The Way It Was (The Killers song)

Release and reception

"The Way It Was" was released on September 17, 2012, as part of Battle Born. Critical response was generally positive. NME described it as a "blustering ballad," while Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone called it a "doomed romantics' epic" that "packs Meat Loaf into a red Corvette and drives him out to 'the lonely Esmeralda County line'." Vivian W. Leung of The Harvard Crimson offered a contrasting view, calling it "an example of the generic, deflated instrumental development." Tosha R. Taylor of the Journal of Popular Romance Studies noted that the song "juxtaposes carefree images of young romance with a more mature man’s sense of loss." The track was included on the band's first greatest hits album, Direct Hits (2013), despite not being a single. Frontman Brandon Flowers later remarked that with hindsight the song probably should have been a single, adding that when played live "it’s magic."

Did You Know?

• The song is written in the key of C# Minor.
• It tells the story of a man driving through a desert after a breakup, wondering if the relationship could have been "the way it was."
• The song makes multiple direct references to Elvis Presley's 1956 song "Don't Be Cruel."