Lyrics for Mr. Brightside as interpreted by Linger:

Mr. Brightside Lyrics
I'm coming out of my cage
And I've been doing just fine
Gotta 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
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 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
Turning 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 never
I never
I never

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finalxhour
05-21-2005

Rated +1 
I FUCKING LOVE THIS SONG. I have it on repeat right now..!


So... I think he had sex with a prostitute, but he thought she was going to be his girlfriend, and was disappointed when he saw her with another man. :(

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3 Replies
Ekizzle
05-22-2005

Rated 0 
Dude, freakin, only 1 comment???????? On this big a song???

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__Undiscovered
05-22-2005

Rated 0 
^^Hahaha. I've been looking for these lyrics!

I LOVE this song!!!

And I agree with finalxhour.

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Hofi
05-22-2005

Rated 0 
I also love this song.

But i think this woman is NOT a prostitute.

my theorie:
He met a girl and they become friends.. more than that..
"it was only a kiss"

FOR HER..... he fell in love with this girl, but she has boyfriend or she loves anyone else....

of course he doens'nt like this

"I just can’t look its killing me
And taking control"

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MaxQQQ
05-22-2005

Rated +6 
Well, now that you mention it it -could- maybe be about a prostitute, but that's not the way i personally interpret the song.

The way i see it is...ok, no idea what the first bit about coming out of his cage is, perhaps that's just him taking a turning point in his life and like gaining confidence and going out and meeting a woman.
k, so, yeah, he meets this woman and it "starts out with a kiss" but then he starts falling in love with her when perhaps he shouldnt (maybe he knew that she would not be interested) so he asks himself "how did it end up like this" ie, how could he make the mistake of falling in love with a woman that's only interested in having a spot of fun.
--That's just my theory on the first half of the first verse, really.

My main interpretation comes in when it starts to talk about this other man that the woman is spending time with. Now, there are one of two situations this guy is in.
1) Him and this woman have just been seeing each other, she's not attached to him really. However, because he's fallen in love with him, he's angry and upset because he knows that she doesnt want him, and is just going off with 'the next guy on the list'.
2) They are together, and they do want each other, but every time she goes out with other male friends he starts getting jealous and worried. He imagines("and it's all in my head") these other guys getting with her, and it starts "taking control" of his head; that's all he can think about.

(2) seems quite likely to me, it fits in really well with the end of the verse and the whole chorus:
the talk about jealousy, sick lullabies - his thoughts&dreams(turned to nightmares by his paranoia)
and then he says "but it's just the price i pay" ie, he has to put up with this paranoia if he wants to be with her.

Dunno, i could be -entirely- wrong, but that's just what i think :)

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MICMAK
05-22-2005

Rated 0 
Well when he says "coming out of my cage" means to me that he is used to be something before (three options: gay, player or just attitude). For example, lets say he is a player or a recreational dater and he meets this girl, falls in love with her kiss and she plays him. He is getting jealous but it seems out of his hands because what goes around comes back around.

He mentions something else after he came out of his cage, that he "gotta be down because he wants it all" Here is someone is ambitious and probably experienced :_) if you know what I mean. The phrase "gotta be down" makes me think of peer pressure--->that is the idea of him being homosexual in the past came from. Rather it could simply means he was moving upward from a low level in his life or unsuccessful and then everything was going good. After this incident happened to him, he never, ever wants to fall in love again.


I don't know somebody give me feedback. I might be going a little too deep. I just know here is a guy who made a change for the better, never knew with all the kisses he had in his life would turn him in a such jealous rage and destroy him.

Wait two more things... I see where finalxhour came up with the prostitute idea, especially when he says "this is just the price I pay" which can also indicate something else .

I also have yet to define MR. Brightside or whether it is an ironic title for a song/

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Pixiestixs
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
Actually I read this song is about voyeurism, so maybe he's spying on some girl he likes or whatever (maybe someone he kissed "it was only a kiss") but isn't actually dating or anything, and while he doesn't like what he sees (her with another man) he can't look away because he's obsessed or maybe just sorta pervy. But who knows, someone should ask the guys in the band.I'm surprised no one has in any interviews I've read.

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Pixiestixs
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
Oh lok what I read like 5 minutes after I posted "Mr Brightside" - a tale of jealousy that depicts that moment in a relationship when you realize that your other half might be playing away and this thought takes up residence in your psyche feeding the worst fears and visualisations your imagination can then throw at you." This was on the album description of the album Hot Fuss on Amazon.com. So I guess it his imagination?

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Hofi
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
What does actually "MR Brightside" mean?

@MICMAK: "this is just the price I pay"
i think this has nothing to do with real money. it just the price, that he did not get her.....

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MaxQQQ
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
Oh, where did you read that, pixiestixs? it fits pretty much exactly how i interpret the song *points up at his post* :)

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indie_rock_roll
05-23-2005

Rated -1 
i adore this song its my fav song eva!!!!!!

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genkani
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
I really like MaxQQQ's interpretation but I would like to say that I think a bit differently. I think that he has a serious crush on a girl but she has a boyfriend. Him coming out of his cage could be him coming out and telling her that the kiss they shared was more to him than just a friendly kiss. I am not positive but please tell me what you think.

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genkani
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
I also think that in the girl calling the cab is a cab to go to the narrators place not home to her house with her husband/boyfriend.

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Antimyopia
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
Why must we make this harder than it really is?

It's just about typical jealousy, just with an added awesome video which introduces speculation on prostitute involvement.

He's just the shy type that can't go out and get her. She lost interest, and he's jealous that she's moved on.


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

Read the chorus without thinking hard and you'll see that it's about a shy, spoiled boy lacking social skills who gets mad at the slightest rejection.

"Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis"

This is refering to his disdain toward her for her lack of interest in him. He probably does see her as a whore. As many guys nowadays call a girl a whore if they are rejected. He's just been roused up a bit.

"But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I’m Mr Brightside"

He's being sarcastic. "Well, it's just because i'm so awesome...hardee har har" And in a cliche tone "Destiny is calling me" = "I've got bigger fish to fry."
"Cause I'm Mr. Brightside" = "Let's look on the brighter side of things, besides the fact that she'll never have me"

Clean and clear. Tried not to make it so complex, but I get carried away >.<

Just some very clever lyrics added there, nice tune, dang good song :)

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Antimyopia
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
Btw, my interpretation of "Mr. Brightside" as an object is just "getting on with life, and not looking back.

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Antimyopia
05-23-2005

Rated 0 
Just watched the video again and believe it or not, my theory is expressed through his facial expressions as he sings.

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FeistyIrishGirl
05-24-2005

Rated 0 
This song confuses me. Before the video (which is why I sometimes hate video's) I was thinking the girl IS his girlfriend but he saw her spending time with another guy ("it was only a kiss...it was only a kiss") and he's imagining that she's going to leave to be with the new guy ("and my stomach is sick...but it's all in my head").

And he 'can't look' and 'jealousy was taking control'

I though the last lines were "i never learn" over an over which lead me to believe he had been cheated on which is why this huge (but perhaps false) scenerio is playing out in his mind...

Then I saw the video and got all confused....

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zeve
05-25-2005

Rated +4 
I think you have to put the song in the same order of the record to kind of get a full grasp.

The song before it on the cd is Jenny Was a Friend of Mine. Basically, he commited a crime, assualt or manslaughter, against this girl Jenny. He is being questioned by the cops, etc, etc.

"Coming out of my cage" means that he got out of jail. He was doing fine in jail. He discovers that the girl, Jenny, is now involved with someone else.

I dont take "Started out with a kiss" to be between him and the girl. I think that has to do with the girl (Jenny) kissing someother guy and from there they have fallen for each other. "How did it end up like this?"

"Swimming through sick lullabies - Choking on your alibis - But it’s just the price I pay - Destiny is calling me" Because he choked on his alibi when being interogated, he payed the price of going to jail, and that led to Jenny getting involved with someone else. Now, destiny is calling him and he has to move on. But he cant and I think thats why the whole song is repeated 3 times.

Just my take..

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4 Replies
xxxcanadxxx
05-25-2005

Rated 0 
i love this song soo much it was me and boys song until he went n cheated on me :S now he h8s it weneva it sums on but i lovee it so much

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xxxcanadxxx
05-25-2005

Rated 0 
i love this song soo much it was me and boys song until he went n cheated on me :S now he h8s it weneva it cums on but i lovee it so much

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xxxcanadxxx
05-25-2005

Rated 0 
i love this song soo much it was me and boys song until he went n cheated on me :S now he h8s it weneva it cums on but i lovee it so much

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simsfreq
05-25-2005

Rated 0 
why did this band get deleted?

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MICMAK
05-27-2005

Rated 0 
To Zeve: Your interpretation is more clearer to me
And also ---> Antimyopia, your interpretation of the title of the song "Mr. Brightside" is very thorough. I just want to say thank you. Is great when we great minds. Thanks!1

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crackerman
05-28-2005

Rated 0 
to me it's just this guy loving a girl but she is cheating on him. he feels jealous but he doesnt want to realize it because Mr. Brightside always sees the bright side of everything. sounds good to me!

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ThestrokesLuVeR
05-29-2005

Rated -2 
hahaha...xxxcanadxxx, you said "cums" LOL .
I GOTTA SAY THIS SONG ROX,BUT I SWEAR,
IF I HEAR THAT SONG 1 MORE TIME I WILL KILL THE
KILLERS BECAUSE IT CUMS ON WAAYYY 2 MUCH, GET
IT,CUMS? 2:16AM 5/29/05

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