The Killers: Jenny Was a Friend of Mine Meaning

Jenny Was a Friend of Mine Lyrics

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
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you...

1. anonymous

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   Feb 9th 2008 !⃝

   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.
2. anonymous

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   Feb 3rd 2008 !⃝

   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?

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
3. anonymous

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   Jan 17th 2008 !⃝

   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.
4. CIN

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   Dec 5th 2007 !⃝

   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~

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
5. HottBeeotch

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   Nov 4th 2007 !⃝

   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.
6. sophie123

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   Oct 23rd 2007 !⃝

   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...?
7. anonymous

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   Sep 26th 2007 !⃝

   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".
8. anonymous

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   Aug 26th 2007 !⃝

   "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.

   This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
9. twinkle_toes

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   Jul 14th 2007 !⃝

   Yeah, he killed her and he's being questioned, it's quite simple.
10. anonymous

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    Apr 11th 2007 !⃝

    Okay.
    My friend Andy and I were talking about this the other day, and we finally settled on a theory.
    
    The singer (Brandon) and jenny were having an affair,
    For some reason they were hiding their relationship. Jenny said she was sick of hiding, and I think she was choosing to leave him for someone else. Then Brandon reacted angrily. I think that at this point he shoves her or something. He was so angry he killed her accidentally. He never meant to kill her, he just wanted to hurt her. He clutches her lifeless body to himself, Not realizing that she isn't screaming because she's dead.
    
    He realizes that she is dead, and horrified at what he has done, probably abandons her body somewhere. The police find the body, people are questioned. Brandon is the last person seen with Jenny before her body is discovered, so of course he is the main suspect. Since he has a guilty conscious he freaks out under interrogation. The police don't know about his relationship with Jenny, so he's trying to convince them, "there is no motive for this crime" because Jenny and him were just friends. Hence, "Jenny was a friend of mine."
11. anonymous

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    Feb 19th 2007 !⃝

    "We took a walk that night but it wasn't the same,
    We had a fight out on the promenade out in the rain."
    
    I think that Jenny and the singer were friends - only he was in love with her. She, however, only loved him as a friend, and when he told her he was in love with her, she freaked out a little.
    
    "She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go."
    
    I think that's definitely Jenny trying to get away from him, because he's starting to scare her. The singer can't take the rejection because he loves her so much, and ends up killing her.
    
    "She couldn't scream while I held her close, I swore I'd never let her go."
    
    Naturally, he gets arrested for murder, and he's talking to the police. The repetition of 'Jenny was a friend of mine' is ironic because all that they had was friendship, but he wanted much, much more.
12. anonymous

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    Feb 11th 2007 !⃝

    To me the song is mainly about a boy and girl. The girl suspects he is cheating with a girl named Jenny, and the girl is trying to leave, and he won't let her leave, the crime was him... Supposedly cheating on her, but yet, Jenny was just a friend of his.. He swore he tells the girl it's the truth. Tell me what you wanna know... and then what you whispered in my ear, I know what your doing here, she suspects him cheating the *crime* he's basically proving his innocence to his girlfriend... That Jenny was only a friend of his.
    
    That's what I think, could be wrong...
13. anonymous

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    Nov 26th 2006 !⃝

    jenny is dying and she told him the she has to leave him and then she dies he keeps holding her hoping she's not dead then it looks like he's murdered her and they take him into interogation

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
14. anonymous

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    Nov 9th 2006 !⃝

    He must kill her, 'i held her close... Etc' and also 'there ain't no motive for this crime4'
15. prongs666

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    Jul 17th 2006 !⃝

    It doesn't necessarily say that she broke up with him...

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