The Killers: When You Were Young Meaning

anonymous

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

click a star to vote Sep 19th 2011 !⃝

This interpretation is based on the lyrics of the song and the music video by The Killers. When You Were Young is a song about a woman who is married to a man who cheats on her. She is horrified by the experience but eventually goes back to him and forgives him. THE LYRICS + interpretation "You sit there in your heartache Waiting on some beautiful boy to To save you from your old ways You play forgiveness Watch him now, here he come" This lyric is about a woman who is sitting in depression because her heart was broken when she found that her husband had cheated on her. When it says she is waiting for a "beautiful boy to save" her, I think that means she wants her husband to apologize and save her from her grief. She says "beautiful boy" because she wishes he was innocent, although that cannot be the case. She is in shock, disbelief and despair, but she still wants to be with her husband so she can only wait for her husband to be remorseful and allow her to "play forgiveness" and accept him back into her life. At the end of this verse, he approaches her ("watch it now, here he comes") and you assume it is to apologize. "He doesn't look a thing like Jesus But he talks like a gentleman Like you imagined when you were young." Knowing that he has cheated on her, he no longer looks like that "beautiful boy" she wanted and he doesn't look a thing like Jesus. But, he talks like a gentleman which is a quality she has valued and wanted in a man since she was a child. So, even though he no longer can be what she dreamed of when she was a child, she can still see good qualities in this man. "Can we climb this mountain? I don't know Higher now than ever before I know we can make it if we take it slow Let’s take it easy, easy now, watch it go" This verse is about the couple dealing with the problems in their relationship and their ability to move forward. This new sin (the husband cheating on the wife) is the most difficult issue they have had to deal with; it is a higher mountain than ever before. The next sentence I believe is from the husbands ensuring her that "I know we can make it if we take it slow." "We're burning down the highway skylines On the back of a hurricane that started turning When you were young When you were young" In this verse the image is of the couple driving fast over long stretches of highway in rough weather. I believe this is referring to the the argument the couple has when they finally confront this new problem. During the argument, they don't just drive through this new highest mountain (they do not just discuss the issue at hand that he cheated on her) but they drive through the whole skyline (in other words, they revisit past problems as well). The lyrics say that they are riding on the back of a hurricane that started turning when you (in this song "you" refers to the woman) were young. I believe this is talking about her upbringing. The writer of the song says the problem (the hurricane) didn't start when he cheated on her. The problem started when she was young and dreamed of the perfect boy who would be like Jesus. Although she did not know it, she was setting herself up to be unhappy with her husband because she set her expectations too high - no one can be like Jesus and free from sin. "They say the Devil's water it ain't so sweet You don't have to drink right now But you can dip your feet Every once in a little while" The Devil's water in this paragraph is sin and temptation - more specifically the husband's sin of cheating on his wife. "It ain't so sweet" because although it feels good for a hot second, it has long-lasting consequences on his relationship with his wife. "You can dip your feet every once in a little while" means it's okay if it's only the tip. No just kidding. I think this is a sad lyric because it is from the husband's point of view. He thinks sin is inevitable and that it is okay to dabble in sin every now and then. It's a sad lyric because it implies that he will probably cheat on his wife again. "You sit there in your heartache Waiting on some beautiful boy to To save you from your old ways You play forgiveness Watch him now, here he come" The first time this verse played I think it was more hopeful that all could be forgiven and forgotten. This second time, I'm not so sure. It doesn't sound like he's going to change and it sounds like the wife is going to go through this heartache over and over in the future. "He doesn't look a thing like jesus i said he doesn't look a thing like jesus but more then you'll ever know (Talks like a gentleman) (Like you imagined when)" Damn straight he doesn't look like Jesus. Rotten poo head. When the writer says "but more than you'll ever know" I think he is trying to say that his love for her is pure despite his sins. That's why he looks more like Jesus than she can perhaps understand. But the writer doesn't no anything about anything. He is a rotten poo head and this is a SAD SONG no matter what the writer says. -C GUY