The Killers perform reworked version of "Land Of The Free" with lyrics about George Floyd

"Land Of The Free" was originally released in January 2019, and at the time, vocalist Brandon Flowers told Zane Lowe on his Apple Music Beats 1 show that "It started in my mind around when Sandy Hook happened, and as a father how that affected me. And then it just started stacking up — things like Eric Garner and Trayvon Martin, things like what’s happening at the wall. This stuff didn’t seem to be in harmony with the values that I believe my country was founded on."

Over a year later and the poignant song has resurfaced, adopting a new meaning in the wake of the ongoing Black Lives Matter protests, and the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and others at the hands of police.

The Killers have released a new live performance of the song, and it sees Flowers sing some updated lyrics written in response to George Floyd's murder, "How many killings must one man watch in his home? / [...] Eight measured minutes and 46 seconds, another boy in the bag / Another stain on the flag."

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Robert Loud, who plays guitar in the new performance video, wrote of the updated lyrics on Instagram, "When Brandon texted me these new lyrics I cried and felt the heart he put into them. It was an honor to be a part of this. Let’s "break the cycle" of racism and injustice by starting inside of each of us and those we are close to and also work to spread it out from there until it really is the land of the free. There are too many stains on the flag."