The Protagonist is the unnamed main character and narrator in the Murder Trilogy, a set of songs by the American rock band The Killers which consists of the songs "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf," "Midnight Show," and "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine," respectively.
He is a seemingly emotionally unstable man who, in the wake of his girlfriend Jennifer, also referred to as just Jenny, leaving him, decides to kill her. The event is detailed throughout the three songs, first showing the killer's motive, then the actual murder, and ending with a police interrogation after the fact.
He is voiced by the band's lead singer, Brandon Flowers.
History[]
Little to nothing is known about the protagonist's backstory. His story begins in "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf," where he and his girlfriend, a woman named Jennifer, are in the midst of a breakup. The reason for this isn't explicitly stated, but there is an implication that she cheated on him and left him for another man. The protagonist seems to react in an emotionally inconsistent manner, expressing resentment, indifference, and longing for his ex-lover within the same song. He both begs for her to stay and insults her at different times.
In "Midnight Show," it seems the protagonist has either convinced Jennifer to go on one more date with him to a "midnight show" or potentially kidnapped her. The song details his inner thoughts during this moment and eventually he describes the reason he took Jennifer out to begin with, being his plan to murder her. He takes her to a beach, presumably strangles her to death, and hides her body in the ocean, also revealing the titular midnight show to not be an event of some sort, but rather a euphemism for death or the afterlife.
The final part, "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine," details the aftermath of Jennifer's murder, wherein the protagonist has been picked up by the police and is being interrogated regarding the murder. Throughout the interrogation the protagonist relays a fake version of events from his point of view, in which the protagonist and the titular Jenny got into an argument in a promenade and then broke up on the night of her murder. He then claims that he has no motive for killing Jennifer since the two were friends. What becomes of the protagonist afterward is not clear, but the police do not believe his story, so it's possible he was charged with the murder.
Personality and Traits[]
While most of the Murder Trilogy consists of storytelling from the protagonist's perspective, it does show some elements of his personality. The protagonist is an impulsive and mentally and emotionally unwell man who lets his emotions drive his actions. He may be an alcoholic as shown in "Leave The Bourbon On The Shelf," where he asks Jennifer to leave him a bottle of bourbon before she leaves, planning to "drink it by [him]self." He also appears to suffer from anxiety, as he experiences something resembling a panic attack in "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine" while trying to leave the police station. The protagonist looks to be at his most level-headed in "Midnight Show," but even then he expresses resentment toward Jennifer for ruining the relationship and also hears a voice in the back of his head. The protagonist also seems to be cowardly, as he tries to hide Jennifer's body and run away in "Midnight Show" and lies to the police in "Jenny Was A Friend Of Mine," both in an attempt to avoid incarceration.
Trivia[]
- There is a lot of speculation around this character, from his origins to his identity to what other Killers songs might be canon to his story. Some have speculated that the protagonist is a fictionalized version of lead singer Brandon Flowers and others have speculated that some other songs in The Killers' debut album Hot Fuss also follow this same character, but all that has been confirmed by The Killers at this point is that the Murder Trilogy exists and follows this protagonist.
- At one point, the Killers wanted to make a short film adaptation of the Murder Trilogy, which was planned to feature James Spader or Sir Anthony Hopkins as the protagonist, but this was ultimately scrapped.