Lyrics for Human as interpreted by poorlilrockstar

Human Lyrics
I did my best to notice
When the call came down the line
Up to the platform of surrender
I was brought but I was kind

And sometimes I get nervous
When I see an open door
Close your eyes, clear your heart
Cut the cord

Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Hear my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could

And so long to devotion
It taught me everything I know
Wave goodbye, wish me well
You've gotta let me go

Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

Will your system be alright
When you dream of home tonight
There is no message we're receiving
Let me know, is your heart still beating?

Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

You've gotta let me know

Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

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hazgirl22
10-25-2008

Rated 0 
It would make sense if it were dancer because "are we human or are we dancer" makes just as much sense as "are we humans or are we dancers". It kinda seems like he's making dancers seem like their own race.

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Croatian9Deuce
10-26-2008

Rated 0 
The Killers are one of my favorite bands, no doubt, but sometimes I think their lyrics leave something to be desired, and in this case, the lyrics are just ridiculous. I can't even focus on the music because I can't get out of my head how awkward the refrain is haha.

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schlenkster
10-26-2008

Rated 0 
To me, when it asks "are we human or are we dancer", its questioning whether we just go about life kind of laconic and boring, or we make beauty out of it all. The word dancer in this song to me is more of a metaphor. But now i'm kind of leaning more toward Icarus Fixius' interpretation, because it actually looks at the other lyrics. I've really only let myself hear the refrain, i don't know why.

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blondie6235
10-27-2008

Rated 0 
This song isn't really my favorite but I did want to dissect the lyrics because I think the killers write some good songs.

This song has to do with faith and the narrator being on his death bed searching for it.

Dancers was one word I struggeled with in the beginning alot. Dance is used as celebration. Never do you see it for mourning, never do you see people dancing out of anger or hate. Celebrating faith and asking god are we here to be mere mortals or here to celebrate?

I did my best to notice
When the call came down the line
Up to the platform of surrender
I was brought but I was kind

And sometimes I get nervous
When I see an open door
Close your eyes, clear your heart
Cut the cord
I was brought but I was kind

Speaking of him on his death bed. "Up to the platform of surrender I was brought but I was kind" himself preparing for death and the transition to the afterlife. He is beginning to accept that he is dying and not fight it.

Are we human or are we dancer?
My sign is vital, my hands are cold
And I'm on my knees looking for the answer
Are we human or are we dancer?

He wants to know more about the afterlife before he dies. Is this just a short life for us to live and die at the end of or is this a celebration of the end?

"On my knees" denotes prayer.

Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Hear my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could

This section speaks of sending his soul to heaven.

And so long to devotion (devotion to his faith, the church, his god)
It taught me everything I know
Wave goodbye, wish me well
You've gotta let me go (pass onto the afterlife)


Will your system be alright
When you dream of home tonight
There is no message we're receiving
Let me know, is your heart still beating?

The POV changes here in my mind. I feel like this part isnt being spoken by the narrator but an outside character. Asking the narrator, the one on his death bed. Will you be alright after we're gone? Will you long for home? There is no way for us to know but is your soul still alive?

I like the lyrics in their morbidness but the song isn't really my cup of tea. I do want to know what Brandon says himself about the song though.

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koolaid26
10-27-2008

Rated 0 
FINALLY some proof:

From the editorial review for Day & Age at Amazon: "He says the lyrics were inspired by a disparaging comment made by Hunter S. Thompson about how America was raising a generation of dancers."

Link: http://www.amazon.com/Day-Age-Killers/dp/B001FWRZ46

Put it to rest!

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aaron10
10-28-2008

Rated 0 
""My sign is vital/ My hands are cold/ And I'm on knees, looking for the answer/ Are we human, or are we dancer?" He says the lyrics were inspired by a disparaging comment made by Hunter S. Thompson about how America was raising a generation of dancers"

That's taken off the website. There you go that settles it, it's DANCER.

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aaron10
10-28-2008

Rated 0 
"My sign is vital/ My hands are cold/ And I'm on knees, looking for the answer/ Are we human, or are we dancer?" He says the lyrics were inspired by a disparaging comment made by Hunter S. Thompson about how America was raising a generation of dancers"

That's taken off The Killers official website.
That settle it, it's DANCER.

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Happy.com
10-29-2008

Rated 0 
The interview isn't on YouTube :(
Tbh I think it's dancer.. Here's what someone posted on YouTube:

Its a reference to a Hunter S Thompson quote, implying that America is raising a generation of dancers.

I don't know if its true or not though :)
I'll let you decide :D

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Happy.com
10-29-2008

Rated 0 
'o' It's true :D

Okay I think we can all shut up now eh?

It's settled, It's DANCER :D

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Happy.com
10-29-2008

Rated 0 
HAHAHAHHAHA I just accidentally nearly copied all of aaron10's post :D

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adrienne123089
10-29-2008

Rated 0 
I agree with one of the first comments on here...

It's saying 'dancer' as if it were it's own species...
Our species is human... So, are we 'human' or are we 'dancer'?

As for the meaning... I think there are broad number of interpretations... I let this song transform and mold in my mind... means different things when I listen to it at different times.

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Danny555
10-30-2008

Rated 0 
It seems to be that he has written about a journey. He has been led to believe that all he does has been written, and is has been made to do it. I agree with 'dancer' being refered to as a puppet. Both are manouvered in a certain way. In this case, Flowers life has been led in a certain way. This song is about him coming to the end of the line, and giving up what he has believed in to finally make his own decisions, become 'Human' and not a 'dancer'.

When he is talking about an 'open door'. He is on the 'platform of surrender' ready to let go, he 'closes his eyes' and 'cuts the cord'.

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Danny555
10-30-2008

Rated 0 
(continued from above)

Pay my respects to grace and virtue
Send my condolences to good
Hear my regards to soul and romance
They always did the best they could

This is Flowers saying goodbye to what he has previously believing after he has entered the 'open door'. 'Wave goodbye, wish me well'

After he has gone through this door, he uses the line 'You've gotta let me go'. This is telling whoever/whatever that he doesn't need controlling anymore, and want to become a free person. Then towards the end of the song, this line changes to 'You've gotta let me know'. I think this again is refering to the same thing, but i think Flowers is a bit 'nervous' about this, and wants to make sure he has made the right decision.

Flowers still doesn't no weather he is human or a dancer. This is why he is still asking the question. But he has moved out of the 'dancer' stage, and has become 'human'. Whatever this song means it provokes deep thought and many theories to what it could mean. It is another fantastic song from The Killers, and if the new album is as good as this sing, then it will be a great success.

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oxsweettalkxo
10-30-2008

Rated 0 
The Killers came out again with another awesome song!! The music video was perfect for the song as well, with great cinematography, location and feeling.

My interpretation:

The idea of being human is the idea of being imperfect, thinking for ones self, and finding sympathy within one another.

The idea of being dancer is that you go with the flow and get caught up in the beat, lost from your own mind.

If this is referring to a relationship I'd say he's asking the question of whether they're just going along with the whole thing because it's happening, or if they both are in it entirely and emotionally.

love it love it love it!!
can't wait for the whole album on 11/25!!! :)

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Bernadetteblu
10-31-2008

Rated 0 
im going with denser...
someone made a good point.. he pronounces it Danser... to rhyme with answer.

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poorlilrockstar
11-01-2008

Rated 0 
Guys. It's NOT denser. It's written in the band's official bio as "dancer," and he said in an interview that it's not denser.

"It's taken from a quote by [author Hunter S.] Thompson. ... 'We're raising a generation of dancers,' and I took it and ran. I guess it bothers people that it's not grammatically correct, but I think I'm allowed to do whatever I want," he laughed. " 'Denser'? I hadn't heard that one. I don't like 'denser.' "

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impytigo
11-01-2008

Rated 0 
something about this one i love....dancers....life is such...all dancing as best we can...

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Dan Corwin
11-02-2008

Rated 0 
It is not 'denser'

Denser makes no sense and does not rhyme with 'answer'.

I think it is an interesting attempt to make 'dancer' a kind of universal archetype Like 'human'... a word that is at once singular and plural.

That is, of course, just a guess.

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worldofnoise
11-02-2008

Rated 0 
I am really hoping that "Human" does not mark the point where The Killers have gone off the deep end. After two excellent LPs, they have us all arguing over the merits of "denser" vs. "dancer" and whatnot. Either way you slice it, this song shows Brandon Flowers regressing as a musician and songwriter. You can even detect a hint of self-cannibalization (the melody is very similar to that of "My List") in a song that was probably better suited to the "Sawdust" collection. Since the new album is not out at this time, it is hard to say for sure, but I hope this is not the point where Flowers' success has gone to his head and he starts to believe that anything he conjures up will automatically turn to platinum.

In regards to the song meaning, I believe it is about the contrast of being physically alive and emotionally dead. We can take vitals on the body but cannot do the same on the soul. Or something like that. Don't read too much in trying to analyze this song line by line; the lyrics are too poorly constructed for that.

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historybuff
11-03-2008

Rated 0 
This song is awesome, the lyrics are infinitely deep (I don't quite understand the knocks on poor songwriting), and a point of further interest is that the song deals with what it is to be a dancer, while at the same time, the song itself seems to have the feel of a dancing song. I don't know about anyone else, but I think it would be pretty cool if they played this at my high school dance.

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nat0308
11-03-2008

Rated 0 
Its final. It is dancer and there should not be any mistake of denser. Denser just would not make since because OR refers to be this or that. You can't be human (a race) or denser (adjective).

Now here is how I see this as. As humans we become just that, humans. We can become caught up in only living day to day and forget about what really matters. As we get older, life seems to be scheduled and nothing out of the ordinary really happens because we do not put ourselves in situations that are not put into our 'little black book'.

When I think of dancer in this song I think of more of what dancing is suppose to be. Its about expressing your feelings. Songs are made to show emotion and are based on real life situations whether it is relieve stress or showing someone your true feelings. Dancing is somewhere along the same line. Of course to become a great dancer you have to learn the basics such as 1st position and 2nd, but once a dancer has been trained they have to learn to feel the music. If you ever meet a true dancer then they can tell you that dancing should be more than knowing just the counts, but actually look like you are one with the music.

Also, Hunter S. Thompson is who Brandon Flowers found inspiration for the phrase 'are we human or are we dancer'. Thompson quote—’We’re raising a generation of dancers’. It refers to the growing softness of America's youth. Softness for me refers to being full of life.

So, dancer makes sense in the lyrics.
Human = Sameness and Rigid
Dancer = Being Emotional and Soft/Sensitive

Decide for yourself, are we human or are we dancer?

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ShineYouDiamond
11-05-2008

Rated 0 
My take on this:

1) It's deliberately cryptic
2) I love the fact that it's 'dancer' singular, though I can't easily explain why this works so much better
than the plural would.
3) The fundamental question being asked is "what is our species?"
4) (and this is the main thing I want to say) Let's be honest, we don't listen to the Killers for the lyrics,
we listen because they are the most talented musicians working in Indie music these days, bar none. It's all
about the sound.

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.dreaming.of.you.
11-05-2008

Rated +1 
it's dancer.
brandon wrote it after listening to some speech ages ago about how america was producing a nation of dancers.
he said it in the radio 1 interview with zane lowe.
definitely dancer.
i heart the killers.
x

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fangsupsam
11-06-2008

Rated 0 
The way I see it, "human" is robotic with no emotion. When you hear "dancer," you think of movement and feeling. "My sign is vital" means that he's alive and full of energy and personality, like a dancer. However "My hands are cold" could mean dead and emotionless. Putting it together, he's alive on the inside, but he's not showing who he really is. He's blending in with the crowd by being "human."

That's my interpretation of the chorus, haha.

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fangsupsam
11-06-2008

Rated 0 
Oh, I forgot. I really like how they use the singular form of "human" and "dancer." When you says 'humans,' it sounds like you're referring to us as a population or something. With 'human,' it sounds more like you're talking about the actual being of a person and the typical characteristics of them. And because they used the singular of human, they used the singular form of dancer. "Dancers" just refers to people dancing. "Dancer" sounds more in depth, like it's about the personality and characteristics of a dancer. They use these both as if they are species of people. Some people are human, some people are dancer.

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