Jealousy…Open up my eager eyes/
‘Cause I’m Mr. Brightside.

The Killers “Mr. Brightside” is a song about the discovery of an affair. The narrator describes himself as “Mr Brightside” as he must have ignored signs that his girlfriend was cheating. He is asking the god Jealousy to open up his eyes so that he doesn’t act like this again. In other words, perhaps he needs to act more jealous and possessive in a relationship and then his (next?) girlfriend wouldn’t be able to sneak around on him.

(I am sure the narrator realizes these are destructive thoughts. That is what this song is about). The description of discovering the cheating is haunting. It is devastating how the thoughts linger and repeat in your mind.

The vocals and pace of the song sound frantic. They seem to match the pace of a man whose world is unraveling. The drums are a basic beat in the song, but they provide something special. I think it is the way the tom is attacked sounds differently than in other songs. Great concept for a song; one of the best songs from the 2000s.

Mr. Brightside Lyrics

Coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this?
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Now I’m falling asleep
And she’s calling a cab
While he’s having a smoke
And she’s taking a drag
Now they’re going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it’s all in my head
But she’s touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
And I just can’t look, it’s killing me
And taking control

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibis
But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I’m Mr. Brightside

I’m coming out of my cage
And I’ve been doing just fine
Gotta gotta be down
Because I want it all
It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this?
(It was only a kiss), it was only a kiss
Now I’m falling asleep
And she’s calling a cab
While he’s having a smoke
And she’s taking a drag
Now they’re going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it’s all in my head
But she’s touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
‘Cause I just can’t look, it’s killing me
And taking control

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Swimming through sick lullabies
Choking on your alibi
But it’s just the price I pay
Destiny is calling me
Open up my eager eyes
‘Cause I’m Mr. Brightside

I never
I never
I never
I never

written by: Brandon Flowers / Dave Brent Keuning / Mark August Stoermer / Ronnie Jr. Vannucci