Today’s Celtic letter “K” is dual-dedicated.  First it is dedicated to the musical group, The Killers.  Second, it is dedicated to Kerfe Roig, a blogger/artist/poet who inspires me with her creations.

I first heard The Killers through my older son, who has introduced me to a lot of good music. It was their first album, Hot Fuss (2004) and I fell in love with their sound right then and there. I got Sam’s Town when it came out. Tonight, when I was deciding which album to listen to while coloring, I chose Sam’s Town. Where Hot Fuss is more bare bones, Sam’s Town is lush. Both of these albums are, using Han’s rating system, 5+.

Sam’s Town is the second studio album by American rock band The Killers. It was released on October 2, 2006, in the United Kingdom and the following day in the United States. Regarding the album, vocalist and primary lyricist Brandon Flowers noted that he “wanted to create an album that captured, chronologically, everything important that got me to where I am today“. Sam’s Town has sold almost five million copies worldwide.

The album takes its name from Sam’s Town Hotel and Gambling Hall, a hotel and casino in Las Vegas, the band’s hometown. Sam’s Town was also a huge sign that was visible by band member Mark Stoermer through his room window when he was young.

The album is said to be influenced by the works of U2, Duran Duran, Bruce Springsteen, The Beatles, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Electric Light Orchestra, and Dire Straits, among others. In the October 2006 issue of Giant magazine, Flowers was quoted as saying that Sam’s Town would be “one of the best albums in the past twenty years“, and in Entertainment Weekly he remarked that it would be “the album that keeps rock & roll afloat.”

Sam’s Town has gained a cult following and has been critically lauded as a classic and one of the best rock albums of the 2000s. Despite its two-star rating by Rolling Stone, Sam’s Town was voted by the magazine’s readers in December 2009 as the most underrated album of the decade.

The title track is my choice today. Finding information on the song, I learned that there is an acoustic version on their 2007’s album, Sawdust.

Please look for a bonus song/video after the lyrics.

Nobody ever had a dream ’round here
But I don’t really mind that it’s starting to get to me
Nobody ever pulls the seams ’round here
But I don’t really mind that it’s starting to get to me

I’ve got this energy beneath my feet
Like something underground’s gonna come up and carry me
I’ve got this sentimental heart that beats
But I don’t really mind that it’s starting to get to me

Now, why do you waste my time?
Is the answer to the question on your mind
And I’m sick of all my judges
So scared of what they’ll find
But I know that I can make it
As long as somebody takes me home
Every now and then

Oh, have you ever seen the lights?
Have you ever seen the lights?

I took the shuttle on a shock wave ride
Where people on the pen pulled a trigger for accolades
I took a bullet, and I looked inside
And it’s running through my veins
An American masquerade

I still remember grandma Ditzy’s wake
I’ve never really known anybody to die before
Red, white and blue upon a birthday cake
And my brother – he was born on the fourth of the July, and that’s all

So why do you waste my time?
Is the answer to the question on your mind
And I’m sick of all my judges
So scared of letting me shine
But I know that I can make it
As long as somebody takes me home

Woo!
(Every now and then)
(Every now and then)

You know I see London; I see Sam’s Town
Pulls my hand, and let’s my hair down
Rolls that world right off my shoulder
I see London; I see Sam’s Town now

Songwriters: Brandon Flowers / Dave Brent Keuning / Mark August Stoermer / Ronnie Jr. Vannucci. [Note: another place has Brandon Flowers as the solo songwriter]

Bonus video is Brandon Flowers at Georgefest, singing, “I Got My Mind Set on You” with the house band and…… Dhani Harrison!  Sound quality not the best, but it’s still cool.