The Meaning Behind “Paradise” by Brandon Flowers and Why The Killers’ Singer Disses Phil Collins

Last month, The Killers’ front man Brandon Flowers released “Paradise”, the second single from his upcoming solo album. However, instead of new-wave synths and post-punk riffs, Flowers new album, Thrasher, finds the singer turning toward country music.

Recorded in Nashville, the dusty tune is an ironic tale of a dead-end job. But it begins with a jab at an 80s pop-rock tune about homelessness.

Behind the Lyrics

In the opening verse, Flowers appears to—for some reason—take a swing at Phil Collins’s “Another Day In Paradise”. Why, you might ask.

The answer’s in a social media post announcing his new song. Flowers wrote: “Back in October ’89, Phil Collins took ‘Another Day In Paradise’ from the working man. This Friday the 17th, I’ll be returning it to its rightful owner.”

Collins took heat in the 80s for writing about homelessness as a well-off rock star. But Flowers has sold a lot of records too, and The Killers remain one of the biggest bands in the world. Nonetheless, the arena rocker croons in patois about the “working man.”

They cut all the shifts right before the summer,
Then the bastards forced me on to swing.
I’m parking some white sedan,
While the owner tries his hand rolling dice,
It’s just another day in paradise.

Returning to “Paradise”, the narrator in this working-class tale grapples with aging out of an already bleak job market.

I don’t pull ’em ’round as quickly as I used to,
This chasing flashy cars is a young man’s game.
If I don’t keep up the pace somebody’s son will take my place in the picture frame.
And paradise will go on just the same.

Writing with sarcastic bliss, Flowers sings about enduring the daily banalities and how one survives adulthood as dreams fade beneath reality’s giant shadow.

So it’s just another day in paradise,
Another raindrop in the sea.
Count the hours to quitting time,
Trying to cross a silver line that always leans,
Just beyond the shadows of my dreams.

A Tale Well Told

While Flowers is known for leading The Killers’ new wave revival, Bruce Springsteen’s heartland rock has been present since the band’s second album, Sam’s Town. And on “Paradise”, Flowers borrows Springsteen’s songwriting move of placing despairing lyrics atop hopeful music.

Though here, the Boss’s heartland rock has been replaced by a rambling homage to Waylon Jennings. Albeit one recorded with the kind of glossy veneer Jennings and his fellow outlaws raged against.

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