Colby Savell Period 2 4/10/12 The Killers Tranquilize highlights the fact that everyone has an excuse to stand

by and let evil continue, but that just having an excuse does not mean they should do so. The singers, Brandon Flowers and Lou Reed, both represent one speaker, a denizen of small-town America who is frustrated with the state of America, and, on a grander scale, the world. The first stanza sets the stage. The time it tells line is indicative of sour times to come, further enforced by the idea that wedding bells begin easy. It is important to note the diction choice of begin. A writer does not use a word like begin if something remains the same. If that were the case, Flowers would have said that wedding bells ARE easy. However, that choice of begin exhibits a very strong implication that something is going to change. Also in this stanza come lines suggesting the denizens of the town live it down and dont talk that much about the problems pervading America in the small town. These lines suggest the speaker has grown up in a place where the people choose to weather political and societal issues rather than try and fix them, and where attempting otherwise is frowned upon. The next two lines baby knows, but baby dont tease me suggest that everyone knows that the world is not right, but they dont want to tease (here used as the definition meaning pester) the issue any more, for fear that things might get worse. It is as if the town described turns a blind eye to the worlds evils. The next stanza gives the notion that the speaker (representing society as a whole, especially the middle and lower classes) cant be bothered with any of the greater issues his nation faces as long as people need shoes and socks, i.e., as long as he is barely supporting his family. This line is doubly interesting because of its double meaning. It also suggests that money talks in such situations. Taken at a deeper level, this line implies the use of money by the rich and the government to control people who might take issue with their actions to keep them complacent. The speaker understands this, but has always been told that as long as he is always here, always on time, perhaps to a corporate or government job that pays the bills, even if it does not line up with his morals, then that is all that he can do, and he is dutybound to do it. However, backing up a bit, it is seen in this stanza that the speaker realizes that maybe it is not for love of his family or even for himself that he put up with this, but rather because it was just easy. The plea of steady boys, Im thinking she needs me further supports the notion that it is hard for a man to answer the call to arms against a corrupt system when that system controls his means of supporting his family. Essentially, the entire stanza boils down to the idea that the government controls, in one way or another, every mans livelihood, so to stand up for a national or global issue would be folly while a mans wife and children are at risk. The third stanza continues the previous train of thought. He reinforces that feelings of guilt, and fear that the government or corporate world is gonna break down the door and that they are gonna come back for more are present and that he is trying hard to believe otherwise. But he cannot. He says that these feelings are dragging him down. The word dragging here is what really gets the point across. Something is not dragged unless it is completely helpless, as the speaker is in this scenario. The chorus, coupled with this stanza, demonstrate what happens when a person lets these feelings fester inside

without doing anything about them. The speaker says that his self-reflection is leaving him somber and isolated, paralyzed (turns my world to stone) at the sheer shock of how the world is truly unfolding around him. He states that if the issues were to be patiently corrected these feelings would leave everyone alone. Normally, he says, he can run away, to a place in his mind where he can pretend the issues of the greater world dont exist, but tonight his engines failing, and he is stuck, just as all men are, in the harsh reality of the world. The speaker states that despite all this, he still hears the children playing, but then, just when it seems that all is well, a haunting chorus of children enter into the mix. They begin listing off what seem like innocent games, such as kick the can and blackjack, but nestled in amongst the normal childlike activities are stealing cars and muggings (give me your sneakers), and fearful thoughts of a boogeyman, highlighting that if nothing is done in the world, if everyone keeps that me and mine attitude, even the children, the most innocent creatures on earth, will feel the corruption. In the final stanza sung by Flowers, the speaker resigns to blame Cain and Abel, deciding that the problems of the world are man-made, and that any evils in the world are well deserved. Its a shame, he says, but heaven knows he cant do anything about it, so he resigns to join the rest of the world with weeping and wailing. He resigns to tranquilize his feelings, to put them to sleep, and leave the worlds problems to someone else. The placement of this stanza makes an especially painful jab at society, in that up until this point, it has been building to a revolution, but here the speaker quells all hope of ever starting a movement. This placement forces the listener to take a hard look at their own life, causing feelings of guilt over every time they could have taken a stand but didnt. The final stanza is a major change in focus. At this point, the speaker changes. No longer is it a complacent member of society, talking about his own life, but rather a direct accusation to the listener. The finger-pointing tone of this stanza is especially highlighted in the first two lines, where the new speaker says it doesnt matter where youve been or what youve seen, there are those who still believe. Those who believe in hope, and change. Those who believe that the world doesnt have to remain as it is. He states that no matter how long you look in the lifeless book of hope (here meaning any religious text), there isnt anything that will help unless society takes a stand for itself, and if it doesnt, then the Bushes and the bombs will tranquilize (or end) the world. Bushes is a strange term to use here, as bushes are typically not a weapon of war. However, capitalization is key. This term is a direct reference to the two presidents Bush, and others like them, who perpetuate war for the good of the country, calling them out on perpetuating the legacy of Cain, who killed able, and started a history of violence. Overall, the song calls forth feelings of guilt at standing by while injustice continues, showing that no excuse is good enough. Tranquilize rallies the listener to fight despite the struggles, and stand up for what is right, no matter what the cost.