Battle Scars by Lupe Fiasco Lyrics Meaning – Unpacking The Emotional Warfare of Love
Lyrics
That’s cause you’re at war with love
You’re at war with love, yeah
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle
Never let a wound ruin me
But I feel like ruin’s wooing me
Arrow holes that never close from cupid on a shooting spree
Feeling stupid cause I know it ain’t no you and me
But when you’re trying to beat the odds up
Been trying to keep your nods up and you know that you should know
And let her go but the fear of the unknown
Holding another lover’s phone sends you back into the zone
With no Tom Hanks to bring you home
A lover not a fighter on the front line with a poem
Trying to write yourself a rifle
Maybe sharpen up a song
To fight the tanks and drones of you being alone
I wish I never looked, I wish I never touched
I wish that I could stop loving you so much
Cause I’m the only one that’s trying to keep us together
When all of the signs say that I should forget her
I wish you weren’t the best, the best I ever had
I wish that the good outweighed the bad
Cause it’ll never be over, until you tell me it’s over
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle
(And just leave then)
You shouldn’t have but you said it
(And I hope you never come back)
It shouldn’t have happened but you let it
Now you’re down on the ground screaming medic
The only thing that comes is the post-traumatic stresses
Shields, body armours and vests
Don’t properly work, that’s why you’re in a locker full of hurt
The enemy within and all the fires from your friends
The best medicine is to probably just let her win
I wish I couldn’t feel, I wish I couldn’t love
I wish that I could stop ’cause it hurts so much
And I’m the only one that’s trying to keep us together
When all of the signs say that I should forget her
I wish you weren’t the best, the best I ever had
I wish that the good outweighed the bad
Cause it’ll never be over, until you tell me it’s over
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle
‘Cause you’ve set me on fire
I’ve never felt so alive, yeah
Hoping wounds heal, but it never does
That’s because you’re at war with love
And I’m at the point of breaking
And it’s impossible to shake it
See, you hoped the wound heals, but it never does
That’s cause you’re at war with love
Hope it heals, but it never does
That’s cause you’re at war with love!
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle scars, don’t look like they’re fading
Don’t look like they’re ever going away
They ain’t never gonna change
These battle
In a world where hip-hop intertwines with the complexities of the human condition, Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Battle Scars’ emerges as a raw anthem that dives deeply into the turmoil of heartache. This track isn’t just a mere composition; it’s a powerful narrative encapsulating the struggle of emotional survival after a romance gone awry.
Upon its release, the song resonated with listeners for its sincere portrayal of love’s aftermath—the ‘battle scars’ that remain long after the love has ceased. Through a forensic lyrical dissection, we’ll delve into the potent symbolism and cathartic release that Lupe Fiasco and Guy Sebastian have ingrained in this melancholic melody.
The Eternal Echoes of a Wounded Heart
Fiasco begins his earnest soliloquy on a somber note, pointing out the perpetual presence of emotional scars. The allegory of being ‘at war with love’ immediately sets a tone of internal conflict, a sentiment that listeners who have endured the pangs of heartbreak can resonate with. These ‘battle scars’ serve as a metaphor for the lingering pain and memories that survive long after a love has died.
It’s a universal truth that Fiasco taps into; the idea that love can cause as much pain as physical wounds, and unlike a physical wound, these scars of the heart have a notorious tendency to resist healing, becoming a permanent part of one’s emotional makeup.
Lost in Love’s Labyrinth: A Descent into Despair
Lupe Fiasco’s verse paints a vivid picture of emotional entrapment: cupid’s stray arrows, the desperate clinging to a love that’s already slipped away, and the crushing realization that reconciliation might be an unreachable dream. The mention of ‘no Tom Hanks to bring you home’ is a cultural reference that evokes a sense of isolation and hopelessness.
This stanza is rich with imagery that spins a narrative of poetic struggle—where love’s battlefield is fraught with unseen enemies and the self becomes a casualty to its own desires.
Battle Scars’ Painfully Memorable Lines
‘I wish you weren’t the best, the best I ever had / I wish that the good outweighed the bad’ is perhaps one of the most striking sections of the song. It’s a raw acknowledgement of the complexities of clinging to the remnants of something beautiful that has turned sour. Fiasco encapsulates the torturous dichotomy of knowing the rational move is to move on while the heart stubbornly holds on to what was once ‘the best.’
This confessional style is hallmark for Fiasco, who has always drawn from a deep well of personal truth in his music. It’s these lines that catch in the throats of those who listen, a mirror held up to their own experiences of clinging to the ghosts of lovers past.
The Hidden Meaning: Love’s Damaging Arsenal
While ‘Battle Scars’ can be taken at its poignant face value, delving deeper reveals a more profound commentary on the nature of love itself. Love, in Fiasco’s lyrical depiction, is akin to warfare, replete with an arsenal designed to debilitate and scar. Shields, armors, and vests—the tools to protect one’s heart—are woefully ineffective against the ‘enemy within.’
The music speaks to those who have emerged on the other side of love’s battlefield, forever altered by the fray. ‘Battle Scars’ is a testament to the resilience—and vulnerability—of the human spirit in face of love’s often incalculable toll.
The Anthem of Healing: Can Time Truly Mend?
As the chorus repeatedly hammers home the permanence of these ‘battle scars,’ there remains an underlying question that haunts the listener—can time truly mend a broken heart? The song’s recurring conclusion is a sobering one: ‘They ain’t never gonna change.’
Despite this, there’s an inherent power in acknowledging the scars we carry. Rather than diminishing their presence, ‘Battle Scars’ shines a light on the importance of these emotional markers. It proposes that perhaps, acknowledgement and acceptance are the first steps to healing—whatever form that may take.
