“Bones” by Imagine Dragons

One of the main goals of most religions seems to be imbuing believers with some type of understanding of what existing in the afterlife actually entails. But of course, not everyone is religious. And even then, we can say that there is nothing like hard physical evidence that an afterlife actually exists. 

So perhaps it can be said that another purpose of religion is convincing us that such a realm is actually out there. But as for the likes of Dan Reynolds and co., they haven’t been persuaded to believe in such things.  And it is such ruminations upon which “Bones” is premised. Simply put, the vocalist is trying to imagine how he would actually feel if he were passing away.

That said, this is one of those songs where the premise is more compelling than the final product. It can be put forth that only those amongst us who have actually had real, genuine near-death experiences truly know how it feels to have one foot on the mortal plane and the other in the hereafter. So what we’re dealing with here is more or less a bunch of random musings which, unless the vocalist really listens carefully, don’t necessarily come off as if the vocalist is alluding to impending death. 

But since we do know that’s what he’s singing about, he appears as someone who has made peace with the fact that he is evidently passing on.

Narrator might believe in the Afterlife

And beyond that, certain lyrics do seem to point to the idea that Reynolds may in fact believe in the afterlife. For instance, the way the title is used in the chorus is with the vocalist defiantly asserting that ‘there’s magic in (his) bones”, even as he is apparently passing away.  Moreover, in the first verse, he asserts that he “will live a thousand million lives”.  So if anything, he definitely doesn’t seem intimidated by the prospect of dying.

So all of that noted, even though this piece centers on an ascertainable theme and to some degree a belief system even, it reads open-ended, i.e. the lyrics being such that respective listeners can take from them what they may.

Facts about “Bones”

“Bones” is the first track that Imagine Dragons, a rock band from Las Vegas, has put out for 2022. The track officially came out on 11 March. It is the lead single from the project entitled “Mercury – Act 2”. This project is a follow-up to 2021’s “Mercury – Act 1”.

Imagine Dragons is a very-successful music act consisting of Ben McKee alongside the following:

• Wayne Sermon
• Daniel Platzman
• Dan Reynolds

Those four individuals are credited with writing this song alongside its producers, Mattman & Robin (aka Mattias Larsson and Robin Fredriksson).

Imagine Dragons got around to teasing this track just a couple of days prior to its issuance.

At the time of the release of this song, the last single Imagine Dragons dropped, “Enemy” (a collaboration with rapper JID), was holding down the number 1 spot on the Billboard US Alternative Airplay chart.