| The Killers – All These Things That I've Done Lyrics | 9 years ago |
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@[oxejin:546] " 'And when there's nowhere else to run Is there room for one more son?' - when he has no idea what to do, is there room for a confused child, who has nothing figured out, who makes mistakes. " - One more confused child > implies the singer is also asking if there's time to start over from the beginning as a child who has much to learn. Of course, time is unforgiving and it's running out, highlighting his current life crisis. Elaborating on oxejin's analysis, we can also examine excerpts from the music video to get a clearer meaning of the song, keeping in mind that films are exemplary depictions of an artists intent ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZTpLvsYYHw ) 1:15 "Another head aches, another heart breaks" depicts a man coming back home with a hickey and his wife finding out. > Using cheating as an example, this shows one of the many problems the singer has been through, a hopeless flirter unsure of who to love. 1:30 "Help me out Yeah, you know you got to help me out" > shows the same man in a shower while singing the stanza > the man is not begging for help from somebody, rather, he is pleading to himself to fix it. Most depressed people tend to speak negative thoughts to themselves. In the end, only our own determination can pull ourselves out of this disease. The singer seems intelligently aware of his problem but is unable to confront it. He is his only hope. 2:05 shows Brandon riding a baby horse and going nowhere, a metaphor for wasted time. > This also illustrates the size of his crisis and the pointlessness to have another person (or object, drugs, substitute...etc. in our consumerist world) solve it for him. The precedence of this scene in the music video suggests he's been there, done that, and learned of something in the past. 2:45 I got soul, but I'm not a soldier (x10) scene with the band marching up to the four women. The band members take their step back as the ladies march forward. Ultimately, the men who fled and were hit by the boomerang, except Brandon, who stood and fought for a while before running off with the sign. > Very clear the scene is about accountability. The men who ran away were struck down by the problems they face. Brandon showed some success by standing and fighting but retreated afterwards. Despite trying to hide, the women hunt them down. Escape is futile. The choice of the boomerang, a ranged weapon, symbolize the pointlessness of running. Perhaps by taking a step forward in the beginning the ladies would not have drawn out their weapons (as it would be useless up close) and the problem would have ended less painfully. 4:27 "If you can hold on..." Film ends with a down and out Brandon walking away with a hopeless look (aka. his give up face). He gets struck by the woman's boomerang and face plants in a puddle. > A similar but slightly different scene than 2:45. It reminds the viewer that giving up will also lead to the same consequences. We have often been in relationships where nothing seems to be going anywhere with all the fighting/ communicating. Even if break up may be inevitable, all is lost and nothing is learned if we give up. In battle, soldiers who retreat would fight another day and push forward, not to come back and camp in no man's land. It does seem the person who this song is about seems to have every past lesson he needs to make his next best move. He needs to clear his mind and have the courage to make a good decision. Yolo, sieze the day, or whichever you may, the clock is ticking and the next door that opens may be his last. Overall, the video uses clever metaphors to bring out the themes of the song. All These Things That I've Done presents both existentialist and religious themes many people can relate to and encourages those who are in the midst of a life crisis or unsure where to go next to have the courage to move on. Life is a battlefield. |
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