“Land of the Free” has been the United States’ nickname since “The Star-Spangled Banner” was written in 1814, but lately, The Killers find it somewhat unfitting. With their newly-released single, bitterly titled “Land of the Free,” the band is breaking a two-year single silence since Wonderful Wonderful. This is the most politically outspoken The Killers have ever been. The song’s lyrics target the United States and some of their most controversial policies, which appear to have polarized public opinion.
Their new song is full of references to the dark side of life in the United States: the border wall, the current tough stance against immigration, lack of gun control, and mass shootings in schools.
The release came with a heartbreaking music video directed by none other than Spike Lee, director of the award-nominated film Blackkklansman, as well as the critically-acclaimed Do the right thing (1989).
@thekillers
In the clip, we can see footage from the US-Mexico border in Tijuana and many of the people President Trump has constantly vilified by calling them thieves, killers, and rapists who come from “shithole countries,” particularly the migrant caravan fleeing from Central America’s violence.
The video provides an excellent rebuttal to many of these offensive claims. In it, you can see migrants’ quiet life in refugee camps in Tijuana sleeping in tents, children joyfully playing, mothers reading, or praying.
But it also shows some of the things they have had to endure, like the hundreds of miles of walking, police violence in Mexico, and even teargas from border agents in the United States. All of this against the backdrop of the song’s lyrics: “Down at the border, they’re gonna put up a wall/ Concrete and rebar steel beams (I’m standing crying)/ High enough to keep all those filthy hands off of our hopes and our dreams (I’m standing crying)/ People who just want the same things we do/ In the land of the free.” Brandon Flowers explained on a Killers tweet: “We dishonor our values, our ancestors, and our heritage when we tear gas our brothers and sisters seek asylum.”
Flowers explained that he saw himself reflected in the faces of the great number of people willing to cross the border: “I see my family in the faces of these vulnerable people. After all, it wasn’t that long ago that my grandmother and her family immigrated from Lithuania to escape the USSR’s oppression. The chose to leave everything they knew behind to come to America and work grueling jobs in dangerous coal mines rather than endure tyranny at home.”
@thekillers
This is actually how the song starts, painting the picture of a common experience many Americans take pride in: “Can’t wipe the wind-blown smile from across my face/ the old man in me/washing his truck at the Sinclair station.” It’s the song’s way of being joyful about being an American and being aware of descending from immigrants, since it could not have been possible had his ancestors not come “on a ship/ cut coal and planted a seed.”
Things quickly go awry, though, with references to the arbitrary killings of African-Americans by policemen (a nod to Black Lives Matter), as well as the outrageous mass incarcerations in the United States, and school shootings.
Flowers also said in an interview: “I think it is a very important time right now, and ‘enough is enough’ was basically where it comes from. It started in my mind around when Sandy Hook happened and as a father, how that affected me, and then it just started stacking up: Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, what’s happening at the wall, this stuff just didn’t seem to be in harmony with the values that I believe my country was founded on. I would start the song and then I would put it away and say, ‘I’m not the guy to do this,’ or I would feel inadequate, waiting for … Somebody’s going to write this song. And then it just piled up and I finally just, you know, Las Vegas, Orlando, Parkland and it just kept coming. It was just like ‘I have to get this out.’”
@thekillers
As saddening as all of these issues are, the song and video are quite inspiring, maybe like a “We are the World” for this generation. All Flowers wants to do is encourage solidarity for all: “I love my country I know these are complicated issues but whether you stand to the left, right, or straddle the line, you’ve gotta believe that we can do better.” Yes, we can.
Cover by @thekillers
—
Do you have any thoughts you’d like to share about current events, politics, or immigration? Maybe a personal story or experience you’d like to share? Read our submissions guidelines and send a 500-word article to storyteller@culturacolectiva.com
****
Liked this article? Check these out as well:
How Trump And Brexit Embody The Shattered Dream Of A Failing Generation
A History of Xenophobia in the United States
10 Blatant Lies Trump Says To Play You For A Fool
****
