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
And she's calling a cab
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
But she's touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
And I just can't look, it's killing me
And taking control

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside

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
And she's calling a cab
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
But she's touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
'Cause I just can't look, it's killing me
And taking control

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibi
But it's just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside

I never
I never
I never
I never


Lyrics submitted by Linger:, edited by ipseudonym, daster96, jamietags

Mr. Brightside Lyrics as written by Dave Brent Keuning Brandon Flowers

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Mr. Brightside song meanings
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  • +6
    General Comment

    Ok guys, I figured the whole song out.

    "I'm coming out of my cage... It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss." Here, he's talking about how he's coming out of his box that he's been in and he's giving all he's got for this girl because he thinks he loves her after 1 single kiss. The kiss means everything to him but it was only a kiss for the girl he fell for. She moves on and he moves into the next verse.

    "Now I'm falling asleep... And taking control." After the girl leaves him, he goes to bed thinking about her and falls asleep. While asleep, he dreams of her and this other guy going home and making love together. You can tell that it's a dream of some kind when he says, "And It's all in my head." But this dream is so real to him that his stomach begins to be sick and it takes control of him, as seen in the lyric, "I just can't look, it's killing me, and taking control."

    Next, the chorus, "Jealousy, turning saints into the sea... Because I'm Mr. Brightside." The thing that needs to be focused on here is the Mr. Brightside part. He is very jealous about this girl and it keeps killing him inside but the fact that he says that he is Mr. Brightside shows that he moves on quickly. The name, Mr. Brightside, refers to him always looking on the brightside of situations. He refers to this as his curse when he says, "But it's just the price I pay," and it is always his destiny to be broken hearted and move on to the next girl. He "opens up his eager eyes," looking for the next girl that he can fall in love with.

    I think that the next verse and chorus refers to him going through the same process with another girl since it repeats the exact same thing, word for word. This adds to the effect of him saying that things will never change, that he will never find true love, that his destiny is to fall in love with girl after girl, and one by one, they will break his heart.

    He finishes the song with a few, "I never's" and by this I think that he is again adding onto the effect that he will never find true love.

    That is my interpretation of the song "Mr. Brightside" by The Killers

    pjs1111on August 10, 2011   Link

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