"Bones" is a song by American rock band

the Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

, written by lead singer

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his ...

, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci. It is the eighth track on their second album ''

Sam's Town ''Sam's Town'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Killers. It was released on September 27, 2006, by Island Records. Regarding the album, frontman Brandon Flowers noted that he "wanted to create an album that captured, chron ...

'', released in October 2006. It was originally titled "It's Only Natural" in its early stages. Eventually, the song was released as the second single from ''Sam's Town'' in late November 2006. The single did not match the success of its predecessor and new center-piece track, " When You Were Young", only registering on ''Billboard'''s

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart in the United States at number 21. The single peaked at number 15 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The music video for the song is the first directed by filmmaker

Tim Burton Timothy Walter Burton (born August 25, 1958) is an American filmmaker and animator. He is known for his gothic fantasy and horror films such as '' Beetlejuice'' (1988), '' Edward Scissorhands'' (1990), '' The Nightmare Before Christmas'' (1993 ...

, who would later again collaborate with the band on their video for the 2012 single " Here with Me". The cover features a

Desert bighorn sheep The desert bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis nelsoni'') is a subspecies of bighorn sheep (''Ovis canadensis'') that is native to the deserts of the United States' intermountain west and southwestern regions, as well as northwestern Mexico. The ...

, the state mammal of

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, from where the Killers are from.

Music video

The music video for "Bones" marks the music-video-directing debut of film director

. Clips of the band were shot Aug. 17–18, 2006, and were edited together along with CGI backgrounds and characters, including a (fitting) Burton staple: skeletons.

Michael Steger Michael Mateus Steger (born May 27, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Navid Shirazi on The CW's teen drama series '' 90210''. Early life In an interview, Steger revealed he was bullied during his childhood in the fo ...

and Devon Aoki star in the video. Scenes from the films ''

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Hum ...

'', ''

Creature from the Black Lagoon ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...

'', and '' Jason and the Argonauts'', more specifically the scenes with

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who created a form of stop motion model animation known as "Dynamation". His works include the animation for '' Mi ...

's skeleton-men, are shown behind the band. There is a sequence where

Flowers A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

' hand is replaced with that of a skeleton. The beach scenes from ''

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. A ...

'' and '' 10'' are recreated with skeleton figures. The leading couple are seen driving onto the beach where the girl removes her hair to reveal her skull and the man pulls off his shirt to reveal his skeleton. The two leading skeletons are later seen running across the beach to embrace, only for them to crash into one another and shatter to pieces. Then, on the beach, a wave comes over to reveal the two skeletons kissing. At the end of the video, the entire band are skeletons, and they all fall apart at the song's final note. The drive-in depicted unofficially is that of the West Wind Las Vegas Drive-In Theatre located in North Las Vegas, NV. The clothing worn by the band in the video was preserved in an exhibit at the Las Vegas

Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Hard Rock Cafe, Inc. is a British-based multinational chain of theme restaurants, memorabilia shops, casinos and museums founded in 1971 by Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton in London. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and ...

's entrance cafe before the cafe was demolished in late 2019. At the 2007 Shockwaves

NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine '' NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding ...

, it won the award for best video.

Awards

Track listings

UK 7-inch and CD # "Bones" – 3:46 # "Daddy's Eyes" – 4:13 UK DVD # "Bones" (music video) – 3:46 # "When You Were Young" (music video) – 5:33 European maxi CD # "Bones" – 3:46 # "Daddy's Eyes" – 4:13 # "Where the White Boys Dance" – 3:26 # "Bones" (video) – 3:46 # "When You Were Young" (music video) – 5:33

Charts

Sales and certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control The Killers songs 2006 singles Island Records singles Music videos directed by Tim Burton Song recordings produced by Alan Moulder Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Songs written by Brandon Flowers Songs written by Dave Keuning Songs written by Mark Stoermer Songs written by Ronnie Vannucci Jr. Vertigo Records singles