The Killers: Mr Brightside Meaning
Song Released: 2003
Mr Brightside Lyrics
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...
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In my opinion 'Mr. Brightside' isn't at all about him being all optimistic and positive, but completely on the contrary. When I hear of 'Mr. Brightside' I immediately think sarcasm. When someone calls them self "Mr. Brightside" or like "Mr. Sunshine", they're saying it sarcastically, as in they're everything BUT happy/optimistic. The tile of the song is ironic. The guy is totally insecure, pessimistic, and full of doubt.
example:
-"so how are you today?"
-"oh I'm just peachy! my car broke down, I lost my job, my dog died. yeah, I'm just another happy-go-lucky son of a bi*ch enjoying this wonderful freaking life. I wonder what other crap is just going to happen tomorrow; maybe a car will hit me and I can finally be free. Yup, that's me, 'Mr. Brightside', always thinking in the positive."
The song is about a guy who's falling in love, but is sort of a creep who's all clingy and stalkerishy. He "falling asleep", but he can't help but think that his girlfriend is going to sneak off the second he's does and meets up with some other guy and cheats on him. Then he starts to imagine her and this other guy fooling around; "But she’s touching his—chest." All this insecurity is building up in him and is "killing" him and the jealousy is "taking control." He knows "it’s all in my head" but he can't help it and its making his stomach "sick." "Jealousy, turning
saints into the sea," this is him saying how his envy is so strong is whole world is turning upside down (because saints are in the sky, but now they're in the "sea"). However, even though he feels jealous and insecure, he bottles it up and puts on a happy face for everyone(him being in denial); and thus making people see him as "Mr. Brightside".
Bottom line, basically the song is describing his inner demons/insecurities/jealousy/envy. Then he says "But it’s just the price I pay" as in feeling like crap on the INSIDE is the price he pays for acting all smily and happy on the OUTSIDE. "Destiny is calling me Open up my eager eyes" "‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside" this part here is trying to say his inner conscience (destiny) is trying to tell him to open up his eyes, which are always too eager and willing to see the bad in life rather the good, because he's "Mr. Brightside" (which we now know is sarcastic and really means 'mr. negative')----> translation:
-Destiny/little angle that sits on your shoulder/conscience: "hey mr. negative who's always insecure about everything, Open up your freaking eyes that are always too eager to see bad stuff and see that she's not cheating on you!!!"
*another clear evidence of this is their music video. now does he really look like he's all happy and positive -______- C'mon people open up your superficial ignorant minds and see the song for more that what it may seem like on the surface; dig deeper into the meaning!! >:[* -
The title is tongue-in-cheek/sarcastic - not literal. The song is about jealousy. Perhaps she told him that she kissed another guy - it was only a kiss. But his imagination gets the best of him. He imagines her with this other guy doing all sorts of things. And that's just his nature, to look on the "brightside" of things. He's begging his imagination to let him go. He recognizes that it is running away with him - but how do you stop it?
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I always thought it was about a guy getting into the porno biz... He does look like a 70's porn star.
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Saw video 1st time this morn. What I think it means is the woman is abused by Husb. He won't let her go & he gets perverted pleasre seeng her wth other men but too cocky to let her go to enjoy true love because he has selfish greedy lustful pride & he always wins chess game? He loves her for sex & the guy who is jealous really loves her and is jealous & doesn't want her to be lookd at by men because he really luvs her. The apple symbol verbal abuse thrown at her "you slut" & her sin because she married. He husb eats her sin the apple, he has a sick need to watch her sin. He pushes her to flirt wth other men & sinning because he treats her so bad and ignores her and even abuses by pushing her grnd. The fireworks represnt happy times with the ohter man, special occassions spent wth man she really loves but can't be with who give her hope, a Bright Side. The man who loves her can't have her because he's not her husbd has kep lookn on the brightside. She dosn't leav because she's lying around bored/lonely/depressed. Ha Right?
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Brandon Flowers wrote the song. Its the first song they worked on when he met Dave through a newspaper ad. Brandon wrote the words after his long term girlfriend had been messing around with another guy. There are quite a few songs about it. It doesnt have anything to do with the murder trilogy. Its one of those real life songs.
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It's about hookers , the age old problem of falling for your whore, been there done that.
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isn't it obvious?
this song is written about The Great Gatsby.
this song clearly depicts Jay Gatsby's quest to achieve the one thing he's spent five years of his life trying to accomplish-getting the girl. Daisy. -
Here it is lyric by lyric of my interpretation--
"coming out of my cage, and I've been doing just fine"-- he's saying he's like kinda coming out of his shell, like opening up, not being shy, and he realizes he's just fine
"gotta gotta be down because I want it all"-- he has to do anything to get what he wants, which to him seems like everything
"started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? it was only a kiss, it was only a kiss"-- kind of like a snowball effect. It all just started out with him meaninglessly kissing a girl, he thought, but he realized he wants her and loves her and is now wondering how this all happened
"now I'm falling asleep and she's calling a cab"-- he's lying in bed, while she left, because you know they kissed but she's in a relationship (he's imagining), and she's calling a cab, going home
"while he's having a smoke, and she's taking a drag"-- and her boyfriend I presume is smoking, and she takes a puff (once again he's imagining this happening, because he's lying in bed still)
"now they're going to bed and my stomach is sick, and it's all in my head"-- now they're "going to bed" gonna have sex, and he's sick to his stomach because he realized he loves her and doesn't want her with another man. but then he wakes up and realizes the part where she was smoking with her boyfriend and having sex and all that was just a nightmare
"but she's touching his chest now, he takes off her dress now let me go"-- and he's back imagining her and some other guy having sex. and "let me go" is like, he doesn't wanna love her.
"I just can't look, it's killing me"-- he can't bear to look at her and this other guy because he's just so much in love with her that it hurts to see her with someone else
"and taking control, jealousy, turning saints into the sea"-- jealousy can make someone so crazy that even a saint will commit a sin
"turning through sick lullabies"-- lullabies are supposed to be beautiful, but if your full of jealousy, you don't realize how great it is
"choking on your alibis"-- you're messing up your story, because it's a lie. your making too many different stories up.
"but it's just the price I pay, destiny is calling me"-- but this jealousy thing is just what he has to get through, because he knows destiny will guide him and get him to where he's supposed to be
"open up my eager eyes, I'm mr. brightside"-- waking up from his dream of her and the other guy, or nightmare I presume is a better word than dream, and remembers it wasnt real. He still has a chance and now is excited and eager, and it shows in his eyes. He is looking on the brightside.
then it all repeats until the last lines "I never" which might mean like he's never loved someone so much before or he never thought this whole situation could be possible just because of a kiss. -
i think that the guy and the girl had been in love,but he had done some things to cause them to split.("but its just the price i pay").but hes still very much in love with her,and she has moved on.now he found out that she slept with this guy and it causes him to run the images of how it may have happened and what they did through his mind over and over("And my stomach is sick
And it’s all in my head") its tearing at him and he feels like hes losing it,but he cant stop thinking of it no matter how bad he wants to.("I just can’t look its killing me,And taking control") i dont beleive he actually saw them doing it or was spying on them,its just a run through of what hes thinking in his own mind
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Mr brightside, I think is a song about the injustice of being in love with someone but them not loving you back.
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 (the start of a dream, falls asleep)
And she's calling a cab (dreamt up)
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(it's all just a dream but it feels so real and he's so jelouse of the man who she loves)
But she's touching his-chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go (let me wake up)
And I just can't look its killing me
And taking control
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea (saints, people who we look up too, turning them to the sea could be drowning all the good)
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis (so many alibis that it's obviouse that she's lying to him to keep from hurting him)
But it's just the price I pay (for being so easy to fall in love)
Destiny is calling me(price he pays because he believes that he will find love because it's his destiny)
Open up my eager eyes(so he looks for his destiny)
'Cause I'm Mr Brightside(because he's-sarcastically-mr optimistic-maybe she said something like he was never unhappy and that's what he thinks she expects from him)
it goes on to repeat the first verse... Then says
I never...
I never...
I never...
I never...
i also think that maybe the singer was a wingman, and he accidentaly falls in love with the girl he has helped another man to talk to. He's kissed her and he's telling the man to let him go from his occupation, he can't look because he see's her with him and it's killing him and taking control. He's so jelouse because if he hadn't have become the mans wingman then he wouldn't be restrained by rules telling him that he can't be with her and mr brightside, could mean mr optimistic about getting another guy a girl. and it's just the price he pays because he's signed up to something he can't easily shake off he has to open his eager eyes to find a girl for the man he's working for. I think that makes sense -
I've listened to this song a number of times and the gist I get from it is that Mr. Brightside is in love with a girl who's cheating on her boyfriend/husband/whatever with him.
He talks about how he's falling asleep and she's calling a cab and "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's picturing her going home to her boyfriend/husband and them being together.
Then he mentions "choking on your alibis" these are the lies she's having to tell her boyfriend/husband to cover up for her cheating
Mr. Brightside is a completely depressed lovesick guy pining away for his lover who chooses to stay with her boyfriend/husband, but he's choosing to look at the bright side of life because he feels it's his destiny to be with her. -
I think your all taking the words to literally.. Haven't any of you ever loved someone soooooo much that the moment they walk out you just imagine all the things that could go wrong.. Here let me try to explain..
"Coming outta my cage
and I been doing just fine
Gotta be down because I want it all"
he is trying to free himself of this bad habit of being so jealous (outta the cage) and he's been doing fine. He realizes he need to stop if he wants to keep her. being down = cool.. He needs to be cool to have it all.. In this case the girl.
"It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this
It was only a kiss"
Now common misconception her.. just because it was "only" a kiss does not necessarily mean just one kiss.. He could just be referring to a particular kiss of many.. The one where he fell in love. No one ever understands how they fell in love they just do.
"Now I'm falling asleep
and she's calling a cab
while he's having a smoke
and she's taking a drag
and theyre going to bed
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"
The most important part here are " all in my head" he is laying in bed imagining this.. His extreme jealousy has this hold on him he wants it to let him go
" I just can't look its killing me
and taking control."
Most literal translations people believe its a voyuer or prostitute.. but you have to remember its "all" in his head. by not looking.. He is trying to close this image in his mind but he cant.. It appears he has lost control.
"Jealousy turning saints into the sea"
A metaphor for how even a "saint" could get lost in their jealousy (lost at sea.. get it)
"Swimming through sick lullabies"
He must have these "sick" thoughts every night before bed.. Its the only way he would refer to it as a "lullaby"
"Choking on your alibi"
he is choking on her alibi.. She is not doing anything wrong tis the alibi.. by him "choking" on it he isn't taking it in.. He's being irrational.
"but its just the price I pay
destiny is calling me"
he understands its his fault.. Its the price he pays for being so jealous and he know where it is going to end up if he keeps doing this (its his "destiny")
" Open up my eager eyes
Im Mr Brightside"
he is optimistic that he can fix it.
now as for the "I NEVER" I don't know -
I thought like someone else put it that it was a less literal translation with some parts.
Coming out of my Cage.
I think refers to coming out of his own emotional Cage after the break up with the girl in the song. Or the Cage she had him in before.
Gotta Gotta be down, because I want it all.
I like the interpretation of being down with oneself, because they wanted too much, such as true love.
It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this? It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss.
I think he saw her kiss someone else, and is thinking about it.
Now I'm falling asleep, and she's calling a cab...and it's all in my head.
As he is going to bed he "imagines" what she is doing as it is going on. The quotes are there, because it is happening or has happened.
But she’s touching his—chest
Now, he takes off her dress
Now, let me go
Pretty simple, but using now is his way of listing things as they are happening. Now this Now that Now this, but he stops it in the middle to say 'Let me Go!' which could refer to how much of a hold she has on him, and how much he wants to just be free of it.
I just can’t look its killing me
And taking control
He sees it in his head, and can't get it out.
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Being jealous will make even the best person think things they wouldn't normally, overactive imagination. I think it can also be seen in a couple ways, mixing sea with swimming, he is stuck hearing those songs that make him feel bad.
Choking on your alibis
She has been cheating, and her alibis for where she has been are not believable.
But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside
I see this as more of a positive thing. Like it happened for a reason, in order for his destiny to be achieved, he had to have something bad like this happen, so he is going to let her go and look forward with a positive attitude.
I never...
I never...
I never...
Tough, could be I never want to feel that way, or I never want to see her again. Or in a positive/assertive light I never will have that happen again. Again I like the last positive part. Good song. -
I think this is a song about a woman that is playing with his emotions. He is in love with her and she knows it. She is playing with him and still messing around with other guys. He never expected to fall for her (how did it end up like this?). The scenario with her with the other guy is all in his head. He knows she is messing around and keeps playing it over and over in his mind. The jealousy is making him crazy. He wants to move on but can't because she keeps pulling him back (he's begging her to "let me go"). I think the "I never.." means that he never thought he would end up like this.
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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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