What does Mr Brightside mean?

The Killers: Mr Brightside Meaning

Album cover for Mr Brightside album cover

Song Released: 2003


Mr Brightside Lyrics

I'm coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
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

Now I’m falling asleep
And she’s calling a...

  1. maigloeckje
    click a star to vote
    Aug 26th 2010 !⃝

    I think it's about a guy who has fallen in love with a prostitute. by "coming out of my cage" I think he means his personal cage/prison, stuck at a point in which he can't turn things back. I guess the rest is kinda clear, like "it was only a kiss" "I want it all" until "shes touching his chest now" (her again with another guy/client) "let me go" he can't take it anymore. by the chorus the first two lines are about how he's jealous, then "choking on my alibis" making up excuses for himself why he can't let her go "but its just the price I pay" he thinks its his own fault that he has gotten himself into that situation.
    the rest is just about motivating himself (cause I'm Mr Brightside) that he should stay positive and forget about that girl and look into the future (Destiny is calling me)

    I don't know what the "I never" part is supposed to mean, maybe an unfinished form of "I never should have done this" "I'm never gonna do this again" or even "I never will forget this girl"

    anyway there are a lot of other interpretations, but I interpret the song in this way.

  2. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 10th 2010 !⃝

    I think it's about bringing this girl to a party, they both have a thing with other. At the event, he finally gets that kiss from her, and he's on top of the world, thinking that they can be together.
    "It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this"
    Meaning they kissed, but her whole feeling for him disappointed and she went with another male their, who all the girls flocked too. She left him at the party to go with the other guy. While the night goes on, she starts to flirt with him more and more. But he doesn't understand how she is so attracted to this man all of a sudden.

    "Now Im falling asleep, And she's calling a cab, While he's having a smoke And she's taking a drag"
    hes had a long night and tired, and the girl he brought is leaving and calling a cab, while waiting with the other guy their."

    "And my stomach is sick,And its all in my head, But she's touching his chest now, He takes off her dress now, Let me go"
    at this point he is feeling heart broken and is thinking of everything her and that guy could be doing, so he finally goes to look. He sees her touching his chest and he start to undress her. Hes seen enough and wants to go.


    "I just can't look its killing me, And taking control"
    He doesn't want to look, but he can't stop looking.

    "Jealousy, turning saints into the sea, Swimming through sick lullabies, Choking on your alibis, But its just the price I pay, Destiny is calling me, Open up my eager eyes
    Cause Im Mr. Brightside"
    His jealousy is coming over him, he's filled with rage and anger, he confronts her, but she is messing up her alibis to him, he realizes his destiny in life is not to be with that girl, he needs to look at what happen for what it really was, which is she slept with another man, he's mr.brightside thinking theirs no way she could of done this.

  3. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 2nd 2010 !⃝

    I think the song wants to show that things can be seen very differently. He kissed the girl and fell in love, wants to be with her. But in her mind it was just a kiss, nothing else, she isn't interested in the singer and has already got a new boyfriend. The singer imagines what the two are doing and tries to convince himself that it was just a kiss, nothing else. And he wants to keep the face of Mr Brightside alive, although the feelings and thoughts about the girl are killing him.

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 24th 2010 !⃝

    He fell in love with a whore and he's heartbroken that she sleeping with other man. She is also in love with him, but she has a job to do; and it happen to be whoring. This causes him to leave at the end of the video.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 16th 2010 !⃝

    Have you guys seen the music video? The main girl is a hooker and the guy eating the apple is the pimp.
    -I'm coming out of my cage and I've been doing just fine-
    he just got dumped
    -gotta gotta be down because I want it all-
    he fell in love with the hooker and his friends are "being down" because they think it's impossible for a hooker to fall in love with him "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-
    He paid the hooker after he got dumped (maybe to get over the girl that dumped him), he fell in love with her after they kissed, the girl fell in love with him also.He asks her to be his girlfriend.
    -Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cab while he’s having a smoke and she’s taking a drag-
    One night after he fell asleep. The girl calls a cab outside his house so she can go be a hooker, a stranger that's by her asks if she wants a smoke.
    -Now they’re going to bed and my stomach is sick and it’s all in my head-
    He wakes up and notices that she's gone. He's getting sick from the thought that the girl and a stranger are going to bed with each other. (because he knows she's a hooker)
    -But she's touching his chest now, he takes off her dress now, letting me go-
    She really is in bed with the stranger, and she's letting the chance of them to be together go.
    -and I just can’t look its killing me and taking control-
    he can't think about it and the jealousy is taking control over him

    -Jealousy, turning saints into the sea-
    jealousy can turn good people into killers (sorry for the bad pun)
    -swimming through sick lullabies-
    lullabies are the thoughts that are going through his head before he falls asleep.
    -Choking on your alibis-
    he asks her where she's been even though he knows she's cheating on him. She lies but he already knows the truth
    -But it’s just the price I pay-
    he's paying a price to have her as a girlfriend
    -Destiny is calling me-
    but he believes that they are meant to be together
    -Open up my eager eyes-
    each morning he wakes up to her (after she's been out)
    -‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside-
    And he ignores that she's a stripper and looks at the bright side of the situation

    It's kind of a stretch but after I watched the video it clicked in my head

  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jul 6th 2010 !⃝

    (watch the music video before rating) I think it's all about a girl he use to be good friends with, and they were in love, but then she became a prostitute. Now she is stuck there, having sex with men whenever the old rich guy throws her an apple. go to the music video and watch up until 22 seconds. he throws her an apple, she goes and hooks up with a guy. If you watch towards the end of the video, you see the girl the singer loves wearing a different outfit than when she was a prostitute. when he is saying "I never" he is having flashbacks of when he knew her before she was a slut. Now he is jealous whenever she hooks up with a guy. he can't bear to look. so at 2:59 in the video he plays for her freedom, and looses to the rich old guy. At the very end, he leaves his love sitting in the whorehouse alone, thus Signifying that he has let her go, he doesnt want to love a prostitute. thats the story of the music video, anyways.

  7. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 22nd 2010 !⃝

    But it's just the price I pay destiny is calling me open up my eager eyes, cause I'm Mr. Brightside. That he pays the price for being optimistic about love or of his partner. He wants to see the good in his partner. Still, he feels because of this optimisim he pays the price for love. Cause love is the destiny. When you are in love you want to think the best of the peson but that isn't always how it is.

    "I never," I think could mean two things. Even though he has such feelings he never thinks the person will do such a thing. Or secondly, he never gives up on love.

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 15th 2010 !⃝

    I think that he is being sarcastic about being mr. brightside, no matter how positive someone wishes to be, our feelings do not lie to us, and they are our only truths in life. He knows that she is out of his sight now and unsure of himself and his worth and therefore will always be jealous and unsettled in relationships. insecurity kills relationships.

  9. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 19th 2010 !⃝

    okay, i FULLY agree with the other statement "song writers imagination running away with him"
    BOTH the song AND the music video make several clear references to Moulin Rouge.
    same situation, while based off of different stories, same idea.

  10. NextGeneration
    click a star to vote
    May 18th 2010 !⃝

    I think it means that he was in jail and than released. When he gets home he finds his girlfriend kissing another man. She tells him shes leaving because she thinks hes a loser. They get a cab and leave while hes left to think about the days events. He than realizes that hes hit rock bottom and the only way to go is up. His optimism changes his luck and soon his garage band (thought it would better fit the situation) is now famous. His girlfriend than comes back hoping to get back with him and his newfound fame. He says no (which is hard for him) while shes trying to tell him the future they can have together while also explaining what happened that day. He still says no with the song ending with "I never" repeating. Meaning that he never cheated on her and that he also never wants to be with her again. Not the happiest song but its still open for debate.

  11. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    May 9th 2010 !⃝

    I think the song means that she is already in a relationship with someone but is with "Mr. Brightside" behind the scenes. He has to watch her live her other relationship out in public and it's killing him. He has feelings for her so deeply. But "Mr.Brightside" chooses to stay behind the scenes.

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 27th 2010 !⃝

    Just maybe it really just is about a guy who loves a girl in a brothel? He wants her but her job dictates she ahs to be shared.Ta Da!

  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Apr 19th 2010 !⃝

    I think the lyrics are about this guy who likes this girl. But in his mind, he thinks the girl is cheating on him when she is really not. Hence the ending of the song.

    I didnt..
    I didnt..
    I didnt..

    And the part where it says "Its all in my head"

  14. thekillers
    click a star to vote
    Apr 18th 2010 !⃝

    It's actually about Brandon Flower's relationship with a woman and how she cheated on him. He calls himself Mr. Brightside because he looks on the brighter side of sad situations. The song wasn't always written by The Killers this song was originally written by the band MCFLY and then The Killers rewrote it.

  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 31st 2010 !⃝

    "I'm comin' out of my cage, and I've been doing just fine", I think in this verse, he is trying to say 'so far, I've been good about not falling in love'. I think he is being sarcastic by calling himself 'Mr. Brightside'. He fell for a girl that already has a boyfriend, and every time he closes his eyes, he sees them having sex and he gets really angry, so he is desperately wanting to open his eyes. And then by the end, he repeatedly says 'I never..' meaning I never expected myself to be in this type of situation..




More The Killers songs »


 


Latest Articles

 


Submit Your Interpretation

[ want a different song? ]




Just Posted

Taking Over Me anonymous
All The Good Girls Go To Hell anonymous
Wingriddenangel anonymous
I Spoke to The Devil in Miami anonymous
This Woman's Work anonymous
Action! Not Words anonymous
Everybody Loves Me, Baby anonymous
Fall in to Sleep anonymous
Lemon Boy anonymous
Drama Club anonymous
Gravity anonymous
Our First Time anonymous
Nymphetamine anonymous
Liquid Smooth anonymous
Teddy Bear anonymous

(We won't give out your email)