When the song is performed at live shows, band members Will Butler and Richard Reed Parry usually take on percussion duties, often engaging in eccentric and sometimes violent acts while the rest of the band continue to perform.
Interpretation
The song, the second track on Funeral, is (according to Win Butler) about the Russian space program sending the dog Laika into space.[1] Laika was the first living creature to orbit Earth. Butler told Pulse, a Minneapolis publication, "It’s a great story about a dog being the first living creature in space. Doing this spectacular thing, but not having food and watching itself fall back into the earth."[1]
The song's dark lyrics complement its catchy melodies. The lyrics first tell the story of "Alexander" being sent out on an adventure. The adventure, for the "good of the neighborhood", will ultimately end in the death of "Alexander".[1]
