The Killers: The Ballad Of Michael Valentine Meaning
The Ballad Of Michael Valentine Lyrics
Soul Sister won't you take a ride in his car
Late to call
When you wanted to be all
Baby don't be so shy
Rock children hold your heads up high
In the night while I try
And tell the ballad of Valentine
You got it...
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Well what was said about MV on Sweet Talk is probably what the song was actually originally written about, but what i get from the song is that this Michael Valentine is actually fame itself that the narrator is chasing around in desparation to get it. Im not sure its a homosexual love song as such, maybe just a metaphor of a desire for fame.
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i agree with you, i think the narator is attracted to micheal valentine. a ballad has two meanings: a song that tells a story and a slow romantic song. i feel like they travel the country because of a gambilng career or something like that: "hold on, youre just a gambling man, all proper like." or by gambling mn he could have meant something else but i dont see any musical references... "shut your mouth and wave good bye" the narrator might have wanted to tell mcheal but kept his mouth shut and just left so he would have micheal "rain on his parade" and tell the narrator he doesnt feel the same way.then he (narrator) leaves and picks up this girl and tells her and tells her his story. at the end when he says "hes gonna be there tonight" he wants to see micheal again.
damn that was long. -
Michael Valentine is the main character in the cult sci-fi novel A Stranger In A Strange Land. MV is born on Mars and is raised by Martians. After coming to Earth, learning to be human, he, with the help of paranormal powers gained by being raised a Martian, creates his own 'religion' promoting free love and peace.
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whether or nto he is gay i don't know but this isn't some homosexual love song. "Although my heart's in Mexico My munequita Abre tus ojos." he is speaking to a woman. that's why he said munequita with an "a" on the end. if he was speaking to a guy he would have said munequito
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the ballad of michael valentine is brandon flowers, when he and the band were preforming at clubs when his parents were the only ones in the crowd. he is talking about himself in the third person giving his non famous persona the name michael valentine. he is also talking about himself in the first person, when he looks back at his life, now that hes famous, telling the new and upcoming rock generation to keep their heads up. "rock children hold your heads up high in the night." this song gives great meaning to upcoming bands who really dont see fame at any level for years possibly decades.
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"The Ballad of Micheal Valentine is about a longtime friend of the band, and the merchandise guy's brother. He's a professional poker player, and his name is not really Michael Valentine. He opened for them on a few dates last December."
This description of the song is taken from Sweet Talk, the official Killers forum. In the questions and answers section, it explains the meaning behind some of the songs. -
Brandon is telling the children the story of MV before they go to bed when he says rock children hold your head up high in the night (dont put your head to to sleep) while I try to tell the ballad of valentine
and the part my munequita, abre tus ojos means my little doll open your eyes implying she or the chilren are getting sleepy but open your eyes to keep listening -
I definitely think this song is about following Michael Valentine around the country as he tours. The narrator has an attraction to Valentine more than just a fan of his music, along the lines of being a groupie. He wants him sexually, at least in fantasy if not for real. This fits with the sexual ambiguity in other lyrics on the album. But he also wants to be Valentine. It's about the desire to be a rock star himself.
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Michael is a traveling gambler who plays cards, the narrator is his friend. I agree and think the narrator is possibly in love with Michael but Michael loves all the lady attention he gets. The narrator eventually realises no matter what he does Michael will not love him so he leaves because he can't stnad seeing Michael anymore, he then writes down he sad 'cold' tale.
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I still don't get it ...and btw, it doesn't say I've got the burn... It says I've got the BUZZ, listen closely. and if all he wants to be is famous then why does he say My munequita (my doll) abre tus ojos (open you're eyes)and maybe he mentions Marlon Brando and Greta Garbo having the buzz because they are still being talked about even after she died in '90 and he died two years ago...they are concidered gorgeous people...maybe he's comparing himself to them...because everyone is always talking about how hot he is...hmmm
srry for rambling..... -
I think it's Brandon's story of following Michael Valentine, which could possibly be fame personified, or maybe an agent. He's trying to follow him around, traveling and trying so hard to get noticed but, "with [his] new suit, and [his] black tie" he's just considered a "gamblin' man all proper-like". He knows he's going to make it, no matter what, and he'll prove this force going against him wrong.
Analysis with the lyrics:
Michael plays with stars
Soul sister won't you take a ride
In his car
Late to call
When you want it to be all
(Michael is famous, and he can get you famous, but he's very busy and hard to talk to.)
Baby, baby don't be so shy
Rock children hold your heads up high
In the night
While I try and tell the ballad of Valentine
(There's always a chance, so the audience shouldn't give up. He's going to tell how he "seduced" Michael Valentine.)
You got it bad but you know it's true
(You're just dying to be famous, and you're fully aware.)
I met up with a friend in Dallas
We took a trip to New Orleans
Those black-eyed ladies
Won't say they're sorry
We finally caught a train to Memphis
Where everybody talks the same
Those blue suede babies
All know my name
(Brandon met up with a friend and they traveled everywhere *could possibly be symbolic of all the tiny clubs they played in to start out with, or the different locations referred to in Vegas* and they became popular with a few people.)
And I said
Hold tight,
Can't you see that it's hurtin' me?
But I've got the burn, like Marlon Brando
Michael Valentine, can't we unite?
(They can't make it yet, but Brandon's got the strongest urge to be famous. So can't him and Michael unite, so that he can be?)
We ended up in North Dakota
Although my heart's in Mexico
Mi munequita
Abre tus ojos
(They finally made it somewhere better, but not where he wanted to be at yet. He needs to open his eyes and realize they've got potential.)
With your new suit
And your black tie
Hold on, you're just a gamblin' man (blue suit) all proper like (black tie)
(People think that they're just a pretty band, from a pretty place. He's not as sophisticated, he just puts on a facade...it's not real.)
Well, I rolled to the right and I caught your eye
Shut your mouth
And wave good-bye, tonight
I ain't gonna let you rain on this parade
(Well, he finally proved them wrong, the visual I get is they impressed Michael *the people?*, as in "his" mouth dropped, and they're saying, "Look what you've missed out on. I'm not gonna let you ruin my chances.")
And I said
Hold tight,
Can't you see that it's hurting me?
But I've got the burn, like Marlon Brando
The straight face with misery, tonight
And I will not lie
When I say I ain't cold no more
But I've got the burn, like Gretta Garbo
Walking forward into the sun
And I've got a coattail end to ride
Well, uh-oh
I know he's gonna be there tonight
(Brandon knows that they're making it farther now, and he's got the burn to be famous. "Walking forward into the sun" could be implying walking into the spotlight. He knows that Michael will be there and so he's "got a coattail end to ride", meaning he's gotta get on to this guy, so that he'll never forget him.)
Okay, yeah, there you go lol. Just my opinion :D. -
I feel that this song expresses the singer's attraction toward one Michael Valentine, a young man who tours the US playing in a band. The narrator/singer of the song evidently travels with him on his many trips to different places, only to find that everywhere they go, the women are attracted to the narrator, but he wants them to leave him alone because he has his sights set on Mr. Valentine. He wants Michael to realize that he [Valentine] is his [the singer's] little boy-toy; with the lyrics, "Michael Valentine, Can't we unite" and "My muñequita, Abre Tus Ojos" he wants him to realize that he wants him. In the end, though, he has to accept that Valentine doesn't feel the same way. He then explains that he must now tell the sad story (ballad, for this song) of Valentine. He then leaves to go somewhere, knowing that Michael Valentine will be there. . .
Alright, well. There you are. I don't really know what to make of this song. My explaination may be completely left-field, but there were no existing ones to base mine off of. It seems that this song follows the same structure as "Andy, You're A Star", where one young man fonds over another, and so I figured that perhaps The Killers would write another song along similar lines.
Criticism, good or bad, would make me happie.
-Migduh
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