Mr. Brightside | Chords + Lyrics
Intro
||: Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C | Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb :||
Verse 1
| Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C |
Coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine,
| Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb |
gotta, gotta be down because I want it all.
| Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C |
It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?
| Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb |
It was only a kiss, it was only a kiss.
| Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C |
Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cab,
| Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb |
while he’s having a smoke and she’s taking a drag.
| Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C |
Now they’re going to bed and my stomach is sick,
| Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb |
And it’s all in my head but she’s touching his.
Bridge 1
| Bbm | Bbm | Ab | Ab ||: Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb :||
Chest now. He takes off her dress now, letting me go.
| Bbm | Bbm | Ab | Ab ||: Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb :||
And I just can’t look, it’s killing me and taking control.
Chorus 1
||: Db5 | Gb | Bbm | Ab :||
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Swimming through sick lullabies.
Choking on your alibis. But it’s just the price I pay.
Destiny is calling me, open up my eager eyes.
‘Cause I’m Mr. Brightside.
Instrumental
| Db D4sus4 Db5 | Gb Gbsus2 Gb Gbmaj7 |
| Bbm Bbmb6 Bbm | Ab6 Ab6sus4 Ab |
Verse 2
I’m coming out of my cage and I’ve been doing just fine,
gotta, gotta be down because I want it all.
It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?
(It was only a kiss), it was only a kiss.
Now I’m falling asleep and she’s calling a cab,
while he’s having a smoke and she’s taking a drag.
Now they’re going to bed and my stomach is sick,
and it’s all in my head but she’s touching his.
Bridge 2
Chest now. He takes off her dress now, letting me go.
And I just can’t look, it’s killing me and taking control.
Chorus 2
Jealousy, turning saints into the sea. Swimming through sick lullabies.
Choking on your alibis. But it’s just the price I pay.
Destiny is calling me, open up my eager eyes.
‘Cause I’m Mr. Brightside.
Instrumental 2
||: Db D4sus4 Db5 | Gb Gbsus2 Gb Gbmaj7 |
| Bbm Bbmb6 Bbm | Ab6 Ab6sus4 Ab :||
Outro
||: Db D4sus4 Db5 | Gb Gbsus2 Gb Gbmaj7 |
| Bbm Bbmb6 Bbm | Ab6 Ab6sus4 Ab :|| x4
I never, I never, I never, I never.
Mr. Brightside Chords: Learn the progressions
There’s a lot of production on the original recording, making it difficult to define a simple part that works when you play Mr. Brightside‘s chords with a band as the only guitarist.
Using the chords and lyrics above to find something that works for you for the bridge and chorus is perhaps not difficult, it is the intro and instrumental sections that present the challenge.
Clearly recorded on a guitar tuned down a semitone, playing in the key of Db is perhaps the biggest challenge, I think there’s an argument to be made for learning it in D instead and then applying the Digitech drop pedal to get to the key of Db.
Although, I’ve never seen anyone do this so let’s stick with Db for now. That mental verse riff is simply a Dbadd9 chord with different bass notes, like this:
||: Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C | Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb :||
The bridge recycles that last chord but before it, we play chords VI and V, like this:
| Bbm | Bbm | Ab | Ab ||: Dbadd9/Gb | Dbadd9/Gb :||
The chorus is a classic diatonic chord progression: I – IV – VI – V.
| Db5 (I) | Gb (IV) | Bbm (VI) | Ab (V) |
There is an argument for playing the chorus using power chords throughout, most people probably do.
The instrumental section uses the same chords as the chorus although if paired with the melody, could be written using extensions, like this:
| Db D4sus4 Db5 | Gb Gbsus2 Gb Gbmaj7 |
| Bbm Bbmb6 Bbm | Ab6 Ab6sus4 Ab |
Just take a moment and imagine how much easier all this would be in the key of D using a tuned-down guitar. Or why not just transpose it all to C?
I’ve designed some TAB for that intro and developed a part for the instrumental section which will work even if nobody else is playing the chords.
Here’s a link to the TAB lesson: Mr. Brightside – Guitar Lesson with TAB.
Coming back from this and determined to play it in the key of Db, this chord chart will help.
Mr. Brightside Chord Chart | PDF + iReal Pro
Should you want to download this chart, here’s a PDF: Mr. Brightside Chord Chart PDF.
This chord chart was created using iReal Pro, here’s a link to that file: Mr. Brightside iReal Pro. Using this and the iRealPro app, you can change the key, maybe to D.
From this perspective, you could convince the singer that it should be a semitone higher, or why not just bring a spare guitar in Eb?
Mr. Brightside – Song of the decade!
The Killers‘ biggest tune, Mr. Brightside was released as the lead single from their debut album Hot Fuss in 2004.
An enormous success, it would go on to be crowned song of the decade by U.K. radio stations, selling 10 million copies worldwide.
Working bands instantly adopted Mr. Brightside and are still playing it (often as the final encore) almost two decades later.
It sits perfectly around other classics like Sex On Fire, Summer Of ’69, and Seven Nation Army, all tunes you pull out when it’s time to make sure the night is a success.
Mr. Brightside Chords | Related Pages
Mr. Brightside | Guitar Lesson + TAB
With this guitar lesson, you can learn to play Mr. Brightside by The Killers using TAB and chord analysis.
| Dbadd9 | Dbadd9/C |
Coming out of my cage, and I’ve been doing just fine…
Five similar tunes | Chords + Lyrics
The Killers tunes
Formed in Las Vegas in early 2001, The Killers released a debut single that would become every cover band’s encore for years to come.
The band is best known for the tunes Mr. Brightside, Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young, Bones, and Human.
The Killers on the web
About me | Dan Lundholm
This was a guitar lesson about Mr. Brightside chords, by Dan Lundholm. Discover more about him and how you can learn guitar with Spytunes.
Most importantly, find out why you should learn guitar through playing tunes, not practising scales, and studying theory in isolation.
