One of Us Is the Killer

It has been said that the person who has more control in a relationship is the one who cares less about the other. I think the "killer" in the story refers to the one who has more control over the other emotionally, and ultimately ends up terminating the relationship.

In the verse the narrator is describes a girl who is illusive and free-spirited. He explains how he is "hypnotized" by her, and states "there's no way this can forever shine," admitting that he realizes the connection will not last.

He looks back on the event in the chorus, stating that he tried to make it work when he sings, "In the air we tried to be," and tells how she broke his heart when he sings "You shot your arrow through me."

It is up to the reader to interpret the last lines of the chorus, as it is not clear weather the narrator is speaking metaphorically or literally when he states, "the killer wont survive."

One interpretation is that the writer goes insane after being dumped by the killer, and ironically becomes the killer himself after ending the life of his former romantic interest.

I could ramble about why this song is amazing but I'm sure if you are reading this you know how brilliant its creators are.

-AK

Okay let me take a crack at this. To me this is about nuclear warfare.It's also ironic that the next song is called hero of the soviet union. Though there's probably no link even I am even correct.

(She moves abstract just Like a shadow dancing on the edge Like a storm cloud passing overhead Effort-less and free) Describing a nuclear missile cruising through the sky

(As the hours rush by Through her I can sense the end of time There’s no way this can forever shine Make the sun not rise) this particular segment directly alludes to the apocalypse.A nuclear weapon destroying the world,the sun never rises again,the end of time.

(In the air we tried to be But you shot your arrow through me Now one of us must die But the killer won’t survive)

In the air we tried to be, referring to the two conflicting sides and their attempt to make peace.Or perhaps the nuclear missile is actually triggered to fire due to a false flag radar detection of a plane or something. "in the air we tried to be,but you shot your arrow through me"

Then we go to,"now one of us must die,but the killer won't survive" in essence "both of us will die" you killed me and I am retaliating in a way that will kill both of us. Makes perfect sense with the nuclear theory when I think of something a while back I read in a book about the cold war. Russia had a system called "dead hand",where if there were radar detections of a foreign nuke and no living being responded to it within a certain amount of time,the system would fire every single nuke in the Soviet's arsenal at all 4 corners of the earth,destroying everything. A kind of "if we don't win no one does" attitude. I don't know just a shot. I know I'm probably way off.

I love the confusing nature of the main lines:

"Now one of us must die And the killer won't survive"

In other words everyone will lose in the end! A very clever way to phrase this though in the song. Gets stuck in your head too!!

The song i find is about a terminal illness... The woman he is talking about is symbolism for the illness and the fact that it it is sometimes odd how it reacts to the body, and how the the person becomes obsessed with his demis.. But the chours "Now one ofe us must die But the killer won’t survive" is a fact to the host. . Meaning that regardless if the illness kill him or not he will still pass away eventually.

Greg said in an interview that almost all of the lyrics on this album are about Ben, and that they fully are about relationships that drain both parties. In the case of it being bout Ben, you could look at it like this: Verses- talking about the music they make as a "her" with the destructive, yet highly creative nature of their music, it could be said that it's an abstract killer that's going to kill them, "make the sun not rise" Chorus- Ben and Greg drag each other down with their "arrows" but the killer finds out that he can't survive without the other

I'd be willing to bet it's about a bad breakup.. Upecko seems pretty right on about the general interpretation of it, but my only twist would be how when you are all torn up about losing someone- when you finally make the decision to get over it, the other party has to "kill" what they felt inside about that person, at the same time feeling like they will "die" when they do, because they will no longer feel those things.

Sounds like someone knows the relationship is gonna end so they’re planning a murd3r-su!c!de