea" is sort of taken from the bible, because the sea/lake of fire is hell. And jealousy is a sin, that can cause a lot of damage if you let it get to you. In this song, which is about jealousy, he's saying that he's letting the jealousy of this girl with another guy get to him. When the "sick lullaby" part means that he's getting through all the bad thoughts in his head and all the things other people are saying about the girl he loves and the guy she's with.
When it says "choking on your allabies", means that when he asks the girl what her and the other guy did on the date (assumingly) she lied and said something else when he knew she lied. Then he says its just the price he pays for not telling her how he felt about her sooner, then he says that he has a future ahead of him to move on then when he says "open up my eager eyes" he wakes up and the whole chorus was just a dream, because he's jealous of the girl.
anonymous
2006-10-09 00:27:28
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
2006-10-29 01:58:18
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...
anonymous
2006-11-01 23:41:10
I think "coming out of my cage" is his realization that he is free from his girlfriend that was cheating on him. First he says, "it started out with a kiss," which I think is referring to his relationship with her. Then he's talking about when he found out she was cheating on him. He followed her to see what she was up to. But during the song he's dreaming about it because it haunts him. At the same time he's glad that she's gone. "destiny is calling me. Open up my eagle eyes. I'm mr. Bright side." this states that now he's free to do anything because she's not holding him back. In this way he's looking on the bright side. Hence "mr. Bright side".
anonymous
2006-11-14 19:38:27
I think the song can be interpreted in manyways, and that's the fun of it, what makes it different is that it changes with the person that is hearing it. Everyone can relate to it, so it's really great!
My personal thought is something that is happening to me too. I think, in this song, that the guy and the girl are really in love, and he's really attached to her. Because he likes her so much, he gets very jealous, and can't stop thinking about her with other guys, or that maybe she doesn't like him as much as he does. But he has the knowledge that he's just jealous, that's something from his imagination, so that's why he never complains openly, acting as a 'mr. Brightside'.
This song, for me, is a confession of a guy who can't tell he's jealous because he knows it will hurt the one who he loves - but he can't help feeling this way. He pretends it's everything ok, because it should be, but inside he's dying with jealousy, even if he has no reason.
anonymous
2006-11-15 15:41:41
I think that it's about some guy who's really in love with a girl but they were never a couple or something..
'I'm coming out of my cage
and I've been doing just fine
gotta gotta be down
because I want it all' I thing that he's going out or something and than he see that girl and he really wants her he's desperade to get her .. And when they are together she also acts like she likes him and they kiss..
'it started out with a kiss
how did it end up like this
it was only a kiss, it was only a kiss'
next time that he's going out he see her with other guy and he's freaking out..
''now I'm falling asleep
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''
every time that he see her with other guys he thinks that she's flirting with that guy and then he imagines something in his head that this girl I mmaking out with some other guy and all that stuff I think tht he's confused and he doesen't really know if it is happening is she with other guy or is this only his imagination ..
anonymous
2007-01-03 16:59:02
Um guy who calls himself USERNAME. The Cure did not write Mr Brightside! This is entirely written by the band and royalties go to. Dont know where you got this from but its nonsense.
anonymous
2007-01-22 06:58:05
This song has nothing to do with murder, rape or prostitution. It was written about one of Brandon Flower's exes who cheated on him. Everyone seems to think that he was besotted with this girl after one kiss. Its not a kiss with him that he is referring to. His girlfriend at the time says to him "it was only a kiss" - when in reality she was schtupping the guy.
Poor love sick Brandon, is a bit paranoid follows her one evening and learns the awful truth. She's been feeding him lies about where she is going and this is the way that he finds out.
He tries to rationalise it by saying that he will get over her and that greater things are meant for him and that he should keep his chin up.
anonymous
2007-01-30 17:18:27
i think it cud mean....
I'm coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine (wakes up and leaves his house nd evrythin alrite)
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all (he wants her but he can't because she alreadii has a bf)
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss(he thinks how he could care 4 her wen it was just a kiss with a gurl)
Now I’m falling asleep
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 (he tries 2 fall asleep but can't cus he's thinkin 2 much about her nd what she cud be doin with her bf)
I just can’t look its killing me
And taking control (gets more and more jelous)
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis (how crazee he feels 4 her)
But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside (thinks that he could deserve this for everythin he's done in the past)
< Prev
1
2
3
4 5
6
7
8
Next >
Submit your interpretation!
Discuss this group in the The Killers forum
Email me when this band is updated
Back to The Killers Song Meanings
Home
| 
