Miss Atomic Bomb

Brandon Flowers told the backstory of the song to NME: “It’s a beautiful picture of this woman in the desert. I think she’s still alive. I met Bernie Taupin for the first time and I felt like he was giving me a little bit of advice. He didn’t say much to me, just asked, ‘Do you like titles?’ And I started thinking about Elton John songs, and found out Bernie wrote the titles first. Like ‘Mona Lisa and Mad Hatters,’ or ‘Candle in the Wind,’ it’s already epic.”

The lyrics and music video imply that there is a connection to their 2004 single, “Mr. Brightside,” and that “Miss Atomic Bomb” serves as a follow-up or a sequel to the story.

In the first verse, there is a line that reads:

I was new in town, the boy with the eager eyes

This directly mirrors the line in the chorus of “Mr. Brightside”:

Open up my eager eyes,
Cause I’m Mr. Brightside

At time mark of 3:36 in album version of the song, The Killers play the main riff from Mr. Brightside as a leitmotif to connect the two songs.

The music video also features actress Izabella Miko and actor Eric Roberts reprising their roles from the “Mr. Brightside” video.

Some scenes are re-created shot for shot from “Mr. Brightside” in the music video for “Miss Atomic Bomb.”

https://imgur.com/a/kbHYK
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[Verse 1]
You were standing with your girlfriends in the street
Falling back on forever, I wonder what you came to be

>> Brandon Flowers harkens back to the first day he met his love interest: with a pack of girls to back her up, he wasn’t quite sure what to expect.
>> When he says “falling back on forever” I think he’s saying that she was the type of person who lived their life falling back on having all the time in the world.


I was new in town, the boy with the eager eyes

>> When the two met, he was young, naive, and eager to make something of himself. This line stands in contrast to the narrator’s later portrayal of himself as older, tired, and wounded.
>> Additionally, this line alludes to “Mr. Brightside”:
>>>> Open up my eager eyes
>>>> Cause I’m Mr. Brightside


I never was a quitter, oblivious to schoolgirl's lies

>> This line relates directly back to Mr. Brightside. This means, similar to “Mr. Brightside” that he is being duped by girls he has trusted. He never knew when to quit loving them.


And when I look back on those neon nights

>> Brandon Flowers is from Las Vegas, he is referring to the bright neon lights of the strip.
>> This can also mean Anywere, USA or World. He is merely looking back on the good ‘ol days of fun and flash and bright lights.


The leather seats, the passage rite

>> Referring to the leather seats in Flowers' car (or in the music video, his motorcycle) where they spent much of their time together, which he believes was a rite of passage from childhood to adulthood.
>> This also references the view of sex as a rite of passage.This also references the view of sex as a rite of passage.


I feel the heat, I see the light
From Miss Atomic Bomb

>> This girl is burning him up and she is shining bright, like an atomic bomb. The allusion to an atomic bomb also foreshadows that although she is stunningly and brilliantly beautiful, she is also dangerous, since one shouldn’t look at an atomic bomb or be subjected to blinding effects, since it can kill. Even though she is stunningly beautiful, in the end any relationship with her will probably just cause the singer pain or misery.
>> Moreover, its the passion and love of their relationship burning bright and hot. Figuratively speaking, she is radiating heat and light as the relationship burns bright. But he does allude to her as Miss Atomic Bomb as a premonition of things to come….


Making out we got the radio on
You're going to miss me when I'm gone
You're going to miss me when I'm gone

[Chorus]
Racing shadows through the moonlight
Through the desert on a hot night

>> The narrator reminisces about the nights he spent with his lover, painting a picture of the two of them out in the Las Vegas heat. https://i.imgur.com/rKYchVS.jpg

For a second there we won
We were innocent and young

>> Typically, young people are told that they won’t be successful or “make it” until they are much older. Here, the narrator is saying that just by being together and being happy in their youth, the two of them had already won, or “made it” in the world. https://i.imgur.com/hEp7onW.jpg
>> I think it means that for a moment they felt like they did had won. But they didn’t, that victory only lasted for a second, before reality called them back. They were too innocent/naive to realize how harsh life actually is and too young/inexperienced to know that things hardly ever end the way we plan. Evidenced in the first verses, when he points out not having seen her in a long while, since those days when they thought they made it and their love had won.


[Verse 2]
Cast out of the night
You got a foolish heart

>> This part of the song plays after a long interlude, possibly to indicate the passage of time.
The relationship ended, and Flowers feels naive to have believed it would work.


So you took your place with the fall from grace

>> First, I think the lyric is “but the fall from grace”, and can possibly be interpreted from his view, or hers. For him, the loss of love – ‘grace’ in her eyes, was devastating. For her, this could be a premonition of things to come for her and he is introspecting that her decision to move on was not as great as she thinks now.


Was the hardest part
It feels just like a dagger buried deep in your back

>> https://i.imgur.com/D65UVEI.jpg The relationship ends with Flowers saying it felt “just like a dagger buried deep in your back” and that her “soul was innocent, she kissed him and she painted it black.” She destroyed him. At the end of the song, these few stanzas are replayed in the background emphasizing on what a great impact this was to both of them.


You run for cover but you can't escape the second attack

>> Flowers is making an allusion to the dropping of the atomic bomb on Nagasaki at the end of World War II. The reference serves to draw a parallel between the atomic bomb tests that were conducted in the Nevada desert in the 1940s and a relationship destroyed by two great mistakes. There’s nothing more terrifying than hearing that air raid siren and knowing that in the next instant you’ll be wiped from existence. That single moment must feel like a lifetime, much like how the fallout of a single mistake will play out in slow motion before your eyes.


Her soul was innocent, she kissed him and she painted it black

>> This line is about losing someone you love to someone else for the first time. You start out being a nice, happy, carefree person, until you see the person you love with someone else. If you let it, that sort of thing can change you, figuratively painting your soul black.
>> Could also be a reference to the Rolling Stones song “Paint it,Black” https://youtu.be/n1zBG2TEjn4


You should have seen your little face.

Miss Atomic Bomb
Making out we've got the radio on
You're going to miss me when I'm gone
You're going to miss me when I'm gone

[Chorus]
Racing shadows through the moonlight
Taking chances on a hot night.

For a second there we won
We were innocent and young

[Verse 3]
The dust cloud has settled, and my eyes are clear

>> The metaphorical dust cloud that this girl caused him to experience has passed and he’s now able to see the situation objectively. He can see the truth in the situation. https://i.imgur.com/bi4RWPg.jpg


But sometimes in dreams of impact I still hear

>> Flower’s continues the atomic bomb analogy by citing that in his thoughts, he can sometimes remember “Miss Atomic Bomb” and what she did to him which encompasses a large impact (similar to that of a bomb hitting a surface) on him. This line shows that the Flower’s is in some ways traumatised and he will always reflect on Miss Atomic Bomb.


Miss Atomic Bomb, I'm standing here
Sweat on my skin
And this love that I've cradled
Is wearing thin (Miss Atomic Bomb)
But I'm standing here and you are too late
Your shock-wave whisper has sealed your fate

>> Something she has said to him was like a shock wave to him, and now he’s finally had enough.
>> This carried on the “atomic bomb” metaphor. The “shock wave” is the rush of air which knocks everything to the ground. https://i.imgur.com/5J4t8Tsg.jpg

It feels just like a dagger buried deep in your back
(It's so cruel)
You run for cover but you can't escape the second attack
(and you turn your back, you're so)
Your soul was innocent
She kissed him and she painted it black (on a losing game)
You should have seen your little face
Burning for love
(Miss Atomic Bomb)

[Outro]
Holding on for your life
But you can't survive (All that I wanted was a little touch)
When you want it all (A little tenderness and truth, I didn't ask for much)
There's another side (Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time)