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
2008-06-02 18:38:29  
Ok this is what I think. His girlfriend is a prostitute and he knows what she's doing, but everything he says in the song is about his dream after he says "now I'm falling asleep" until he says "open up my eager eyes".
anonymous
2008-06-06 18:21:02  
Well he says 'it was only a kiss'
and then he goes on imagining all the things
that his girlfriend and that other guy she kissed did,
but it was only a kiss. Its because when someone cheats, people tend to imagine things
anonymous
2008-06-14 21:30:55  
I thought the song was something like this
I'm coming out of my cage (self restraint from loving her)
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss (the guys girlfriend kissed someone else and liked the other person better)
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I’m falling asleep (falling asleep with her)
And she’s calling a cab (she slipped away from him while he was sleeping)
While he’s having a smoke
And she’s taking a drag
Now they’re going to bed (she starts sleeping with the other guy)
And my stomach is sick (he knows that she is cheating on him)
And it’s all in my head (hes just thinking it but its not actually happening)
But she’s touching his—chest
Now, he takes off her dress (self explanitory)
Now, let me go (he wants to go but cant)
I just can’t look its killing me (hes watching them(??))
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea (hes very jealous of that person)
Swimming through sick lullabies (all the lies she tells him of where she's been)
Choking on your alibis (very sad I guess)
But it’s just the price I pay (karma (?))
Destiny is calling me (destiny tells him to go and make her like him more)
Open up my eager eyes (opens his eyes to more possibilities)
‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside (he looks on the bright side)
I never...
I never...
I never... (he never thought that this would happen)
anonymous
2008-06-23 21:29:07  
This is but a story of loss.
The protagonist fell very quickly in love with the young woman. And she probably at first showed some signs of interest or intrigue in him. This sent his heart and mind racing, imagining that while what they were having was, for the moment real and more excitement than he's ever had, that it's much more than just a short fling.
She moves on from him, and on to others. He is caught up on her, but choses not to remove himself from the situation. And so he watches and she continues to fling with others as she once did with him - making the same type of smiles, gestures and lovings as she once did for him. In fact, it was these things that made him feel special. Now he must share these things with other men who don't cherish it as much as he.
No wonder she is represented as a 19th century bordello whore in the video. The woman in the story, even if not a street prostitute, has obviously shown our protagonist that she's only in it for her gratification, and any expression of caring for him was but a ruse for her ends - much like a whore who for some cash will tell you all you want to hear about yourself.
As for calling himself "Mr. Brightside" and opening his "eagle eyes" in order to see this bright side... our protagonist is telling us he's forcing himself to see some good in the situation even if it's not to his liking. It is almost a sarcastic positive.
anonymous
2008-07-05 15:21:03  
I think this song is about a man that is very much in love with another girl, but she happens to be some sort of a prostitute. Mr. Brightside gets very jealous even though her being around other guys is her job. "It was only a kiss" might refer to how increasingly jealous he is becoming over his girl merely kissing someone else. Anyway, I think Mr. Brightside is a great song and can have multiple interpretations.
anonymous
2008-07-25 10:24:12  
The great thing about lyrics and in fact many art forms is they are open to interpretation, however although it has been stated, I will second the following: This song was not penned by The Cure!? Secondly it has been stated clearly and can easily be found online that this song was written by Dave (In the band) about Brandon's (Lead singer) ex girlfriend who cheated on him. Not that the facts really matter, we'll all continue to Taylor it to our own needs, wishes and experiences, and that is perfectly fine in my opinion.
anonymous
2008-07-28 18:22:05  
Okay this song is about a guy who meets a girl. Well he thinks it's a girl. He he takes her to his apartment and they get into it but he didn't look hard enough he and then he realizes that it's a dude.
anonymous
2008-08-02 11:23:55  
I am assuming this woman's career is prostitution, and his having a hard time not feeling jealous about the nature of her job. Kinda like "Leaving Las Vegas", Nicholas Cage, as a man who promised not to get jealous at his prostitute girlfriend's customers, but he struggled to keep his promise. I think this song portrayed that emotion very well.
I'm coming out of my cage
And Ive been doing just fine
(Been depressed over what is going on, and finally making an effort to trying to come to terms with it and making progress.... or so he thinks....)
Gotta gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
(But it seems, he will always make himself feel depress, because he "wants it all", he wants things to work out his way, her being with him only and quit her prostituting job)
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
(Thinking in his head about how it happened, he met her, kissed her, she was only suppose to be just a simple fling, and look where it got to now.)
Now Im falling asleep
(Still reminiscing the past: It's late, he in bed, going to sleep and she’s leaving the room for one of her job)
And she's calling a cab
(Possibly for the "customer" to leave when his done with her)
While he's having a smoke
(His having a smoke while waiting for her)
And she's taking a drag
(I believe this is part where she takes a BIG inhale of cigerettes, to psyche herself to do her job, screwing this guy)
Now theyre going to bed
(After both of them are done with the cigs, then they are going to bed)
And my stomach is sick
(He starts imagining what they are doing in the other room)
And its all in my head
(Because he can't see what's going on, but they are so close by, he can't stop his mind from visualising what's going on, mentally torturing himself with it)
But she's touching his chest
Now, he takes off her dress
(Clearly what he was visualising)
Now, let me go
(He wants to be freed from these distressing thoughts)
I just can't look its killing me
(Mentally flinching from what his imagining in his mind)
And taking control
(Jealousy is taking control)
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
(Making him think ugly thoughts)
Swimming through sick lullabies
(The process of thinking sick thoughts in his head)
Choking on your alibis
(Choking on his excuses he tries to make to comfort and calm down himself)
But its just the price I pay
(The price he pays for loving a prostitute)
Destiny is calling me
(Feeling like it was destiny that cause this to happen to him, this unfortunate situation, which he feels was beyond his control, what he feels for her)
Open up my eager eyes
(Pleading for somebody or anything to “open his eyes” to any other way to make him feel less tortured about this whole situation)
Cause Im Mr Brightside
(Sarcastically saying his Mr Brightside, when clearly his not)
I never...
I never...
I never...
(He never thought such a thing would ever happen to him)
anonymous
2008-08-17 01:02:05  
My 2 cents. Calling himself "Mr. Brightside" is a sarcastic comment. He met a girl, he kissed her good night at her door step, and his whole ride home he's thinking that she's left her place to mess with other dudes. He gets home and starts falling asleep, but all he can think of is her getting in a cab to go see another dude. Then he imagines she slept with that guy and they shared a post coital cigarette. All of this doesn't happen in reality, but in the singers head and in ther end he calls himself "Mr. Brightside" sarcastically because obviously he isn't because he was thinking all this negative stuff after having such a great night with the girl in question.
kellymartin
2008-08-30 12:02:57  
The songs seems to me unnecessarily ambiguous. She's toughing his chest; he's taking off her dress. Which person is the narrator jealous of? The guy or the girl?
I reckon the first few lines ("I'm coming out of my cage ... I want it all") refer to really starting to give your all to a relationship. Opening up, making yourself vulnerable, because you have to, because you want this to be the real deal. With the narrator's growing vulnerability and dependence on the person he's in the relationship with, he become more and more jealous and suspects that he's being cheated on. Believing this will crush him, but he also sort of WANTS to believe it ("open up my eager eyes") because it will allow him to shun the genuinely close relationship, of which his is afraid, without it appearing to be his fault.
anonymous
2008-09-01 23:05:00  
I believe, as stated before, that the man this song is about invests a lot of emotions into women. Except I believe he lives a lifestyle where he "messes around" with a lot of girls rather than being "confined" to a relationship (I'm coming out of my cage, I want it all, etc.).
And what can happen occasionally and unexpectedly is that he would fall in love or gain strong feelings for one of them (it was only a kiss, how did it end up like this.)
So while the girl may or may not have other guys that she has feelings for, he can't help but imagine what she might be doing with other guys while they themselves are not together (now I'm sick to my stomach, it's all in my head).
He realizes that he must deal with these feelings if he can't have her exclusively to himself. But he has to deal with it for having these types of relations (its the price I pay), but he'll be ok with it because its how he likes to live and thus see the bright side of it(destiny is calling me, because I'm Mr. Brightside).
So if I want to put it in layman's terms, it's about a player who becomes jealous about one of his girls, can't do anything about it because the girl may really like another dude, but eventually realizes that he can go on with his life anyways and still be happy.
anonymous
2008-09-26 17:04:11  
I think this song is about a threesome. The guy is insecure about doing things like this, but he gets convinced into doing it (he comes out of his protective cage) the whole thing starts off with just a kiss and then before they know it they are having a threesome. Thats just how it sounds to me.
anonymous
2008-10-05 05:58:08  
I think the song is about how the narrater was with this girl, but then he cheated on her, and thought it wasn't a big deal ("It was only a kiss"), but it wasn't mutual and she leaves him for another guy, hence the jealousy. Because he later feels guilty and wants her back because he can't move on ("I just can't look, its killing me and taking control"), but he is reluctant to beg and bruise his pride - he doesn't want to admit he did something stupid.He then realises she means more to him than his pride, and he talks to her about it ("coming out of my cage") An explanation for "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" probs makes more sense, but I heard "Mr Brightside" before, so I stick my my interpretation :)
anonymous
2008-10-07 09:08:58  
Has anyone considered the interpretation that he is jealous because he is in love with the man? It seems obvious to me, which is why he is furious that she is touching his chest. He is jealous that he cannot be with the man that he loves, not the woman, of whom he is jealous.
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