Remember Rio and get down
Like some other DJ, in some other town
She's been trying to tell me to hold tight
But I've been waiting this whole night

But I've been down across the road or two
But now I've found the velvet sun
That shines on me and you

In the back, uh huh, I can't crack
We're on top
It's just a shimmy and a shake, uh huh
I can't fake, we're on top
We're on top

The day is breaking, we're still here
Your body's shaking, and it's clear
You really need it, so let go
And let me feed it, but you know

That I've been down across the road or two
But now I've found the velvet sun
That shines on me and you

In the back, uh huh, I can't crack
We're on top
It's just a shimmy and a shake, uh huh
I can't fake, we're on top
We're on top
We bring the bump to the grind, uh huh
I don't mind, we're on top
It's just a shimmy and a shack, uh huh
I can't fake, we're on top
We're on top

And we don't mean to satisfy tonight
So get your eyes off my bride tonight
Cause I don't need to satisfy tonight

It's like a cigarette in the mouth
Or a handshake in the doorway
I look at you and smile because I'm fine

And we don't mean to satisfy tonight
So get your eyes off my bride tonight
Cause I don't need to satisfy tonight

It's like a cigarette in the mouth
Or a handshake in the doorway
I look at you and smile because I'm fine



Lyrics submitted by Linger:

Track duration: 04:19

"On Top" as written by Brandon Flowers, Dave Brent Keuning, Mark August Stoermer, Ronnie Jr. Vannucci

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


On Top song meanings
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65 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:also i dont find the song happy at all...i find it quite sad and depressing. for me it has a feel of being disillusioned, being defeated, accepting situations and giving a part of yourself away, a part of your heart that leaves a black hole. but hey, thats life and thats what the song means for me anyway. good if other people find it happy...
    Flag ellahamston January 25, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:like for most people the line that caught my attention is 'i look at you and smile because im fine'.
    i believe that song lyrics dont always have to have a continous story that makes sense to everyone as the person who writes the lyrics might put different thoughts or past events into songs that make sense for them (remind them of something etc. or it might just fit in the song).
    personally, without interpreting the rest of the song, to me the lyrics means meeting your true love that you have felt the strongest about, after a long time after the break- up and after a very unhappy time trying to numb yourself and get on with life ( like a cigarette in the mouth, a handshake in the doorway), doing these mundane things that people do to distract themselves, but dont make someone truly happy. and then finally finding yourself to not care anymore and actually really have numbed down and therefore being able to smile after a long time of not being able to look at the person without feeling the strongest of pain in their heart. i make it sound very dramatic as people obviously also interpret things based on their lives and what goes on in their heads...
    Flag ellahamston January 25, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:First off this song is obviously about sex. It is also one of my favorite songs by them. I always thought two lines were different then what the really are when I listened to this song. I thought it was a hoe instead of uh huh, and So get your eyes off of my pride (or prize) tonight, not So get your eyes off of my bride tonight. I am pretty sure It's like a cigarette in the mouth Or a handshake in the doorway, refers to um well you know what I mean. Oh ya and to Ashen Rainbows comment I always thought this song was about gay sex because well I am not going to explain again but read the song lyrics and think about it and you might get what I mean. I know the song says She's been trying to tell me to hold tight I think that means she wants him and has trying to get him to stay with her but he wants a boy instead.
    Flag danceallnighton January 05, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:"It's like a cigarette in the mouth,
    a handshake in the doorway."

    I can't put it out of my mind,
    that he's basically saying she's really
    "loooooooooooooooooose."
    He's obviously ok with that though. (:
    Flag bowtiexon January 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's about a couple who murders people.
    Flag Kizzybearon October 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I will give my opinion of the meaning to this song from my personal perspective, its a great song and yes very sexy. So here it goes.

    "Remembering Rio" Im not sure if any of you are familiar with the las vegas night clubs, close to the strip there is "Rio" hotel, casino, and night club. For me it seems that the author of the song went to this club in vegas and met this chick from out of town.

    He then tried to convince the girl to let herself go into having fun "its another dj, in another town"

    "She's been trying to tell me to hold tight" Here I think the girl is acting serious and shy, maybe not enjoying the night like he is,
    "But I've been waiting this whole night" but it seems that he immediately feels something special for this chick, and lets her know that his been waiting for this night for a long time,
    "I've been down across the road or two" It could be that here he explains to the girl that he has met other girls before but that this night is special, and maybe he feels something magical for her, and that he has now found the one by meeting her. "But now I've found the velvet sun"


    On the third verse after the chorus he says "The day is breaking, we're still here"
    It seems that is very early morning hours, maybe the place is about to close down and they continue to be together and by now they are both having fun and liking each other.

    "Your body's shaking, and it's clear you really need it, so let go And let me beat it"
    This line I dont want to get much into detail, I think it's clear that he is refering to sex and the need and desire they feel for it during that moment, maybe they are both already drunk or buzzing.

    "In the back, uh huh, I can't crack ,We're on top, It's just a shimmy and a shake, uh huh, I can't fake,we're on top, We're on top, We bring the bump to the grind, uh huh, I don't mind, we're on top
    It's just a shimmy and a shake, uh huh, I can't fake, we're on top,We're on top"
    On this part it seems to me that they went to the roof of the building (again for those of you who have ever been to club rio, it has a roof access and it also has a lof that it used to be used as a special seating area for events inside that club but in the past four years or so its only a space used for spot lighting)and he is describing his moment with her in the early hours of the morning.
    "I don't mind, we're on top," It could be that people can notice them having their moment of pleasure but he is so into it that he does not mind being watched.
    "I can't fake" he doesnt mind, he is enjoying the moment,

    And we don't mean to satisfy tonight
    So get your eyes off of my bride tonight
    'Cause I don't need to satisfy tonight
    If youve been to Las Vegas and you've stayed up until the early horus fo the morning and you walk the streets, you will find many attractive women (prostitutes) on the streets some of which are with guys (pimps). It could be that the author is walking down with the girl he just met back to a house or hotel, as he walks the street he does not want other guys to look at her (And we don't mean to satisfy tonight, So get your eyes off of my bride tonight)or to think tha she may be a prostitue.

    The rest of the song i think its just words that he uses to express how he feels that night, happy, and satisfied "smile because im fine"

    Again this is just my personal opinion about the song and i respact everyone elses comments and ideas, but whatver the meaning is, its still a grat son from the best band outhere.
    Flag dayandage619on September 26, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Haha, I always thought he was saying "a hoe" not "uh huh".

    Silly silly me :P
    Flag hannahvamp27on September 18, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I agree with madoka13, and to fullfil his comentary, i add:
    It's like a cigarette in the mouth
    Or a handshake in the doorway(this intercourse it's just like this, very common, daily)
    I look at you and smile because I'm fine
    (satisfied, what else can I say)

    Flag Dgramusseton August 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:favourite song by the killers.
    absolute love.
    Flag DeadandLovely713on June 28, 2009   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:I love this song very much. I never thought about the meaning much, until very recently, when I wondered myself if there was a site that might analyze song meanings. I read some of the below interpretations and I just didn't really agree with many of them. So I thought I'd express what I thought about it. So I was listening to On Top on my iPod the other day, trying to figure out for myself exactly what it meant, and it feels/sounds to me like it's about his relationship with a certain "she" and sex...and I'll explain this way:



    She's been trying to tell me to hold tight
    But I've been waiting this whole night (this can be interpreted differently. Perhaps waiting all night to have sex with a certain someone? This aforementioned "she" perhaps?)

    But I've been down across the road or two (he's had some experience/is not a virgin, and "she" knows this)

    But now I've found the velvet sun
    that shines on me and you ("velvet sun" to me is just poetic license for "you're the best I've had." I think this is a testament that since he's finally had intercourse with this certain "she," he's decided that he'd rather only have intercourse with her, and not another person, because it's just so good with her.)

    In the back, uh huh, I can't crack (them having sex in the back of a car, I assumed.)

    Your body's shaking, and it's clear (marking the anticipation she has to be touched)
    You really need it, so let go (needs...well, what? Sex, I guess)
    And let me beat it, but you know ("beat it" is more modern sexual slang...but this may not be what he meant)

    We bring the bump to the grind, uh huh (grinding is a really sexual dance, that resembles sex in some instances. This could also be very straight to the point...bumping and grinding can be easily associated with intercourse, no?)

    And we don't mean to satisfy tonight (I'm not sure what to make of this, but my original guess was that the song was about two people just wanting a casual romp, so this line kind of makes me think they weren't really aiming to satisfy one another, rather just themselves or something like this.)

    'Cause I don't need to satisfy tonight (same as the above interpretation ^)
    Flag madoka13on April 01, 2009   Link

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