Why Do I Keep Counting?

This song is about the fear of death and dying without accomplishing your hopes and dreams. Lead singer Brandon Flowers' fear of flying is also referenced in the lyrics ("Help me get down"...) as is his obsession with the day he'll die (apparently as a kid a Ouija board once told him that he would die on June 21, the day of his birthday). It sounds, in the chorus, as if he's praying to God (referred to as "Father"), and saying that if he knew the day he was going to die, and was sure that it would be in the right time he wouldn't be bothering Him and keep on counting the days.

In an interview with the New Musical Express (NME), Brandon Flowers talked about his fear of flying: "It's something that's become a real problem for me since we got successful. But I feel as though if I talk about it in interviews, it lessens the chances of my fears actually happening. Like, I've talked about it, so it would have to be a huge coincidence for it to actually happen to me. Does that make sense? It seems way more improbable than if I didn't talk about my fears of what might happen. That's why I've been seeing a psychiatrist, once a week for the last few months. To talk about my fear."