{"id":4881,"date":"2026-08-14T13:07:29","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:07:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/?p=4881"},"modified":"2026-08-14T13:28:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T17:28:48","slug":"the-meaning-behind-paradise-by-brandon-flowers-and-why-the-killers-singer-disses-phil-collins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/the-meaning-behind-paradise-by-brandon-flowers-and-why-the-killers-singer-disses-phil-collins\/","title":{"rendered":"The Meaning Behind \u201cParadise\u201d by Brandon Flowers and Why The Killers\u2019 Singer Disses Phil Collins"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Last month, The Killers\u2019 front man Brandon Flowers released \u201cParadise\u201d, the second single from his upcoming solo album. However, instead of new-wave synths and post-punk riffs, Flowers new album, <em>Thrasher<\/em>, finds the singer turning toward country music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Behind the Lyrics<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Brandon Flowers - Paradise (Official Audio)\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/esRxX_TVXZs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>In the opening verse, Flowers appears to\u2014for some reason\u2014take a swing at Phil Collins\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/facts\/phil-collins\/another-day-in-paradise\">\u201cAnother Day In Paradise\u201d<\/a>. Why, you might ask.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The answer\u2019s in a social media post announcing his new song. Flowers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DavSz58pLK9\/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;ig_rid=AIp1oVVcV0XEqs8T76tEAz5\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>: \u201cBack in October \u201989, Phil Collins took \u2018Another Day In Paradise\u2019 from the working man. This Friday the 17th, I\u2019ll be returning it to its rightful owner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>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 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Cma_-E6pG2Y&amp;list=RDCma_-E6pG2Y&amp;start_radio=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">arena rocker<\/a> croons in patois about the \u201cworking man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>They cut all the shifts right before the summer,<br>Then the bastards forced me on to swing.<br>I\u2019m parking some white sedan,<br>While the owner tries his hand rolling dice,<br>It\u2019s just another day in paradise<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Returning to \u201cParadise\u201d, the narrator in this working-class tale grapples with aging out of an already bleak job market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>I don\u2019t pull \u2019em \u2019round as quickly as I used to,<br>This chasing flashy cars is a young man\u2019s game.<br>If I don\u2019t keep up the pace somebody\u2019s son will take my place in the picture frame.<br>And paradise will go on just the same<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Writing with sarcastic bliss, Flowers sings about enduring the daily banalities and how one survives adulthood as dreams fade beneath reality\u2019s giant shadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>So it\u2019s just another day in paradise,<br>Another raindrop in the sea.<br>Count the hours to quitting time,<br>Trying to cross a silver line that always leans,<br>Just beyond the shadows of my dreams<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Tale Well Told<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>While Flowers is known for leading The Killers\u2019 new wave revival, Bruce Springsteen\u2019s heartland rock has been present since the band\u2019s second album, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ff0oWESdmH0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Sam\u2019s Town<\/a><\/em>. And on \u201cParadise\u201d, Flowers borrows Springsteen\u2019s songwriting move of placing despairing lyrics atop hopeful music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though here, the Boss\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Photo by Will Palmer\/Sports Press Photo\/Getty Images<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In &#8220;Paradise&#8221;, Brandon Flowers sings a country music homage about working-class struggle and, for some reason, takes a swing at Phil Collins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":973477,"featured_media":4883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"byline":{"profiles":[{"type":"byline_id","atts":{"term_id":316,"post_id":2139}}]},"savage_platform_role_ideator":[],"savage_platform_role_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_senior_editor":[],"savage_platform_role_photographer":[],"savage_platform_role_illustrator":[],"savage_platform_role_translator":[],"savage_platform_role_as-told-to":[],"savage_platform_role_reviewed-by":[],"savage_platform_disable_recirculation":false,"savage_platform_article_type":"news","savage_platform_vice_article_type":"article","savage_platform_article_intent":"","savage_platform_show_affiliate_disclaimer":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"wp_curate_deduplication":false,"wp_curate_unique_pinned_posts":false,"savage_platform_featured_image_caption":"Photo by Will Palmer\/Sports Press Photo\/Getty Images","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"savage_platform_subheadline":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[409,30,467,416],"byline":[316],"class_list":["post-4881","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","tag-brandon-flowers","tag-country-music","tag-phil-collins","tag-the-killers"],"savage_platform_primary_term":{"category":{"term_name":"Features","term_id":12,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/category\/features\/"},"post_tag":{"term_name":"Brandon Flowers","term_id":409,"term_link":"https:\/\/www.songfacts.com\/articles\/tag\/brandon-flowers\/"}},"hide_from_homepage":false,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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