The Battle
John Brown's Body Lyrics

Who is my guide to fly me on my way
Asks for help to clear the path that will take him to his destination

And the battle will be chasing me
The struggle and difficulties will constantly follow him

Who in the skies will fall beyond reach
Asks for someone distant and unreachable to come and save him

The battle will defeat
The hardships will conquer and defeat him

Who is my guide to fly me on my way
Asks for help again because he's afraid the struggle will overpower him

Or the battle will be overcoming
He fears that he will lose to the battle if no help comes

Who is my guiding star to show me
Asks for a guide, a bright star to show him the way

Whether it can be seen
Even though he can't see that guiding star, he hopes it's there and it can be seen

You escaped with your belly full
Someone else got away with what they wanted

My bled till it emptied
He lost everything and bled until there's nothing left

Now that you're taking more than you should
Because someone else is causing harm and taking more than they deserve

You've got nothing left for me
There's nothing else he can give, he's given everything already

From the beginning watch the sun move
From the start, he was aware of the hardships he would face

Sun sets for me early
His life is cut short due to the struggles he faced

Once more will you come around to save me
Asks for help once again

There are no foes or enemies
He doesn't view anyone as enemies

Only disease that keeps you shaking
The hardship and struggle makes him feel shaken

Thought you wanted to be free
He thinks he wanted to be free of the struggles, but it's not that simple

But you built some stronger cages
The more he tries to escape the hardships, the more trapped he feels

You defend your beaches from the sea
He thinks everyone tries to protect themselves from the harm and struggle

But with no walls to breach I fell right in
However, the struggles got to him because there's no escape

I won't be going back that way
He refuses to go back and relive those struggles

Even if the battle gets the better of me
Even though the struggles might defeat him

Invasion
Referring to someone else who is harmful and invasive

You can't wait for the sound of wolves
He thinks the harmful person is impatient and eager to cause harm

That alarm will be too late
By the time an alarm sounds, it'll be too late

You can play me if you want a fool
He's aware that he's being taken advantage of

But you're losing your own way
However, he thinks the harmful person is the one losing their way

You are the sun but I am the stars and moon
He separates himself from that harmful person and sees himself as celestial beings

Forever they will greet
Forever those celestial beings will watch over him

Once more will you come around to save me
Asks for help once again

Chorus
Repeating chorus without additional meaning context