OneRepublic's hit song Counting Stars has a somewhat quirky music video. It features the band playing their song in a dilapidated basement with some sort of religious/therapy session simultaneously going on upstairs. But the inexplicable part is the alligator seen strolling around the basement for some reason.
Why is the alligator there? I can't find any meaning that connects all the elements on screen with the music and lyrics if I include the strolling alligator.
There is endless speculation about the song and the music video on the internet, from seeing inspiration to pursue one's dreams on one end of the spectrum, to seeing satanic messages on the other. So, I am specifically interested in whether there has been word from the band themselves or from the director of the music video James Lees about the meaning behind the alligator's presence in the music video.