It's been a good six years since The Killers released their single "Human," and still, there are debates about that one line that sums up the entire song. You know the one one; don't make me link you to the YouTube clip of it. "Are we human?/ Or, are we dancer?" I remember listening to the radio back when I was in university and living in LA during this different time known as the late '00s, and The Killers were on one of the city's major radio stations when the subject of that line came up. One of the members, perhaps even frontman Brandon Flowers himself, stated that no one had come up with the correct definition of the line yet, and that the lyric hadn't been a random opportunity to use the word "dancer," or use grammar incorrectly. That was about five years ago — so it says something that people are still weirded out about the line. So much, apparently, that The Killers' "dancer" lyric has earned the title of "most confusing," according to BBC.
So, it sort of begs the question: Is the line really that confusing? At first glance, sure, but in reality it makes sense if you think about it, or perhaps have a deep-seated interest in literature: Back in 2008 (somehow, this story didn't make many headlines), Flowers revealed the meaning behind that line was simple:
In an interview with MTV, Flowers confirmed that the lyric was “dancer” and that it was taken from the Hunter S. Thompson quote - 'We're raising a generation of dancers'.“I guess it bothers people that it's not grammatically correct, but I think I'm allowed to do whatever I want," Flowers said.
Not that crazy — certainly not enough to merit the title of most confusing song lyric. This one, however, which placed second on the list from The Beatles' "I Am the Walrus"? "I am the eggman, they are the eggmen, I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob"? Yeah, I don't think anyone would even be able to understand this one if they were on acid.
