Since the age of about 13, I have always said that my favourite song of all time is this. Released in 2004, it recently occurred to me that not only has the Killers’ superb life-affirming rock anthem turned 20 years old, but I’m about to at the end of December. That’s a lot of memories already made, with many more to come. I only became aware of the song when I properly started paying attention to music, but the song’s been there throughout enough of my life to have made its mark on me.
Lyrically, the song is perfect for the end-of-year melancholy. You’ve probably heard the iconic refrain "I’ve got soul, but I’m not a soldier" which is such a cathartic moment as the choir begin singing it and the music soars, but Brandon Flowers writes so many more great lines here as he strives to make his life worth living: "I need direction to perfection", "I wanna shine on in the hearts of men" and particularly "These changes ain’t changing me, the cold-hearted boy I used to be". When you’re trying to navigate the massive changes of university life and adulthood, but feeling like you’re not fully growing up, that line hits you like a ton of bricks.
At risk of sounding like I’m on Genius annotating the lyrics, let’s talk about how it speaks to me. This of course comes with the risk of me sounding like a selfish idiot, but shut up and let me explain. As someone who is a massive fan of the Killers, sick to the teeth of everyone drunkenly singing to 'Mr Brightside' like it’s a Sweet Caroline-esque British anthem even though the band are from Las Vegas, this song always stands out among all their other material. Seeing the Killers live was a fantastic night but when they performed this it was a truly euphoric experience - it was like the whole concert had been waiting for it.
Brandon Flowers often writes songs about his own experiences (their last album 'Pressure Machine' was heavily focused on his upbringing in Nephi, Utah), and there are many Killers songs about needing perseverance to get through life. None feel this universal though. The lyrics are just ambiguous enough to appeal to everyone, and personally it all boils down to that final main line - "while everyone’s lost, the battle is won with all these things that I’ve done". At the end of the year, I think about all these things that I’ve done in those twelve months and all the things I can get to do in the next one, with the fighting spirit of the music cheering me, and everyone else who listens to it, on.
In the words of the song - if you can hold on, then 2025 will be really good for you.
