Killers bassist Mark Stoermer was studying Italian baroque artist Caravaggio's 1600 painting The Calling of Saint Matthew for an online history course and showed it to Brandon Flowers inspiring this disco-rock number. (The artwork depicts the moment at which Jesus Christ inspired Matthew the tax collector to follow him.) Brandon Flowers explained: "We were messing around in a studio and I mentioned something about leaning into the light. He had just been looking at this painting by Caravaggio. And it's called The Calling of St. Matthew. It's obviously when Matthew in the Bible is called to discipleship. So we looked at the painting and were able to use that as a launching pad for the song." He added: "We ended up taking it a little bit somewhere else. It's about a son going back to his hometown to straighten his dad out."
The song starts with Woody Harrelson reading from Matthew 9:10-12, which describes the calling of St. Matthew. The Hunger Games actor recorded his contribution in a trailer while on location in Italy.
Drummer Ronnie Vannucci Jr's boxer dog Archie can be heard snarling on this song. He told Q magazine: "I was just playing with him in the studio. We recorded it fast and pitched him down so he sounds like a lion."
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