The Killers’ “Caution” Lyrics Meaning

This song is based on the old adage of “throwing caution” to the wind. That basically means that a person has decided to take a big risk despite acknowledging the potential for something to go wrong in the process. And in this case, what the narrative is centered on is a lady being compelled to leave her hometown in search of a better life. The factors behind her being prompted to do so as illustrated in the first verse is lack of constructive options in terms of career choices. And in the second it is shown that she is suffering from some type of boredom/depression. 

And conclusively, the idea that lead singer Brandon Flowers is putting forth is that when a person feels such an urging, he or she should heed it. According to him, failure to do so isn’t the best. And why? Because the person would end up running another risk, which is having to deal with a shoulda-woulda-coulda type of thought process for the rest of their lives.

Lyrics of "Caution"

Lyrics are based on Brandon’s own life

More specifically, he has based the lyrics on his own experiences with the city of Las Vegas. This is a place where he once resided, but the situation ultimately reached a point where ‘an angel on his shoulder’ was telling him to leave. And conclusively, whereas he acknowledges that doing so was difficult, in the end he felt relieved that he did go against “caution” – i.e. his own inner inhibitions – and actually did so.

Brandon Flowers talks about "Caution"

Facts about “Caution”

Island Records released “Caution” on the 12th of March, 2020. It is the lead single from The Killers’ sixth-studio album, which is entitled “Imploding the Mirage”.

The writing team behind this track consists of two members of The Killers – Ronnie Vannucci Jr. and Flowers – alongside Alex Cameron and the track’s producers, Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado.

The music video to “Caution” was directed by Sing Lee and fits into a larger video project the director is working on with The Killers.

The first two lines of the song’s second verse actually reference singer Paul Simon’s 1980s hit single “Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”. And that song in question talks about a girl from a wealthy home who falls in love with a boy from a poor background.

Diamonds on the Sole of Her Shoes

2 Responses

  1. Erodeo says:

    His use of the idiom “Throwing caution” is incorrect. The idiom is “Throwing ___ to the wind”. “Throwing caution” makes no sense out of context of that idiom.

  2. SerialHonesty says:

    It’s music Erodeo… have you ever heard Ronnie James Dio? Poetic license is being used here, that’s all. 😉

    Seriously… when you have a chance go listen to “Holy Diver” and tell me it makes any sense. LOL

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