- Music
- 08 Jun 20
The song contrasts a mythic American dream with a darker vision of the US.
The Killers have performed a live version of 'Land Of The Free', featuring updated lyrics on the homicide of George Floyd.
The revised version of the Vegas-based band's 2019 single comes in the wake of mass protests across the US and around the world, triggered by Floyd's murder at the hands of police.
The 46-year-old black security guard died in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, after Officer Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for nine minutes - depriving him of oxygen.
Posting the performance to the band’s Instagram account last night, frontman Brandon Flowers added the lyrics, “how many killings must one man watch in his home?” before referencing Floyd's death.
“Eight measured minutes and 46 seconds, another boy in the bag, another stain on the flag."
Advertisement
Flowers later sings to “father in heaven, help us see how to lose our hatred” before asking “how to break these cycles and change our nature, that we may walk underneath your banner, in the Land Of The Free".
Minneapolis City Council has since pledged to disband the city's police department, and invest in a community-led approach to public safety following the outcry against police brutality.
Watch The Killers’ performance of ‘Land Of The Free’ below.