When You Were Young" is a song written and performed by The Killers, and is the third track on their second album Sam's Town, released in October 2006. The song was released as the lead single from that album in September 2006. It has proven to be one of their most successful singles, peaking at #14 on the U.S. Hot 100, as well as their only number 1 to date on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart but "Mr. Brightside" and "Somebody Told Me" would stay longer on the chart and have more pop airplay still being more successful despite both songs only peaking at #3 on the same chart. It is also their highest charting single to date in the United Kingdom and Australia, peaking at numbers 2 and 10 respectively. "When You Were Young" is the band's most commercially successful post–Hot Fuss single.

Contents [hide] 1 Background
2 In popular culture
3 Music video
4 Covers
5 Track listings 5.1 CD: Island / ISLR16591-2 United States
5.2 CD: Vertigo / 170 765-8 United Kingdom
5.3 CD: Island / 0 602517 07658 7 Germany & Germany
5.4 CD: Island / ISLR 16633-2 United States
5.5 2x12": Island / B0007884-11 United States

6 Official versions
7 Charts and certifications 7.1 Sales and certifications

8 Awards
9 References
10 External links

Background[edit]

The song, which is in the key of B major and written in common time, displays the band's move towards a more "heartland rock" style, as it is part of an album that was supposedly heavily influenced by the music of Bruce Springsteen. The song itself was reportedly influenced by Springsteen's "Born to Run" and "Thunder Road".[2] The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, and the single's video, directed by Anthony Mandler, received a nomination in the category of Best Short Form Music Video.[3] The single was ranked #69 on iTunes Top 100 Best Sellers: Songs of 2006. The song also made #4 on the Triple J Hottest 100, 2006.

In popular culture[edit]

The song appears in the video games Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, SingStar Amped, and Rock Band. The single's B-Side "All the Pretty Faces" appears in Guitar Hero 5.

The song was featured in the third section of the 2006 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show and is played regularly before Baltimore Orioles games at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

In 2009 it was voted at Number 37 in UK radio station XFM's "100 Greatest Songs of All Time". and number 3 in XFM's 1000 greatest songs ever behind "Mr. Brightside" and Muse's "Knights of Cydonia".

Music video[edit]

The music video for this song was filmed in Tlayacapan, Mexico.[4] The visual style was inspired by the films Japón and Batalla en el Cielo both directed by Mexican film director Carlos Reygadas.

In a frame story, it tells the story of a young woman around the age of 20. The video opens with her arriving at a large, white, wooden cross in a rocky hill. She mourns in front of it until a man, who had been desperately searching for her, shows up and comforts her. The following scenes are mostly flashbacks that would illustrate the story of how they came to be there.

The first of these flashbacks is one in which the same woman is praying at a church; after leaving, she encounters the man outside. They kiss and it is evident that there is a romantic relationship between them. One day she arrives home to their shared house to find the man in bed with another woman; seeing them together, she leaves the house, heavily distraught. As the woman runs through the town with tears in her eyes, the video flashes back to their joyous wedding, making it clear that they are husband and wife and that they were thoroughly happy together. The next scene is another flashback in which the man gazes on as she pours water on her legs, demonstrating the attraction he had for her.

Later, the video cuts to a very early scene in the story, set within a bar that the man appears to own. The woman enters and introduces herself for