Brandon Flowers appeals for forgiveness in the redemptive "All These Things I've Done."
A bashful piano clinks to start the single, setting an angelic tone. In the pre-chorus, Flowers says to his family that he has hit rock bottom. He found out his friends were cheating and stealing from him. Home is the last place he can go. He implores them to not give up on him this time.
"When there's nowhere else to run/Is there room for one more son/One more son/If you can hold on/If you can hold on, hold on."
In the first verse, he explains that he wants to be proud of himself for once. He wants to be free of the regret he feels. He yearns to be remembered as a good man and to have a future. His family says they understand and know what he means. However, he responds that they don't get how desperate he is. He feels as though he's running out of time before he's a hopeless cause forever.
"I wanna stand up, I wanna let go/You know, you know, no you don't, you don't/I wanna shine on in the hearts of men/I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand."
His wild past has given him much stress. He worried about going to jail if he got caught wherever he went. Girls he liked wouldn't date him after hearing about all the trouble he'd been in. His past has aged him. He's dealt with things he didn't know he could and many people shouldn't have to. He notes that he's learning to open up and talk about how he feels. He likes things just so. However, he needs someone to guide him to the right path otherwise he'll return to his old ways again.
"Another head aches, another heart breaks/I am so much older than I can take/And my affection, well it comes and goes/I need direction to perfection, no no no no."
In the chorus, he pleads with his family to support him. He needs them right now. He doesn't want them to shunt him off to the side like they've done so many times before.
"Help me out/Yeah, you know you got to help me out/Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner/You know you got to help me out."
In the pre-chorus, he says the family's indifference to him are counterproductive. He says he's not the same person he was. Nonetheless, his family still thinks of him as so. Hence, none of the subtle changes he's made are being noticed.
"And when there's nowhere else to run/Is there room for one more son/These changes ain't changing meThe cold-hearted boy I used to be."
In the second verse, he says in the end, they will kick themselves for ignoring him.
"Yeah, you know you got to help me out/Yeah, oh don't you put me on the back burner/You know you got to help me out/You're gonna bring yourself down/Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down/Yeah, you're gonna bring yourself down."
The guitar charges ahead as Flowers says he's not perfect but he's still a good person. The bridge culminates with the gospel choir wailing and the guitars sparking.
"I got soul, but I'm not a soldier/I got soul, but I'm not a soldier/I got soul, but I'm not a soldier/I got soul, but I'm not a soldier/I got soul, but I'm not a soldier/I got soul, but I'm not a soldier."
The chorus is sung once.
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Article comments
1 - Bob A. Booey
I hate the song and I think The Killers are trying too hard for a cross-over, uplifting hit with this one to prove the 80s tribute magic hasn't run out, but this was a good review.
You write it in a very rock critic-y style and I can tell you were an English major. I just think his lyrics are probably not as ripe for meaningful interpretation as you give them credit for.
That is all.
2 - AOT
I like it. It's good and I like hard rock/rock. Whoever doesn't like, well, let pigs fly!
3 - reggie von woic
I usually download songs for free from the internet.
Not to with this album...i bought it!! For me that is the greatest show of love to a band.
4 - -P
Does anyone get to review these things? I found that the interpreter for this song was horribly mistaken. Don't try so hard to attach so much meaning to the video. I don't think the song has anything to do with a love story in a cheap western movie. To me the song is about life, not love. The video's purpose, to me, was strictly put together for entertainment purposes. Honestly, I couldn't read the whole thing because after the interpretation of the first few lines, the meaning was slaughtered for me. One of the reasons why I love this song so much is because everyone can relate to the lyrics, and unless you are a lonely Jesse James wannabe in a cheesy almost disrespectful movie, you can't.