Mr. Brightside
by The Killers

Album: Hot Fuss (2004)
Charted: 10 10

Songfacts®:

  • Killers guitarist Dave Keuning wrote this about lead singer Brandon Flowers' ex-girlfriend who cheated on him. Flowers recalled to Q magazine March 2009 how he discovered her with another man at the Crown and Anchor pub in his hometown of Las Vegas: "I was asleep and I knew something was wrong. I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor and my girlfriend was there with another guy." Flowers added that the song was "born" at the Crown and Anchor. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Hannah - East Kilbride, Scotland
  • In the video, actress Izabella Miko (of Coyote Ugly) plays the girlfriend. Eric Roberts (Julia's brother) also stars in the video as the bad guy. This wasn't his first star turn in a major video: he also appeared in Mariah Carey's "We Belong Together."

    The clip was directed by Sophie Muller, who has done over 100 videos, including several for Gwen Stefani.
  • In England, fans of Manchester United and Everton football teams have their own rendition of this song in praise of their former player Norman Whiteside.
  • Brandon Flowers told NME the story of the song in a 2012 interview: "We must've written it around the end of 2001. Dave and I were writing a ton of songs at the time, trying to figure out what it was that made us tick. I remember us going into the Virgin Megastore to buy (The Strokes') Is This It on the day it came out and, when we put it on in the car, that record just sounded so perfect. I got so depressed after that, we threw away everything and the only song that made the cut and remained was 'Mr. Brightside.'"

    He continued: "It came from this cassette of ideas that Dave gave me, and one of them was the 'Mr. Brightside' riff. I was able to slap a chorus and some lyrics onto it, and I knew I liked it. But it wasn't until we first tried it out with a drummer that I knew it was special. We went to the guy's house and showed him the song, and I got the goosebumps after that.

    Lyrically, it's about an odd girlfriend of mine. All the emotions in the song are real. When I was writing the lyrics, my wounds from it were still fresh. I am Mr. Brightside! But I think that's the reason the song has persisted - because it's real. People pick up on those things. And that goes all the way down to the production; we recorded it in a couple of hours, but it just sounds right, you know?"
  • The song returned to the Top 40 of the UK singles chart in 2013 after the band performed it on The X Factor.
  • Flowers recalled to NME in 2013: "I remember being in the studio, recording the demo but still writing the lyrics. I was procrastinating, and that's why the second verse is the same as the first one, but it just stuck."
  • A video showing a pub sing-a-long of the song at an Irish wake went viral in late March 2016. Brian O'Sullivan from Killorglin, County Kerry is seen paying his respects to Ger 'Farmer' Foley, who passed away at the age of 45, by prompting a mass rendition of the tune at Falvey's bar.

    The Killers endorsed the clip, writing on Twitter: "Brian O'Sullivan, if Brandon ever needs a fill-in, we're calling you! May we all have friends like this #farmersrule".
  • Ever wondered what a sports commentator reciting the song's lyrics sounds like? Check out Australian presenter Gerard Whateley reading out the words to The Killers' hit tune prior to their performance at the Australian rules football's AFL Grand on September 30, 2017.
  • The Killers shared a video as the accompaniment to a hand-washing ritual in the global coronavirus pandemic. The CDCP recommends you need 20 seconds of scrubbing with soap and water to get your hands nice and clean and rid of COVID-19. The clip shows Brandon Flowers washing his hands for a full 27 seconds while singing an a capella rendition of the chorus from "Mr. Brightside."
  • The song initially lasted four weeks in the UK top 100 following its 2004 re-release, but has since become a staple of wedding parties and student discos, frequently re-entering the UK singles chart.

    On April 1, 2021, The Official Charts Company announced that "Mr Brightside" had spent 260 non-consecutive weeks – or five full years – in the top 100 of the UK singles chart since its re-release in 2004. No other song has notched up anywhere near as many weeks. The second-longest-running chart hit at the same date was Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars," with a total of 166 weeks in the tally.

Comments: 89

  • Mmmhmhhh-no from Stockholm, SwedenI got raped and I didn’t tell my boyfriend because we weren’t together at that time. Later one of my toxic friends told him that someone had raped (she said “had sex”) me. And I did Know how to tell him what happened I really wanted to but I couldn’t- I denied it to myself. Anyway for me this represents his trust issues And my broken self. not only I have caused it but also his friends and family. And I get so sad when I hear it but I don’t know what to do, so I just get left not listened to and crying myself to sleep.
  • Lemon from GayThe song and the video kinda symbolizes the movie called moulan rouge
  • Sensei Le RoofUm, Mark, you've got the wrong song. You're thinking of "Somebody Told Me".
  • Mark from Easley Sc When the song reads, he looked like a girlfriend I had last year, I thought his girlfriend turned lesbian
  • Bella from Ohio I always saw this song as a someone telling a story of 2 people falling in love but it's a complicated relationship, they are both a little messed up.
  • Nick Lee from Tustin, CaI think of this song in two ways:
    1. the actual interpretation, where Brandon Flowers' girlfriend cheated on him
    2. my interpretation: instead of it being about being cheated on, it's about getting friendzoned, or watching the girl/boy you love be with someone else. The entire chorus is when the narrator is seeing the person he loves hook up with somebody else, and how it makes him feel sick. This theory is more expressed in their song "Somebody Told Me."
  • Jamie from Roseland, NjI thought of the song as an allusion to the Great Gatsby. Like the line "It started out as a kiss, how did it end up like this?" really fits with the fact that Gatsby and Daisy's relationship began with a kiss on the night they met. I feel like much of the song could be Gatsby talking about how he thinks about Daisy being with Tom, and how it keeps him up at night, and also the title "Mr Brightside" would really fit Gatsby, since he is usually a very high-spirited, happy, nice gentleman.
  • Sioraf from Macroon, IrelandWas used in an ad for Lifestyle Sports in Ireland.
  • Miles from West Linn, OrIf you haven't seen R. Gibson's comic about this song I highly suggest you hunt it down. It changes your perception of the song
  • Jimmy from Claymont, Dewow, i had no idea this song is about what it makes me feel. a few years ago my wife had and affair. at first she said they had only kissed. then after a few weeks she admitted they had sex. "and it's all in my head but she's touching his chest now, he takes off her dress now, let me go" God i know how that feels, having that image of them in my mind, and 7 years later it's still there.
  • Rachel from London, United Kingdomi love this song, it was mine and my now ex boyfriend song, it was his idea, and i realise now that it was cuz he wanted in my pants (he was a boob) and i made the mistake of letting him, and then he broke up with me and got with my bestfriend, so i suppose his song choice was very good, i am so jelouse of them and i miss him, so songs can be more relevent that yuu can even imagine :/
  • Matilda from Stockholm, SwedenHaha, this is gonna sound so stupid, but the first expression I got when listening to the song was this little kid hearing (or seeeing... poor guy) his father and his mistress have sex.
    Dunno why, but I allways think of that when I hear the song.
  • Jason from Seattle, WaThis sums up my feelings right now. My roommate is with this girl who I fell in love with at first sight. Just a terrible circumstance
  • Lena from Denver, Coaww poor Brandon. But the killers made something that probably hurt Brandon sound kinda happy.
  • Emma from Adelaide, Australiadesiree, was your friend (assuming you even KNOW her) very upset when she found out Brandon had written the song about her? It must have been AWFULLY embarrassing.Your 'friend' must be kicking herself now she knows how much money they are getting.
  • Desiree from Las Vegas, NvThis is funny...i googled the meaning just to see what all of the speculation would be on the subject of such a popular song...i never expected all of these opinions!
    The fact of the matter is, that the story you will read at the top is very true and almost the exact version of what actually happened.
    The girl you hear about is a good friend of mine, and while i'm not here to add any juice to the fruit, i do want to say that she is absolutely not a prostitute. Nor was she ever. She's actually very feminist and ladylike.AND she is an amazing and independent woman who enjoyed the company of a talented young man once. WHILE SHE WAS YOUNG...
    Please be kind, you are, after all refering to a wonderful woman who was able to arouse the passion that created a work of genius...etcetera.
    I mean come on...Brandon is a Mormon, do you really think that he was all crazy in love with a prostitute? Get real.
    It actually had to be a pretty high caliber knockout with some sort of real class, dontcha think?
    oh well..have fun blogging,bloggers.
  • Beth from London, United KingdomI'm not even Joking, I always thought this song was about a guy who was trying to avoid the fact he's gay but is really jealous about the guy he's seeings girlfriend. Loooove this song
  • Erica from Nairobi, KenyaI always thought this song was about a guy who really liked this girl but she is already with someone else and so it absolutely kills him to think of what they do as is 'seemingly' described.i love it.
  • Erica from Nairobi, KenyaI always thought this song was about a guy who really liked this girl but she is already with someone else and so it absolutely kills him to think of what they do as is 'seemingly' described.i love it.
  • Sal from Mississauga, OnIt almost sounds like from the other side. He's the other guy, and he's watching the woman he loves be with someone else. "Started out with a kiss, How did it end up like this..."
  • Coty from Anderson, InHe's coming out of his cage, meaning he's letting himself become vulnerable. Kisses a girl, never intending for it to become emotional. She's already in an un-happy relationship but doesn't know how to end it. They kiss and flirt, but at the end of the night she must go back with the man she's bound to. It kills him to know and imagine what they're doing because he wants her and needs her so much. Clearly.
  • Paris from Cardiff, United Kingdomthis is one of the best songs they performed at Hard Rock Calling- i mean, the lyric 'destiny is calling me, open up my eager eyes, cos im Mr Brightside' clearly shows Brandons a songwriting legend!
  • Theresa from Murfreesboro, TnJust a heartbreaking song, great album as well.
  • Rahul from Chennai, Indiaand the lead singer looks a bit like football player(soccer player for americans) cesc fabregas who currently plays for arsenal fc....
  • Jacob from Toledo, OhI think this song is about somebody who really loved a girl. They dated for a while, and things were going great. Then she left him for another guy, and he is imagining what he is missing out on. He still loves her, and he is jealous of the other guy, but he has to move on, and deal with it. Eventually letting go. . . and letting go is tough to do.
  • Connor from St.george, KsToo late... :(...I listened to this song when i found out that she was with my friend.
  • Adam from Cork, Irelanddave keuning wrote the verse and when he met brandon flowers he wrote the chorus.. great song
  • Sean from Reading, PaTell me what you think: I'm going out to soceity and I'm being quite charming; I'm being cool and collective because I'm a perfectionist in human relationships. I met a girl it started with a kiss and ended in misery. Now I'm not around and she is out, I'm wondering what she is doing and I don't have faith that she is true to me, but I'm not sure thats why "its all in my head". Now pretty much I don't care because its not my choice so I'm taking control. Jealously is something I'm not, but this is the price I pay for letting this happen to me but its all good because destiny is calling me cause I have a bright furture and my eyes are eager.... I'm mr.brightside. thats what I think the theme is.
  • Chris from Sydney, Australiathis song perfectly describes a very miserable aspect of my life. her name is jenny too. i get overwhelmed by how much of a reflection it is.
  • Chris from Sydney, AustraliaI have loved this song for years. i listen to it endlessly. its only lately i looked into the meaning. all along, i recognized and associated with the obvious tone of jealousy, but its only after reading this that this song is really intriuiging me. This song, practically, exactly reflects a relationship i had. and all these references to "jenny was a friend of mine" , are even weirder, as the relationship concering myself, involved a girl whos name was jenny. i know that is just pure coincidence, and im not sure what im saying. this song just seems perfect im summing up a miserable aspect of my life, that is all.
  • Ryan from Loganville, GaNo, it never says any words that rhyme with "sick" lol. I guess you could think of it as a anticipation song...
  • Timmy from Mukilteo, Wathat one verse near the beginning of the song is kind of wierd. it goes, "now their going to bed, and my stomach is sick, its all in my head but shes touching his ---"

    and we all know what the nxt word will be, but was it ever in the song?
  • Tori from Atlanta, Gai dont know the exact reason the song was written, it seems to be ambiguous, but the main theme is, obviously, jealousy.
    the music video, however, is based on moulin rouge!. mr! has a very distinct style (a la baz luhrman), especially the scenes on the balcony... almost identical to the cinematography from mr!.
    the storyline is the same as well. all the other women are the dancers/prostitutes, and the girl brandon falls for is the main courtesan. just when he falls for her, she has to sell herself to another man. he promised he wouldnt get jealous but he did.
    the dance scene in the music video is parallel to the tango scene in mr! which was the climax of the film. the man that the girl was selling herself to realized that she kept looking at brandon and abused her. (like the movie)
    the checkers game is also parallel to mr! in which the man she sold herself to wins(getting his "ending" in the play). brandon cant take it that he cant win and lashes out. (in the movie he yells "bc she doesn't love you!" (he realizes what he says then says) "him. she doesn't love him."
    the part where the girl passes out is like mr! when she had tuberculosis and kept fainting on him.

    if you don't believe me, WATCH THE MOVIE.
  • Kylie from Ventura, CaActually, Dave, the guitarist wrote the verse, and Brandon, the singer and keyboardist, wrote the chorus. When Brandon first met Dave he had already written the verse.
  • Natalie from Birmingham, United KingdomHes with this girl and he is paranoid and insecure. Thinking about her cheating all the time, he can't control it. If he wants to be with her he has to put up with it.
  • Lacey from Mesa, AzFairly old song, with more meaning then what many people even consider. I look at the lyrics of Mr. Brightside, and in a sense, will always remind me of myself. "Coming out of my cage and I'm feeling just fine, gotta gotta get down because I want it all" In my eyes, tells you that he's comfortable with himself, and is out in the world looking for 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." He finds a girl..beautiful, intriguing, and kisses her... he falls in love with that first kiss. He can't get enough of her. "Now I'm falling asleep, and she's calling a cab, while he's having a smoke, and she's taking a drag. Now their going to bed, and my stomach is sick and its all in my head.." He's losing her to another man..he knows it.. "but she's touching his chest now, he takes off her dress now, let me go" she just cheated on him "I just can't look, its killing me, and taking control" he sees her with someone else, and his jealously becomes a new roll of emotion "jealousy, turning saints into the sea, swimming through sick lulabies, chocking on you alibies, but its just the price I pay, destiny is calling me, open up my eagar eyes... I'm mr. brightside." Pretty much self explainitory here.. But he sees her cheating, and he's given up on her.. so now, he goes around looking for another girl... maybe he'll be smarter this time.. but the lyrics repeat, it happens again. and again. and he finally says, " I never" as in he won't give up. He'll find the woman of his dreams.
  • Ln from :), Qc♥ this song is amazing.. i know all the words and it never gets old!
  • Mark from Reading, United Kingdomthis is my favourite song of all time by far. reminds me of the time when i fought my friends for this amazing girl, somehow managed to win her heart when she was way out of my league, then i turned around in a corridor one day at school to see her kissing one of my enemies. that moment has haunted me ever since, and my now violent jealous was orignaly 'only a kiss, how did it end up like this' amazing song.
  • Al from New York, NyI don't which out of all of you is right, but this reminds me of my lifestyle.
    I flirt and get with a lot of girls but try to avoid relationships and anything serious. But see occasionally (once) I feel like I can't stand the idea of the girl I'm kissing being with other guys (it was only a kiss, how did it end up like this). Then I start to get jealous, and think about what she might be doing with this other dude. But its pretty much the price I pay for living like this, but you know what? Its my destiny and I'll get over it. Which is exactly why I love this song
  • Linda from Thetenthkingdom, IlI read that the antagonisr of this song was based on actor and director Matthew Gray Gubler, best known for his role as Dr. Spencer Reid in the television show "Criminal Minds", He briefly dated one of Brandon Flower's ex-girlfiends.
  • Bill from Houston, PaI kinda thought this song was about an overly paranoid person in a relationship. It seems to me that he is just "thinking" that his girl is cheating and he even says, "but it's all in my head." He is too jealous and it's making him sick in the stomach the more he thinks about the things he's imagining she is doing.
  • Dave from Manchester, United Kingdomi have heard that this song is about a man who fell in love with a prostitute and she promised to give up prostitution for him. this song is about the man finding out that she is continuing with prostitution and betraying him
  • John from Philadelphia, PaThis is about TWO people in lackluster relationships - cages - running off with each other. It started with a kiss, now he wants it all, etc. Unfortunately, he has to "return" her every time her man rolls back in, and of course the jealousy is killing him. The upside: he's Mr. Brightside - life goes on. This was me - coming out of my cage (marriage) for a woman who quickly left me emptyhanded was still the best and worst thing that ever happened to me.
  • Ash from London, United KingdomI thought this song was about a guy who gets lucky with another guys chick and then she goes of to her real boyfriend. BUT he mentions choking on her alibi's so i guess it's his ex girlfriend. Aaawww poor him!!!
  • Turtle from Nowhere, Icelandisn't this song the paramours point of view? There's a girl who's cheating on her boyfriend or husband with him, and he can't stand that she really belongs to someone else
  • Kim from Scottsdale, AzI imagined he has died, passed-over, and is looking down at his girlfriend, watching over her as she gets on with her life. And then one day, she's suddenly got a new guy and they're making out and he can't do anything about it! I think it's about him coming to terms with her moving on after his death.
  • Lars from Tullamore, Irelandsimple meanin 2 dis song: songs bout his cheatin girlfriend. hes cumin out of a shattered relationship "cage". his girlfriends cheatin started out wit a "kiss", but tings got alot worse. he den describes her cheatin on him while hes sick with jealousey in bed. the chorus explains dat he is Mr. Brightside cos the result of him and his girlfriend endin der relationship is gud for him cos ders only good things in the future for him now, ie a career in music "but its just the price i pay, destiny is callin me"...
  • Susan from Toronto, CanadaThis song reminds me of my neighbor I had a massive crush on and who lived right next door to me in my co-ed freshman dorm; and how one night through my wall I could hear two people having sex...MY GOD WAS I JEALOUS...And the next day I learned the object of my desire was actually away on an extended field trip, and what I actually heard was the roommate having sex! I was soooo relieved!!
  • Joseph from Diamond Bar, CaThe song is about these guys who get with this girl and she hurt them emotionaly and now they are HURTING BADLY. So after he was with her, yeah he was hurt BUT he "brushed off his sholders" and didnt let it bother him because he knew SHE was the one that had a problem. I see it like a life lesson.. Even though life gets hard and you are hurting financially or whatever, see the 'BRIGHTSIDE' of it.
  • Arthur from Pittsburgh, Paumm if you find out your girlfriend is cheating on you for your bestfriend...don't listen to this song it doesn't help
  • Matt from Dundee, Scotlandto me this song is about a loser who gets lucky and kisses a girl on a night out or at a party and, most likely due to being inebriated, runs away with the idea (maybe he already thinks he gonna marry her) then the bottom of his world falls out when he sees her later on with a guy she likes more. he feels like he's being cheated on when it's entirely possible she came to the event with this other guy in the first place and he should be grateful she even looked at him in the first place cos he clearly has issues.
    where does the song even imply that this is his girlfriend cheating on him - it's all in his head by his own admission! that is all.
  • Kate from Burnaby, Canada<3 Love.
  • Mick from Sheffield, EnglandI've always interpreted this song to be about someone who's trying to kid themselves that they're over their ex but deep down the jealously is gnawing away and making their life hell. I think practically anyone one can relate to the idea of someone you want to be with being with someone else. When you start to imagine it ("it's all in my head..") it's horrible. Like to think the title is the way he says he is to his friends - I'm Mr Brightside, looking on the brightside, I'm ok, but really he knows its a lie and he's kidding himself.
  • Jonas from Leverkusen, GermanyFirst, the song has NOTHING to do with either Jenny was a friend of mine nor midnight show. These songs, and the on sawdust released song leave the bourbon on the shelf, are the "murder trilogy". there are opinions about that the whole album sams town's got to do with this murder, but it's a trilogy the killers say and that means it's got 3 parts and no more.
    The song is about jealousy and has nothing to do with real sickness - he's kind of sick because he's jealous, doctors have made clear that jealousy make you feel sick in your stomache - ; no it's about that he feels sick because his girlfriend - prostitute or not - has another man she's in love with.
    This Tim Brightside story is very interesting and I am sure that he inspired the killers, especially his name, it echoes what the song says.
    The killers are great, they make great songs out of simplicity, music going directly into my heart. It makes such good feelings, such good feelings..
  • John from Copenhagen, Denmarksome over-interpretation from some i would argue.i simply see the song being about jealousy.
    The line "and it's all in my head" is key... "it started out with a kiss"... but now it's a relationship, he's in love, and this creates feelings of jealousy. doesn't really matter who we are talking about.
    "sick lullabies" (hard falling asleep)... "chewing on your alibis" (where is she...?) It's the price he pays for falling in love
  • Corey Maller from Roslyn Heights, NyI really never realized how good the killers were until I listened to this song. Listen to the thin white duke remix. Its amazing!
  • Sergio from Gijon, SpainI think that Mr.Brightside also refers to Louise Brooks, silent movie legend, when she played Lulu in the 1928 film Pandora's Box; she acted a prostitute, extremely beautiful to who men fall in love with, resulting in desperation and trouble for those men, because she was a prostitute. Some people say that the song was inspired by her.

    Of course is much more likely that the song is inpired by Tim Brightside but it's just a point of view :)
  • Catherine from Sydney, AustraliaThis song reminds me of a huge party I went to, this song was hot at the time, and just before I went out I told my boyfriend he wasn't coming with me. That it was over, The night progressed and I ended up hooking up with a guy who lived a couple of hours away...turned out to be my fresh ex's childhood friend...burn.

    Then me and the ex got back together, and broke up again a month later, went to another party with another fella, kissing and carring on I turned around while this song was on an my ex was there watching us, poor bastard. Ended up moving 100 ks away to be with the other fella. who was my Glycerine boy.
  • Tasnim from North Hills, CaI think the song is about a jilted lover and the outcome of the whole affair. The man talks about coming out of his cage after a relationship. He might be overthinking his relationship with the girl, as it was "only a kiss." He starts thinking about her going with another man, and even though it's all in his head, it's not really happening; "It's all in my head." Jealousy turns saints into the sea, meaning it turns even the kindest of people into a rising and lowering tide of emotions. After realizing this, his "eager eyes" are opened, and he probably feels better. Either he feels better, or Mr. Brightside means that he can never complain, and that he can only smile while bad things happen to him.
  • B from Los Angeles, Lathe clue to the song is the last line lyrics
  • Matthew from Philadelphia, Paits an old british tale where a guy falls in love with a prostitite and she promises to leave the profession but returns
  • Matthew Foster from Hull, EnglandThis song is obviously about jealousy but there are many stories to it. The Killers are very different as you can't compare them to any other band. When I first heard them on the radio with 'Somebody told me' I thought it was Rick Witter from Shed 7.
  • George from Salisbury, CtMaria, is Hot Fuss really a rock opera????i dont think so!
  • Jimmy from Manchester, EnglandThe killers before becoming the killers put a ad up to start a band with the sound of oasis this is why they sound english nothing to do with where they was popular first
  • Ash from Mooroopna, AustraliaI have definitely been in this situation before... except it was I who did the cheating. "It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss"
  • Hannah from Atlanta, GaI too see and uncanny resemblance to Moulin Rouge. This is probably my favorite songs and Moulin Rouge is one of my favorite movies. I heard the dsong before I saw the movie and all I could think of the entire time I was watching the movie was the lyrics to this song. Awesome song though! The Killers totally rock!
  • Ahmed from Riyadh, Saudi ArabiaThis song probably talks about a guy who lost his lover in his sickness. It's obvious when he says "Now im falling asleep and she's taking a cab" that she left him in his sickness. The situation goes on while he is in bed with people(doctors maybe) won't let him leave the bed" Now 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 takes off her dress Now, let me go " . Then it talks about the jealousy in him "I just can't look it killing me , and taking control. Jealousy , turning saints into the sea". Thats all I can explain.
  • Alexandra from Maui, HiI've always loved music but I have to credit The Killers for opening me up to a whole world of music I never knew of. And this song started it all. The music video is great (Brandon Flowers is hot) and their sound is so unique. They aren't just another alt. rock band with screamy songs or a punk band with whiny vocals,they really sound different. And that's what makes them special.
  • Tabitha from Brooklyn Park, MdI totally agree with the Moulin Rouge similarities. It shows the overall meaning. Just like in Moulin Rouge, the women kissed him and he instantly fell in love with her. But, even though he said he could, he can't live with the fact that she's a prostitute and that she'll have to "let him go" to do her job. Jealousy overruns him as he thinks of what she's doing with other men, and "it's the price [he pays]" for being in love with her. "I never" seems to symbolize that he never though it would be that hard for him to live with her lifestyles.
  • Aj from Lawndale, Ca...umm, ok, so what's the song about again? There seems to be a few stories here. The lead singer and Jackson Browne (of Lawyers In Love fame?)were lovers? It's about a classic novel? Will we ever know?
  • Bob from Rio Vista, CaHannah, I think your definition is lacking correctness.
    Mr. Brightside is an old English story about Tim Brightside, who goes to America for a while. He meets a prostitute. They fall in love. The prostitute promises him she will quit her prostitution for her love to him. But one night, She doesn't come home. She is waiting outside a hotel for a carriage to arrive... with a client. She gets in and the man starts to remove her clothes on the way to where he lives.
    Word got around to our Brightside friend, and he becomes depressed. One day, he climbs to the top of the Brooklyn Bride and commits suicide.


    And that is the story of Mr. Brightside.
  • Gary from Manchester, Englandi always thought it was about a guy putting on a brave face even though it's eating him up inside, imagening this person (who he clearly is still in love with) being with another person 'i just can't look it's killing me'. he sings about how they are getting undressed and what not, it all kinda makes sense. its really sad when you think of it that way.
  • Maria from Nowhere, OtherMy theory is that Mr.Brightside is Jenny's killer. He seems very possessive over her and almost desperate. Then in "jenny was a friend of mine" she wants to stop seeing him and he says: "i swore i'd never let her go" so he would rather kill her then let her go be with her boyfriend. maybe a bit far-fetched but it could be right...
  • Dotcom from Omaha, Nethe true story of this song has been obscured by too many fans not wanting to seek the truth. "Mr Brightsides" is the story of a torrid affair that occured between Brandon Flower's and his vocal coach. The twist to it, is that the song is actually written from the perspective of the vocal coach and the agony he suffered when he discovered that Brandon had abandoned him and his love for a mock relationship that would "sell" better in the media. it's a very tragic and sad story of the pressure to deny your true feelings and repress your heart so that you may be a more acceptable member of the pop music community.
    and that vocal coach's name... Jackson Browne.
  • Stacey from Nowra, Australiathe lead is so hot i love his voice even if it is fake love this song too
  • David from Stockport, Cheshire, Englandjust a comment about what Ashley, Naples , FL said, the killers are a very british sounding band because they were a success quicker over here, so they concentrated on the uk first, tehn went back to the states to tour, mr brightside rocks, love the album too
  • Cara from Perth, AustraliaI love this song, and I think its great that the drummer wrote it for the lead singer...the line 'But its just the price I pay/destiny is calling me' is just awesome! Does anyone know why the song is repeated?
  • Chris from Kingston, OkIt's amazing how well you can relate to a song when the song is about a situation similar, sorry, exactly to yours. Good song.
  • Ashley from Naples , FlWhen I visited England this summer one of the DJ's said he thought this was a British band when he first heard them. He couldn't believe they were American. But then again Elton John sounds very American when he sings.
  • Josh from Las Vegas, NvYou don't know how good it is to see a good band come from las vegas
  • Steph from Ottawa, CanadaFor those who believe that this album is the aftermath of a murder (described in Midnight Show and Jenny was a Friend of Mine), the clues are right there in the lyrics.
  • Lennonfan11 from Regawrhhrh, IcelandA very interesting video, definately Moulin Rouge-inspired. The lyrics are really awesome, very heartfelt.
  • Lindsey from Fredericksburg, PaUhm... yeah Moulin Rouge is the best movie ever. And I love the video.
  • John from Duxbury, MaAnybody see the solo acoustic by Marty on Rockstar INXS?
  • Ashley from Moncton, CanadaYeah, the video is right Moulin Rouge-y. Kind of disturbed me when I saw it, because I hate that movie.
  • Biz from Launceston, AustraliaI got the distinct impression that the film clip was meant to look like Moulin Rouge; the song and the movie deal with the same themes of intense jealousy, especially the tango scene. And despite their American heritage the Killers are openly influenced by Brit-pop, which is fine by me.
  • Lola from Worcester, MaAs much as I LOVE LOVE LOVE the killers, their video for this was exactly like the movie "Moulin Rouge" exactly!! I wonder if the director Sophie Muller, who also directs No Doubt, intentionally meant to copy Moulin Rouge. But anyways, their music is incredible. I love Brandon Flowers, did you know that we're engaged? JK. Is it me, or does Brandon sing in a faux british accent, when I first heard this band, I thought they were from England. This song is excellent.
  • Maureen from Prospect, VaThis is a really good song, that reminds people of what is important in thier life. I LOVE THE KILLERS. I love thier drummer, he's cool.
  • Matt from Millbrae, CaI like the Killers because they don't try to pass themselves off as alternative or punk...they stick to what they do best.
see more comments

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