A few weeks back, The Killers’ postponed the release of new album Imploding the Mirage due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Now, the Las Vegas band are revisiting one of their latest singles to react to the murder of George Floyd.
Brandon Flowers and the band posted a live performance of 2019 stand-alone single “Land of the Free” to Instagram on Sunday (June 7), and it includes new lyrics that reference the details surrounding Floyd’s May 25 death at the hands of Minneapolis police, which has caused global protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
In the new version, 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.”
The Killers’ touring musician Robert Loud shared his thoughts on his own Instagram page. “When Brandon texted me these new lyrics I cried and felt the heart he put into them,” Loud writes. “It was an honor to be a part of this. Let’s ‘break the cycle’ of racism and injustice by starting inside of each of us and those we are close to and also work to spread it out from there until it really is the land of the free. There are too many stains on the flag.”
Last year’s music video to “Land of the Free” was directed by Spike Lee; watch it below.
***