If in 30 years it is shown that the killers were more influential and important to the development of rock than springsteen, I will eat my words. Till then, all they're doing is basking in his shadow.

Well what's wrong with carrying on the good works that a person has done? It's like carrying on a legacy

This song, in my opinion
Is all about giving your heart to someone at a young age thinking your "In love" and years later it ends in tears, then the sadness and the bitterness of hindsight hurts when you think of the wasted years you had.
But the killers are looking from a 3rd person perspective, a guardian angel

They say the devil's water, it ain't so sweet
You don't have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while

to me means, dont hit the drink to escape
but go out and be yourself once again

the person you thought you had lost, when you were young.

apart from that

We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young

is one of the most poetic, romantic and stunning lyric that has captured my imagination in a long long time

con someone please explain how the music video to this goes with the song? i'm like serusly confused how does the doughter end up with the moms boyfriend...? at least thats what i thought happened i could be wrong

"omg eff hot fuss this is the sound of the killers"...
What The Fuck Are You On About 'zedzedBadnusty'?? The Sound Of The Killers Is What They Actually Sound Like In The Majority Of Their Songs... Not Just Because You Like How They Sound In One Particular One... Sure, This Song Is Great, The Lyrics ABsolutely Awesome But Seriousy zedzedBadnusty, You Should Really Think Before You Submit Braindead Comments Like That

Wow... This song is absolutly amazing.....

Why does everyone assume when she was "young" was a happy innocent time?

It seems to me she's ashamed of herself and that time is what keeps her down. She, perhaps subconciously, feels she needs someone to save her or correct her "old ways". I think she spent her entire childhood trying to be "right" to make up for something, dreaming of the perfect man who she could be perfect with. Then she meets a guy who is outwardly nice and kind, but instead of telling her she's great, he changes her, tells her she needs to be perfect, "normal". That's just what she"imagined she [she was] young". She doesn't conciously understand this, but is tied to him.

Then in the middle of the song the writer stops using "you" and "he" and starts using "we". I think the speaker is another guy, who does love/accept her for who she truly is. She doesn't need to be perfect. Maybe he's a bit of a free spirit or a bad boy, with a fast car "burning down the highway skyline". He tells her that being "bad" sometimes is okay, "you can dip you feet everyonce in a while".

But in the end, she choses the safe option. She is guilty and needs forgiveness for her percieved flaws. She doesn't see him as her saviour hence "he doesn't look a thing like Jesus" but he tries to save her just the same "more than you'll ever know".

But that's just my opinion, radically different from anything I've read here. The other ideas just don't mesh with all the lyrics, in my brain at least. Feel free to disagree. I do! lol.

PS, sorry for the long post, and has anyone considered it might not be a romantic relationship?? Maybe?? Then the people who believe "you" is a guy don't have to be yelled at by the "he's not gay" crusade.

Maybe it's class, or poverty. Ashamed of the "place where you used to live" and he is a "gentleman". Sorry, but this song's bugging me to figure it out

i still dont get it....

i dont really like the killers, but i do like this song alot, i also like the video.. i like the lyrics very well writen


sava

i dont really like the killers, but i do like this song alot, i also like the video.. i like the lyrics very well writen


sava

I think this song is about a girl who was brought up religious -- possibly being pushed into devoting her life to it, wanting an escape, and she "sins" when she meets and falls for a man, when she's supposed to be dedicated to Jesus/religion ("he doesn't look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like the man you pictured being with when you were young...").

She feels like she's lost it all, I suppose, sinning (closing her eyes to remember the times before the act/acts), but I think the message that the band's trying to convey is that to make it through life, you're going to find yourself sinning somehow, no matter how dedicated you are to a particular religion. How to put this...as long as it's not a "major" sin, anyway ("the devil's water ain't so sweet to drink, but it doesn't hurt to dip your feet once in a while"). I think part of this stems from Flowers' being criticized for drinking and smoking, something prohibited by his religion. Some could and would argue that something like drinking or smoking isn't quite up there with a sin like murder, so...

i get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I think this song refers to when you are young you have this image of this perfect person coming to save you...you go through a lot of bad relationships...still waiting for that perfect person...and finally that person comes in your life that you dreamed of since you were young...but the more you get to know the person you see their many flaws..."he doesn't look a thing like Jesus" they are not perfect, but he still fufills your needs...because nobody is perfect relationships are constantly tested..."we are climing this mountain higher than ever before" but if you both hold on...take it slow...you just might find everything you ever wanted...

I love this song and the video. The video I think really explains the song. I am kind of going through a thing right now with a guy so maybe I am just interpreting it in a certain way because of that but here's what I think:
This girl dreamt of her perfect man when she was young. We all do it, sometimes unconciously, but all men and women have in their heads what their perfect mate will be like. When we "wake up" from our innocent dreams we realize that there is probably no one like that. In the video the girl finds her perfect mate, but soon realizes that he is not what he seems. She eventually takes him back though, realizing that he may be as close as she will ever come to perfection. But before walking out the doors with him, she gazes at the band, as if she really wants to believe that there could be someone more perfect than him.
Just my thoughts....

alright, a girl spends her whole life looking for the perfect guy, she never finds him, however, a guy comes along and hes not perfect, quite frankly, he doesnt look a thing like jesuse, but brandons all, you go girl, this is the guy. and the "devils water part" is about not being a prude, try something you know is bad just so you can taste it, naw mean?

love,
me

this song kinda pissed me off when it first came on to the radio. it seemed to play a lot in my area so i got fed up with it easily., but then i ended up downloading it and now im listening to it on repeat lol its died down a bit on the radio(thank god) so now i just listen to it on my ipod. i really love this song especially "You sit there in your heartache/Waiting on some beautiful boy/To save you from your old ways/You play forgiveness/Watch it now- here he comes/He doesn't look a thing like Jesus/But he talks like a gentlemen/Like you imagined when you were young/When you were young" which is a good chunk of the song but those lyrics get me everytime lol

"You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy
To save you from your old ways
You plead forgiveness
Watch it now- here he comes"

I think this means that She's had a bad/sinful past and wants a "good boy" to save her reputation and possibly get her to heaven.

"He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentlemen
Like you imagined when you were young"

He's maybe not what She would be attracted to normally (doesn't look a thing like Jesus [to her]), but he is a good guy like She has always wanted to save her.

"Can we climb this mountain
I don't know
Higher now than ever before
I know we can make it if we take it slow
Let's take it easy
Easy now, watch it go"

This to me is the most confusing part of the song, and I really have no words to describe it. It's like I know what it means in my heart, because of my connection with music, but cant put it into words.

"We're burning down the highway skyline
On the back of a hurricane that started turning
When you were young
When you were young"

The hurricane could be the mess of sin She's got herself into in the past and it's been growing ever since. The reference to "we" makes it seem like maybe some of things she did were with the Narrator/Brandon.

"And sometimes you close your eyes and see the place where you Used to live
When you were young"

Her sinful past is still haunting her even though She's trying to change it. And this haunting is even the reason for why she stays with this good boy even though she didn't really like him in the beginning.

"They say the devil's water, it ain't so sweet
You don't have to drink right now
But you can dip your feet
Every once in a little while"

I don't think the devil's water is a reference to alcohol or any kind of drug. It's a metaphor, like: Sin isn't very rewarding, but you don't have to anything giant right now, but you can do little things just for fun every once and a little while. It seems like the Narrator/Brandon is trying to persuade Her to get back together with him and forget about this new boy. Like trying to persuade her that what she was doing wasn't that sinful in the first place.

"You sit there in your heartache
Waiting on some beautiful boy
To save you from your old ways
You plead forgiveness
Watch it now- here he comes"

She has a heartache because maybe she used to be with the Narrator/Brandon and she really loved him, but he was a "bad boy" so she left him to find a "good boy" to save her.

"He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But he talks like a gentlemen
Like you imagined when you were young
When you were young

I said he doesn't look a thing like Jesus
He doesn't look a thing like Jesus
But more than you'll ever know"

The "but more than you'll ever know" could be maybe that he really is perfect for her, even though She doesn't really like him right now, maybe they will get married and he will save her. Or, on the contrary, maybe since him looking like Jesus could be how much he's like her other guys, maybe he really is sinful and will hurt her in the future, and so the Narrator/Brandon is telling her she made a mistake in leaving him for the new dude. Or maybe this guy just has a sinning past too.

Also, psu80e, that is a very interesting perspective, and very well could be true. That makes almost more sense than mine, but the mood of the song doesn't really fit with the Nun thing.

Also, does anyone know the date of Brandon's marriage compared with the date of the writing of this song? Because maybe it's about his wife, and that could explain the reference to "we". And that could explain the "mountain" that they are trying to climb. If it is his wife, the "good boy" could be Brandon and his referring to the "devil boy" could be her old self or maybe just someone else. But I'm leaning towards Brandon being the "naughty boy".

As for the whole "epic" thing, what's wrong with that? It really makes the song more interesting, don't you think? And all you people that are saying that this song or any of the Killers' is just about life or people in general, think about it. Are most, if any, of the Killers' songs about ANYTHING in general? Most, if not all, of their songs tell a specific story and talk about a specific person. Notice the names they use in their songs. Obviously they are not written generically, even if they are interpretted that way later.

(oh, and sorry for making my post SO LONG, it took me almost an hour to write it, It's just that it helps me to write like this, helps me understand the song better myself)

i think this song is pretty simple. she's looking for a guy to save her from the heart ache of past relationships and hes obviously not the snazziest guy in the world ("he doesnt look a thing like Jesus..") but he talks like a gentlemen so she'll take him.

and then i think the "sometimes you close your eyes and see the place where you used to live" means that sometimes she misses her past relationships.

there's the obvious interpretation that everyone has given, and while i agree with that, sometimes i like to interpret the repeat of the "you sit there in your heartache" verse to be about the person's son (whether it's the original boy's and the mother passed during childbirth or the woman who was abandoned by the original boy) they are in heartache the second time because of the loss of the other parent, but the beautiful boy saves them from thoughts of their old ways. not looking like jesus can be seen as not looking like his father or not looking like the perfect child, but he talks like a gentleman and acts polite and sweet, because he was raised right. the way you should be when you're young. in the end the original boy was either not as perfect as thought by the mother but she is raising the kind of boy she dreamed of when she was little or the father is raising him to be just like he was when he was young. you can take it or leave it, i just like the extra twist.

as far as people getting all huffy because the killers are "aping" springsteen...get a clue. taking inspiration is fine, so you're dissapointment that it doesnt live up to springsteen is silly. the song is derivative, but they are clearly using their own voice and style overall. and frankly, if you have to reference to a 20 year old springsteen song to make this song look bad, give it a rest. springsteen's not sounding so hot these days anyway, as much as i love his work.

Does it realy matter on the person's sexuality,
So what if the person is gay, And can i just point out
Brandon Flowers is married!
It's Vauge enought to be a man or a woman, But the thing is, Does it realy matter?

man, I don't agree with the rest of you at all. I don't think "he doesn't look a thing like Jesus" means she found the right guy but he wasn't attractive. I think it's a sarcastic comment about how she thinks a man will totally fix her life. After the song describes "a beautiful boy to save you from your old ways" and talks about forgiveness, the girl gets a boyfriend and the narrator says "he doesn't look a thing like Jesus"--i.e., the only guy who could live up to your description would be Jesus.

Does anyone feel there could be a link to 'Smile Like You Mean it'? The part about the girl's 'old ways' could be refering to the 'change your ways while you're young' part in SLYMI, and this beautiful boy could be the person who'll 'help her understand'.

As for the religious imagery, the Devil's Water may be these old ways, perhaps she slept around or commited some kind of relationship sin, and Brandon is saying this isn't so sweet, it's not the right thing to do, but there in reality there aren't any guys like Jesus so she can dip her feet in this 'Devils Water' occasionally. I think it's trying to say this guy isn't perfect but he might just be the one for her, maybe the type of guy she dreamed about but never got when she was young.