"Bones" is a song by American rock band

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

, written by lead singer

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician. He serves as the co-founder, lead vocalist, primary songwriter, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers, which he formed with Dave Ke ...

, bassist Mark Stoermer and drummer Ronnie Vannucci. It is the eighth track on their second album '' Sam's Town'', 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 between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' 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 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 producer. Known for popularizing Goth subculture, Goth culture in the American film industry, Burton is famous for his Gothic film, gothic horror and dark fantasy films. ...

, who would 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 landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...

, 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 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 protagonist and narrator is a French literature professor who moves to New England and writes under the pseudonym Humbert Humbert. He details his obsession ...

'', ''

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 is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

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

Flowers Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

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

From Here to Eternity ''From Here to Eternity'' is a 1953 American romantic Drama (film and television)#War drama, war drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 From Here to Eternity (novel), novel of the same name by J ...

'' 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'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 o ...

, 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

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control The Killers songs Island Records singles 2006 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