You lost faith in the human spirit
You walk around like a ghost
Your star-spangled heart
Took a train for the coast

When you shine you're a hilltop mansion
So how'd you lose the light?
Was it blown by the wind
In the still of the night?

You're up against the wall

Up against the wall
There's something dying on the street
When they knock you down
You're gonna get back on your feet
('Cause you can't stop now)

I always saw you as a kind of keeper
A mother to a child
But your boys have grown soft
And your girls have gone wild

From the Blue Ridge to the Black Hills
To the Redwood sky
The season may pass
But the dream doesn't die

Now don't you drop the ball

Up against the wall
There's something dying on the street
When they knock you down
You're gonna get back on your feet
('Cause you can't stop now)

And when they break your heart
And when they cause your soul to mourn
Remember what I said
Boy, you was battle born
('Cause you can't stop now)

You was battle born

When the night falls on the land
Are you haunted by the sound?
It's gonna take more than a hand
To turn this thing around
Won't you lean it on me?
Rescue, set me free

Up against the wall (up against the wall)
There's something dying on the street
When they knock you down (up against the wall)
You're gonna get back on your feet
'Cause you can't stop now ('cause you can't stop now)

And did they break your heart? (Did they break your heart?)
And did they cause your soul to mourn?
Remember what I said (remember what I said)
Boy, you was battle born (you were battle born)
'Cause you can't stop now ('cause you can't stop now)

Come on, show your face (come on, show your face)
Come on, give us one more spark (give us one more spark)
We'll sing your song of fire (sing your song of fire)
Unless we fall into the dark (fall into the dark)
'Cause you can't stop now ('cause you can't stop now)

You never live, you never learn
You never shine if you never burn
A rising tide, the undertow
The famine and the overflow
Well, turn away, welcome home


Lyrics submitted by phoebe9261, edited by Gravecrux, Drknight16, VoiceOfReason67

Battle Born Lyrics as written by Dave Brent Keuning Brandon Flowers

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Battle Born song meanings
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    My Interpretation

    I hate to politicize lyrics, but even though this song is named after Nevada's state nickname, the state that The Killers are from. But it seems like it could be about the United States as a whole, how we used to be such a strong nation ("When you shine, you're a hilltop mansion"), but we're getting weaker and we're in a rapid downfall ("But your boys have grown soft and your girls have gone wild") as a society. The first verse ("You lost faith in the human spirit. / You walk around like a ghost. / Your star-spangled heart / took a train for the coast") and the verse that says, "Did they break your heart? Did they cause your soul to mourn? Remember what I said. / Boy, you was battle born. / And you can't stop now" sounds like a call to fiercer action in the Middle East. Nevada is called the Battle Born State because it became a state because of the Civil War (known in the South as the War of Northern Aggression). And this country is battle born too. We didn't pussyfoot in the American Revolution, why should we do that now?

    paperbackwriter1993on September 25, 2012   Link

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