When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live,
It's not so bad, it's not so bad
How do you know that you're right?

I awoke on the roadside,
In the land of the free ride,
And I can't pull it any longer,
The sun is beating down my neck

So I ran with the devil
Left a trail of excuses,
Like a stone on the water,
The elements decide my fate,
Watch it go..."bling".

When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live,
Don't tell me that it's over,
Stand up,
Poor and tired,
But more than this

How do you know that you're right?
If you're not nervous anymore,
It's not so bad, it's not so bad

I feel my vision slipping in and out of focus,
But I'm pushing on for that horizon,
I'm pushing on,
Now I've got the blowing wind against my face

So you sling rocks at the rip tide,
Am I wrong or am I right?
I hit the bottom with a "huh!"
Quite strange,
I get my glory in the desert rain,
Watch it go..."bling".

When I offer you survival,
You say it's hard enough to live,
And I'll tell you when it's over,
Shut up,
Poor and tired,
But more than this

How do you know that you're right?
If you're not nervous anymore,
It's not so bad, it's not so bad...

Higher and higher,
We're gonna take it,
Down to the wire,
We're gonna make it,
Out of the fire,
Higher and higher. (x2)

Higher and higher,
We're gonna take it,
Down to the wire,
We're gonna make it out,
Whoa-oh-oh Higher and higher...

It ain't hard to hope,
When it shines like gold,
You'll remember me.



Lyrics submitted by ShotgunXXWedding, edited by FreeBrad

Track duration: 04:08


Bling (Confession of a King) song meanings
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56 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:my fav killers song
    Flag allforKillerson January 03, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Personally, I think the last line of the song is

    "It ain't hard to HOPE,
    When it shines like gold,
    You'll remember me"

    It makes a lot more sense in context of the song lyrics, at least to me. It also sounds more like hope when he says it.
    Flag aapoxon June 07, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:i know im super late to comenting on this but hey whatever,anyways to me this song is about someone whos just trying to make it this world.and no one believes in them,the last line"it aint hard to hold when it shines like gold youll remember me" i think is basically that person saying that when im famous,youll remember me and be mad that you couldnt support my dreams,anyways i love the song:]
    Flag neonhanaon February 24, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Thanks onelastson! After I read your comment the meaning of the song clicked in my head! Before I understood the lyrics as merely human struggle, which it is, but there is also spiritual meaning behind it. I should have thought of that before since many of The Killers's songs deal with spirituality (more along the lines of given in or overcoming temptation). To me, the song refers to an individual that seems to hold the world in his hands, but in reality he is struggling and as one person said "compromising" himself. It also clearly points to Jesus' temptation in the desert. Of course anyone is free to disagree but I believe that Jesus is both human and divine and followers in Christ suffer temptations as He did. This song expresses the journey into and out of the wilderness and our connection to His journey. To any listener the "wilderness" can mean anything that reveals their vulnerabilities and humanness.
    Flag HeckaBekahon July 09, 2010   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:I diagramed this song for a music video set to a tv show. Mine is based on a hero, defending his optimism

    When I offer you survival
    You say it's hard enough to live
    It's not so bad, its not so bad

    Is him talking, trying to cheer up/comfort a friend

    //////////////////////
    How do you know that your right?

    Is the friend, who's new; overwhelmed and confused by the suffering they see

    //////////////////////

    I awoke on the roadside,
    In the land of the free ride

    Is the hero's flashback, and sort of a description of his life, just wandering through life with out understanding why or where he's going (bit hazy stil, feel free to comment) Awoke on the roadside, meaning movement is constant, no beginning or end. Land of the free ride may mean everyone is in motion, but free rides are arbitrary, they don't go anywhere we choose, or anywhere in particular at all.

    //////////////////////

    I can't pull it any longer

    Note switch to present tense. Also fuzzy, but could mean the hero has recently stopped trying to run destiny/the world. He can't force life to go where he wants it to, can't save everyone.

    /////////////////////

    The sun is beating down my neck

    He's tired. Very straight forward. 'Pulling" doesn't seem worth it.


    ///////////////////////

    So I ran with the devil
    Left this trail of excuses


    Switches back to past tense. Also straight forward. He's done lots of things he isn't proud of.

    ///////////////////////

    Like a stone on the water
    The elements decide my fate
    Watch it go

    Present. Could mean two things. One, stones sink like stones, drowning reference; fate is against him. Watch it go, control is slipping away from him

    Second, the one I'm choosing for my specific purpose, is more zen. He's letting go more, like the smaller stones smoothed and carried by the river, he's letting life shape and guide him. Watch it go is more positive now, he gets to experience life by watching and admiring it, rather than fighting against it.

    //////////////////////

    When I offer you survival
    ...
    Poor and tired
    but more than this

    Repeat of intro, with a more earnest tone. Life is not perfect, or even great, but it is worth it.

    ///////////////////////

    How do you know that your right?
    If you're not nervous anymore

    I'm going to say that this is the friend's retort, because I can't even fathom what it would mean if it was the optimist saying it. PLEASE COMMENT IF YOU MIGHT KNOW IT'S DRIVING ME NUTS!

    Anyways, in mine the friend is saying, how can you believe life is so great if you're so unafraid of you're own death? If life is so wonderful, even in the face of all the dark things you've seen, shouldn't you be afraid of dying?

    ////////////////////////

    It's not so bad, It's not so bad

    exactly what it says

    ////////////////////////

    I feel my vision slipping in and out of focus
    but I'm pushing off for that horizon
    I'm pushing on

    again, could mean two things

    One, he's dying, and either waiting to see what's on the other side, or trying to finish his mission here. My first impression, since your vision starts to blur as you lose consciousness, but it doesn't fit my story.

    Two, much more general, he sometimes loses sight of where he's really going or what's most important, but he knows he's going somewhere. Any direction is toward the horizon if you walk with enough determination

    ///////////////////////

    now I've got that blowing wind against my face

    could mean adversity, being pushed back, but I think it's a positive, like the rush of air you feel as you pick up speed. also, a counter to the hot sun beating down his neck.

    //////////////////////

    So you sling rocks at the riptide
    Am I wrong or am I right?

    an accusation, (I'm not sure on which side, but I'm saying that it's the friend talking) that the other person is wasting angry efforts, almost like shouting at a hurricane.

    //////////////////////

    I hit the bottom with a huh
    quite strange
    I get my glory in the desert rain
    watch it go

    Some people are interpreting the third line as "I get glory when hell freezes over". These people have never been a small child in Arizona. Summer monsoons are the most gobsmackingly spectacular things you could possibly experience. They may be rare, but i would go three days without air conditioning in July down here to just stand there in a half hour summer storm. Each and every plant that struggles through the rest of the year explodes into life literally overnight, like spring condensed into an evening

    I think this means that the hero has seen the best and worst of times, that hitting rock bottom was an experience that has changed him, but he clings to those moments of every now and then, when something incredible happens that makes everything worth while.

    Watch it go, again, just means enjoy it. all the complexity and beauty and texure of life.

    /////////////////////////

    ...
    And I'll tell you when it's over
    Shut up,
    Poor and tired
    but more than this

    getting more desperate, he's determined to pull his friend through, because he's seen all this before, and knows that it gets better if you hold on

    /////////////////////////

    How do you know that you're right
    ...
    It's not so bad, it's not so bad

    see above.

    //////////////////////////

    Higher and higer


    Basically, we can get through the rough times. If we keep on going til the very end, down to the wire, we can find those desert rain moments, and make it out.

    //////////////////////////

    It ain't hard to hold
    when it shines like gold
    you'll remember me

    Anyone can be good when times are kind. Our misfortunes define us as much as anything else. The hero accepts all of the hardships that he's come across, the mistakes he's made, and takes pride in the fact that he's become a person worthy of remembering.



    It's Doctor Who, if anyone cares. Everyone does videos of him being tragic and angsty, but I don't think that's how he would put if he were telling his own story. The point is that he keeps going.
    Flag smmar194on December 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:It ain't hard to hold when it shines like gold
    You'll remember me

    Seems obvious to me. Whatever context you put it in, religious, epic or domestic, this is a song about heroes, people who fight through odds that seem impossible, even to them. Its easy to hold on and keep going and be a good person when everything is shiny and perfect. Heroes are forged in the difficulties they over come, and those people are remembered.
    Flag smmar194on December 09, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:For some reason, this song sounds more like an unjust rise to power than an alcoholic father. Metaphors included.
    Perhaps someone who used shady methods to become king(running with the devil, leaving trails of excuses) and is trying to be more than he really can.
    That's just how it sounds to me.
    Flag Evilgoodguyon January 11, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love this song soooo much!One of my top favourites of The Killers.
    Flag Camomileon November 23, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think the song has a pretty simple meaning...
    its about the confessions of a king to his people. the king realises what hes done and feels sorry for it. he agrees he had been foolish.

    on the first stanza ...hes questioning his ppl as to why they all are so miserable under him

    "when i offer u ..... har enud to live " this is just another way of saying that his ppl are v unhappy under his rule

    next he questions them ....that they CANT b miserable under him since they dnt look nervous / scared

    next stanza ...is his confession ...dat he was evil and shit ...

    then the chorus and all ..same thing. ..

    vision part. .
    its abt how hes getting old ...reaching the horizon/heavan .....bt then things are going against him ( blowing wind ..)

    also ..
    the last line ..
    its not hard to hold on when it shines like gold ..u remember me "

    MEANS

    jes sorry abt whatever he did . and hw he joined with the devil and shit ...as in ..became evil and all ...and he gives his reason that its hard to LET GO of the evil within u when it shines like gold ....has qualities on d outside

    ull remember me - tells them that one day ull go thru the same feeling ...evil cuz it shines ...... and then ull think of my position
    Flag shreshthvon September 27, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Great song but I believe the real lyrics are:

    When I offer you survival,
    You say it's hard enough to live,
    It's not so bad, it's not so bad
    How do you know that you're right?

    I awoke on the roadside,
    In the land of the free ride,
    And I can't hold it any longer,
    The sun is beating down my neck

    So I ran with the devil
    Left a trail of excuses,
    Like a stone on the water,
    The elements decide my fate,
    Watch it go..."bling".

    When I offer you survival,
    You say it's hard enough to live,
    Don't tell me that it's over,
    Stand up,
    Poor and tired,
    But more than this

    How do you know that you're right?
    If you're not nervous anymore,
    It's not so bad, it's not so bad

    I feel my vision slipping in and out of focus,
    But I'm pushing on for that horizon,
    I'm pushing on,
    Now I've got the blowing wind against my face

    So you sling rocks at the rip tide,
    Am I wrong or am I right?
    I hit the bottom with a "huh!"
    Cried strange,
    I get my glory in the desert range,
    Watch it go..."bling".

    When I offer you survival,
    You say it's hard enough to live,
    And I'll tell you when it's over,
    Shut up,
    Poor and tired,
    But more than this

    How do you know that you're right?
    If you're not nervous anymore,
    It's not so bad, it's not so bad...

    Higher and higher,
    We're gonna take it,
    Down to the wire,
    We're gonna make it,
    Out of the fire,
    Higher and higher. (x2)

    Higher and higher,
    We're gonna take it,
    Down to the wire,
    We're gonna make it out,
    Whoa-oh-oh Higher and higher...

    It ain't hard to hold,
    When it shines like gold,
    You'll remember me.
    Flag Jobizzieon July 29, 2008   Link

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