This is a track from Flamingo, the first solo album by The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. The title refers to the iconic sign that greets travelers driving into Flowers' hometown of Las Vegas. He explained to Spin magazine: "People would dodge cars to take a picture by it, so the city finally made a parking lot by it. It's that combination of being so happy while dumping all their money. It's definitely not a perfect town, so that was the perfect place to jump from."
Flowers reveals Vegas' underbelly as he sings: "Welcome to fabulous Las Vegas / Give us your dreamers, your harlots and your sin." Q magazine asked Flowers if he wasn't concerned about sounding preachy. He replied: "I'm always conscious of that. But I definitely don't feel I'm on a pedestal. I just feel I'm walking amongst."
Flowers explained the album title to The NME: "The Flamingo is one of the most famous casinos on the (Las Vegas) strip, and also one of the first-it was infamously opened up in the 1940s by Bugsy Siegel, the mobster. It's also a street here, and one that I've spent a lot of time on over the course of my life, so it's a word that's very dear to my heart."
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