- Mr. Brightside
The Killers Lyrics

Coming out of my cage
Emerging from my confines, possibly figuratively or allegorically.

And I've been doing just fine
Having no real issues to maintain a decent level of function and doing well enough.

Gotta gotta be down
Must feel rather blue or sad about something significant.

Because I want it all
Having aspirations and aiming for everything desirable, may have a rather ambitious outlook.

It started out with a kiss
The fountainhead of something pleasurable or euphoric is traced to a peck on the lips.

How did it end up like this?
Expressing confusion and likely despair at how things turned out.

It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss
Trying to downplay the significance of the earlier kiss and likely a moment of self-denial.

Now I'm falling asleep
Appearing really tired and about to drift into slumber.

And she's calling a cab
Referring to a female voice that seems to be announcing she's summoning a car service such as Uber or Lyft.

While he's having a smoke
Describing a male's act of holding a cigarette in his hand and taking a puff.

And she's taking a drag
Depicting a woman inhaling from a lighted cigarette, usually after drawing on it from someone else or just preparing to smoke.

Now they're going to bed
Suggesting a plausible intimacy between a man and a woman as they retire for the night.

And my stomach is sick
Feeling nauseous, perhaps due to something quite upsetting or unsettling.

And it's all in my head
Imagining or fantasizing about scenarios that may not necessarily be real.

But she's touching his chest now
Observing the physical contact that a woman initiates with a man's pectoral muscles.

He takes off her dress now
Watching the male character remove a female's dress, possibly with sexual intent.

Let me go
Asking to be freed from the distressing and harrowing experience of witnessing something heartbreaking.

And I just can't look, it's killing me
Feeling immense pain and agony, while also struggling to watch something upsetting unfold.

And taking control
Suggesting someone no longer being a passive observer, but rather an active participant controlling the situation.

Jealousy, turning saints into the sea
Expressing envy and how it can derail someone so spectacularly, even highly dignified people.

Swimming through sick lullabies
Depicting a surreal, somnolent experience, perhaps due to an indulgence of some immorality.

Choking on your alibi
Finding excuses or reasons that don't seem credible to those observing them, and so adding to the frustration of the situation.

But it's just the price I pay
Acknowledging some level of responsibility for the mess someone has found themselves in.

Destiny is calling me
Feeling a sense of inevitability and fate dictating one's choices and outcomes.

Open up my eager eyes
Asking to be observant and alert, eagerly waiting for something that's about to happen.

'Cause I'm Mr. Brightside
Showing that despite all the turmoil and heartache the character is still optimistic and hopeful about the situation.

I never
Starting a refrain that repeats several times, seemingly indicating something the singer doesn't do, perhaps related to giving up.