In 2019, The Killers released “Land Of The Free,” a standalone single that was critical of life in the US. Given the current social unrest, the song is as appropriate now as it was then, if not more so. In light of that, the band has shared an intimate new performance video of the track, which features altered lyrics to reflect what’s happening in the world today following the death of George Floyd.
During the acoustic performance, Brandon Flowers sings, “How many killings must one man watch in his home? [..] Eight measured minutes and 46 seconds, another boy in the bag / Another stain on the flag.” He sings later in the song, “Father in Heaven, help us see / how to lose our hatred and gain your favor / how to break these cycles and change our nature / that we may walk underneath your banner / in the land of the free.”
When the track was originally released, Flowers told Zane Lowe, “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. It was things like Eric Garner, Trayvon Martin, things like what’s happening at the Mexico border wall. This stuff didn’t seem to be in harmony with the values that I believe my country was founded on.”
Watch The Killers perform “Land Of The Free” above.