The song is about television host Matt Pinfield, and his work with the US Army, as part of a program that mentored wounded/PTSD-stricken soldiers returning from Iraq.

So, he went home that night, and their old manager, Braden Merrick, calls me on the phone, and goes, 'Hey Matt, Brandon wrote a song about you.

[6] Further influences on the track include glam rock album Transformer by Lou Reed, and Ziggy Stardust, a character created by Bowie in the 1970s.

[7] Jemma Volp-Fletcher gave the single a perfect score of 10 out of 10, calling it "staggering", while also complimenting frontman Flowers' songwriting skills.

[12] In December 2005, the song was nominated for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the 48th Grammy Awards,[13] but lost to "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" by U2.

[17][18] In 2009, The Killers, Coldplay, Bono (U2), and Gary Barlow (Take That) performed the track together to support a special War Child concert following the BRIT Awards.

At the Disco members Brendon Urie and Ryan Ross slow danced to the song according to the December 2006 issue of Kerrang!.

[20] A popular song among alternative rock bands, "All These Things That I've Done" has been covered live by numerous artists including U2,[21] Coldplay, Imagine Dragons,[22] Walk the Moon,[23] Kris Allen,[24] and Robbie Williams.

[26] The later version, which served as promotion for airing, was released as the fourth single in the United States and Australia and was directed by Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, being filmed in May 2005 in Las Vegas.

The video features a surreal, dream-like sequence, where the Killers, dressed as cowboys, are attacked by scantily clad female warriors armed with boomerangs.

The band later made use of a similar cowboy motif during promotion of their second album, Sam's Town, and its accompanying tour and music videos during 2006 and 2007.