The Killers: All These Things That I've Done Meaning
Song Released: 2004
All These Things That I've Done Lyrics
Is there room for one more son
One more son
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on in the hearts of...
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also... "i need direction to perfection"... Latter Day Saint belief in exaltation. The idea that man may become as God. Perfected and pure. He needs direction to get back on track as it were.
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To understand this song… you have to understand his faith. He’s is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. They believe in a laid out plan to salvation ultimately through Jesus Christ and through following God’s commandments. Those who do not understand the Mormon belief in “The Plan of Salvation” can’t fully understand the song until they understand Brandon Flower’s faith. That being said…
When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
One more son
In this case, he’s the son… he’s asking God if he has room for his son to return to his presence.
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
This describes our struggle with sin and urging himself and others to hold on when you feel like letting go… not holding on to physical life, but faith.
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
This describes his battle of being a Mormon. He wants to stand for it, but its very hard at the same time. Sometimes you do just want to cave into temptation, but his understanding of the gravity of sin is, I would say advanced. He’s telling those who can’t relate that they know, but realizes they can’t really see his point of view.
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand
He wants to be a good example to people but struggles with his own daemons. He feels personally responsible for how his faith is portrayed and he cares about it so much that he wants others to understand the same thing he does.
Another head aches, another heart breaks
I am so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no
“Another head aches, another heart breaks” refers to his worry of another person falling off the righteous path and how he worries about his and other’s salvation. It could also encompass relatives or friends who worry about the spiritual well-being of their wayward loved ones. “I’m so much older than I can take describes the burden he feels with his understanding of the purpose of life. When you are of the Mormon faith, you see life from a different point of view… often young people are asked to act very adult (e.g. leaving on a church mission for two years to a foreign country). These things are wonderful, but some youth in the church feel pressure from these expectations.
Affection coming and going is his relationship with God. He’s strong at times and weak at others. He’s calling on God to help him “stay (or get back) on the straight and narrow.”
Help me out
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out
He is asking for help and for God not to leave him on his own. He knows that no one makes it to heaven on their own, but I get a feeling that this part is more temporal than eternal. He wants temporary relief from his struggles and ultimately eternal help.
And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more son
These changes ain't changing me
The cold-hearted boy I used to be
He’s really admitting that he is powerless on his own. You could argue that “changes” is referring to good things. That no matter what good he does experience or what good he does, he never feels adequate.
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
“You’re gonna bring yourself down” is a conversation with himself or the “daemon” inside of him. One of the tools of the devil is to convince you that you can’t be better. These few lines show him asking for help and at the same time saying you’re just going to bring yourself down.
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
This is the key line in the song. He’s saying that he has faith and that he believes, but may not be willing or have the strength to be as good as he needs to. In the Mormon faith, there are many references to soldiers comparing the youth of The Church to an army; being disciplined, obedient, strong, brave, loyal, etc. In the For example, in the Book of Mormon, there is a story of the “2000 Stripling Warriors” who all went to battle to defend their country and faith and not one was harmed. They were righteous and obedient and they were spared in battle. Flowers fell away from the church for a stint, and didn’t go on a mission. At times I’m sure he felt that even though his faith was strong, he couldn’t be as strong as a “soldier.”
Yeah, you know you got to help me out
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
You know you got to help me out
You're gonna bring yourself down
You're gonna bring yourself down
Yeah, oh don't you put me on the backburner
Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down
Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
All these things that I've done
If you can hold on
If you can hold on
This references the end of the world. The last call for sin refers to, either the end of your life, or the end of the world itself. The world seems so wicked that it seems that everyone is lost, but God will prevail. Novels have been written about the subject matter of these last few lines. In summary, “The Battle” refers to the battle between Satan and God and his righteous. Research “The Plan of Salvation” if you really want to grasp it. Once you see that, you really feel how positive and uplifting this song is. I think he wrote it about himself, but we can all relate. Sometimes we have trouble believing what bad things we’ve done, but he urges us to hold on. -
It's about being devoted to god, but still trying to rock it out in the modern world that doesn't understand him. It's about being a mormon and knowing its not cool at all but its still a personality quirk he can say makes him interested in alt god shit. It's about being from Las Vegas hen he wanted to born in Britain. It's about how ironic the difficulty, absurdity and dullness of life n shit.
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With the 'ive got soul but I'm not a soldier' bit I think this is also talking about how you see that soldiers are always high spirited and always see the bright side, and normal people just complain about the simplest things in life
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Some say I'm going off in a tangent with this idea but I think it has real meaning to the song. Again taking the idea of talking to gone but not from Brandon personally. I think he is literally talking about a soldier. That has been force in to the army. "i've got soul but I'm not a soldier". He has sinned in his life and is thrown into the army as the only choice left.
He is walking round the dessert with no where else to run! this is where "is there room for one more sun/son" is from. Firstly he asks god for another day, but also if there is room in heaven for him. He is the only one left and he is going to die soon. He shouts for help and tells god not to ignore him "you gotta help me out. don't put me on the back burner". and finally "if you can hold on" he is trying to hold on but is gunna give up.
Cheers x -
I really believe that this song is about him trying to get up to Heaven. Of course with the first line "Is there room for one more son." asking if he can be in Heaven. And how he needs "directon to perfection" and I think he's asking God for help.
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Just a thought that came to me when listening to the song ( a different interpretation ). He is trying to achieve greatness or some great deed,
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men
he wants recognition
Is there room for one more son
One more son
I need direction to perfection
but needs guidance
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
He has a character but he is not a soldier in the sense of obeying/being able to do the dirty work. Also maybe in the meaning of soldier being something uniform and he proclaiming that he stands out of the crowd with sould-soldier being a wordplay.
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
Even though he lost all his friends and relatives ( their support ?) by doing what he had to do it helped him achieve his goal -
I am surprised that no one has made the connection yet with the 12 Step Program for addiction control.
Step #1. Admit that you are powerless.
When there's nowhere else to run...
(I'm powerless. I've exhausted my options.)
Step #2 - Come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Is there room for one more son...
(I surrender. Will you take me in? Is there room for one more broken soul?)
If you can hold on, If you can hold on, hold on
(I'm tired. I'm broken. I need help.)
Step #5 - Admit to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go...
(I want to stand up in a meeting in front of others and tell my story. I want to unburden myself and admit my guilt/sins.)
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't ...
(This is about ego and denial. All of us think we have control. We think we can control our additions. We think we know. But we don't. Our addictions control us. We only have the illusion of control.)
Step #8 - Make a list of all the persons we have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all.
I wanna shine on in the hearts of men...
(I want forgiveness. I want to be worthy of love. I want to repent.)
I wanna mean it from the back of my broken hand ...
(I want to mean it from the depth of my brokenness and despair, with all sincerity and not superficially.)
Step #4 - Make a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Another head aches, another heart breaks ...
I am so much older than I can take ...
(How many people am I going to harm before I acknowledge that I have a problem? How many headaches will I cause for those I supposedly love. How many hearts will I break before I finally take responsibility for my own life? I think I know. I think I have all the answers. No I don't. No I don't.)
I am so much older than I can take...
(The burden of my life on my self and on others has taken a toll on me and has stolen away my youthful innocence and joy for life.)
Again, Step #1 - Admit that you are powerless.
And my affection, well it comes and goes.
(My addiction is my affection. The cravings come and go. My addiction controls me. I don't control it.)
Step #2 - Come to believe that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us to sanity. Step #6 - Be entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. And Step #7 - Humbly ask Him to remove our shortcomings.
I need direction to perfection, no no no no ...
(Part of me wants to be saved but part of me wants to keep doing what I'm doing. I know I'm powerless but I want to continue my my addiction but just not suffer the consequences.)
The rest is pretty self explanatory. The line "gold-hearted boy that I used to be..." is a twist. It can mean the kind, giving, loving and generous person that I used to be. It can also mean the ambitious, hard-working, goal-oriented person that I used to be. Or the greedy person that I used to be. Either way, whatever it was that I used to be, it's gone now. "These changes aren't changing me ..." Whatever I do, I can't get that gold-hearted boy back. "You know you got to help me out, Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down." I'll prey on your compassion. I'll wear you out trying to save me. You'll bring yourself down trying to help. My needs will drain you. "I got soul (I suffer), but I'm not a soldier (I've got no fight left in me)." -
'No don't you put me on the back burner' means now don't you put me in low priority. Just thought I'd clear that up.
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I am not religious and ironically, this is one of my favourite songs. I find that the internal struggle depicted in this piece is something many people, regardless of beliefs, can identify with.
Of course, the most obvious interpretation of this song is that the speaker is seeking help, love and forgiveness from God. Personally, I had always interpreted it to mean that the narrator not only wants guidance, he actually wants to become Jesus Christ. To me, the telling lines are, "over and in. Last call for sin. While everyone's lost, the battle is won, with all these things that I've done." In other words, people cannot fully escape sin no matter how noble their efforts, whereas if he could be Jesus (or perhaps he has already convinced himself that he is Jesus) he would be completely saved and at peace. The narrator is obsessed with Jesus possibly to an unhealthy level, but he is still easy to identify with, because most humans do face internal battles when it comes to seeking perfection in themselves, and looking at the difference between who they are and who they should be. Just my personal opinion. I do tend to bring obsessions and mental illnesses and whatnot into my interpretations of things, because I find them interesting. -
Ha ha he, I've heard a lot of crazy stuff out there. Quite honestly, I think only the writer of any literature, lyrical or not, will really ever know the true meaning of his own song. And if not him, nobody else is going to understand it fully.
But what is toil anyway right. . . :) -
obviously the entire song is a dialog with god. not jesus , but god . not his thoughts or anything , it is accualy dialoge is having with god.
he is accually at one point showing contempt for god , when he says your going to bring yourself down ( because you have ignored and put me on the back burner ).
it is a wonderful song . as flowers struggles are universal and we all feel like that or have felt like that at some point.
he writes alot about his struggle with his faith.
how someone can get that this song is about a struggling musician or something is beyond me .
this song is 100% a letter to god . -
Ok so lines 1 thru 3 are pretty clear. A sinner has nowhere else to go but to God to ask for forgiveness, and he is asking if there is room for himself in God's kingdom.
Lines 4 and 5 are basically stating hold on to your faith, whether in good times or bad.
Line 6 "I wanna stand up, I wanna let go" is stating he wants to stand in his faith, but yet at the same time his flesh just wants to let go. This is the Christian struggle between the heart/soul and the flesh. His biographies are clear he is a devout Mormon.
Line 7 "you know, you know, no you dont, you dont" is basically stating you should understand his conflict, but then you dont. and why not? Well his audience is mostly non-Christians. non-Christians don't usually understand the internal struggles that Christians face.
Line 8 "I wanna shine on, in the hearts of men" verifies the above, as the clear point being made in a context that is somewhat ambiguous otherwise.
Line 9 "I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand" is explaining the nail-pierced hands of the crucifixion and the meaning of the cross in which he himself is tied to via Christ.
Line 10 "Another head aches, another heart breaks" is simply telling of the downers in his life experience...likely the effects created by his sins.
Line 11 "Im so much older than I can take" is odd because he is only 27 or 28 years old, our age. So he must be stating age in a different sense, figuratively. Sometimes age can be referred to either one's level of wisdom and knowledge, or else experiences built up over life. Its likely he means the former, that he feels the burden of his wisdom....because in his biography he states he pretty much lived under a rock his whole youth in a Mormon family.
Line 12 "And my affection, well it comes and goes" which obviously refers to the ups and downs of faith Christians have.
Line 13 "I need direction to perfection, no no no no" is perhaps the most awesome line in the whole song because the natural inclination of a Christian is to try to make themselves more perfect by their own deeds (self righteous), and yet its so so so so the wrong way to go about it. So what is the right way to go about it?
Line 14-18 (The Chorus):
"help me out, yeah
you know you gotta help me out, yeah
oh, don't you put me on the back burner
you know you gotta help me out, yeah"
He is crying out to God for help. Thats the ultimate way to be right with God, not self-correcting or self-righteousness.
Line 18-21: "and when there's nowhere else to run. Is there room for one more son? These changes ain't changing me. The cold hearted boy I used to be."
That is referring to him being changed and yet at the same time he is failing at changing. Its referring to the change of heart you have when you become saved (verified by him saying he's not the cold hearted boy he used to be)However, he has failed at full repentance of his sins because there are some he is still committing. Thus the changes aint changing him.
Lines 22-27: A repeat of the chorus, this time with the additon of the line "youre gonna bring yourself down, yeah" which I think means he is now referring to the church body, or possibly his family, but surely some entity, individual, or group of people OTHER than God. This is perfectly place in the lyrics chronologically, as it has just occurred after he admits he is still sinning and devout churches will often kick out members who fail to repent of their sins even if they were trying to.
When a church body refuses to help someone out who is struggling, and instead kicks them out the door...that church is likely to fall in the future. Though there was also an opinion I read that it might have to do with his personal family and/or sexual partners who haven't forgiven him. but thus far I think its the church.
Then it goes into the bridge "I got soul, but Im not a soldier" That bridge is referring to the fact that he has the Holy Spirit necessary for salvation, but he is failing at conquering his battles over sin.
Then we have a repeat of the chorus with no new additional meanings
And finally we have the last 4 lines of meaning:
"Over and in, last call for sin"
"while everyones lost, the battle is won"
"With all these things that Ive done"
Basically its stating that despite the fact that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God...the battle is still won due to the victory in Christ. The last line "With all these things that Ive done" is just his restating "Even With All these things that I've done, the Battle is still won" as if the power of Grace is baffling to him.
I give both the song/lyrics and the video the award for most complex literature written this year. -
It doesn't necessarily have to do with God and Jesus...
"I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know, no, you don't, you don't
I want to shine on in the hearts of men
I need direction from the back of my broken hand"
It's someone, probably young (a young adult, maybe, in mid-20s) and with all of life's possibilities ahead, full of dreams and aspirations and things he dreams to do and accomplish, but at the same time he feels a little lost and without direction, without knowing which way to follow - like all young people do.
"Another head aches, another heart breaks
I am so much older than I can take
And my affection, well, it comes and goes,
I need direction to perfection, no no no no"
And so, while this young person is discovering everything the world has to offer, it stumbles upon heart-aches and broken hearts - which are inherent to living and a certainty in life. This young person keeps on trying to deal with this all and everything inherent to this age - mood swings, passions that don't last too long, etc - and keeps trying to find his way.
"I got soul but I'm not a soldier" was really well interpreted in Nike's commercial during the Olympic games: there is fight in this person, although, this person is not a fighter. Meaning: this person will not give up and let the odds beat him, he will strive for his goals, like a soldier that can't give, up, unlike a soldier, this person is a pacifist and will avoid conflicts and fights at all costs...
*Though in my opinion, soldiers could be pacifists, too. ;)
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