In 2003, Suh signed with Epic/Sony; she ended up working with Glen Ballard, a well-known producer/songwriter/arranger.At first, Ballard only agreed to produce a few songs for Suh, but he was so impressed with her work that he ended up producing her entire debut album (a self-titled CD that Epic released in April 2005).
With the album completed, Suh reflects on the making of her debut: "My mission has always been to create music that transcends boundaries, to make music that is universal."
Although Suh has lived in the United States her entire life, both of her parents are immigrants who moved to southern California from Korea in the '60s. Suh's involvement with music began when she was only eight and joined a Korean children's choir, whose repertoire ranged from traditional Korean songs to American pop. At 13, Suh left Los Angeles for New Hampshire, where she attended a boarding school and did her share of songwriting during her adolescent years; Suh was around 17 when she recorded a six-song EP, pressed 1,000 copies onto CDs, and managed to sell about 700 of them to her schoolmates.
After reaching adulthood, Suh attended Brown University in Rhode Island (where she obtained a degree in English), but spent as much time as she could visiting New York City and performing in Lower Manhattan clubs. A career in music is not something that Suh's ambitious parents encouraged — in fact, they tried to talk her out of it and encouraged her to go into a more stable, less volatile line of work. Music, they asserted, should be nothing more than a hobby for Suh. But her parents' lack of support didn't discourage the L.A. native; if anything, it inspired her to persevere and work even harder at having a career in music. "Your Battlefield," one of Suh's songs, was inspired by her career-related disagreements with her parents.
Battlefield
Susie Suh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I will ask you if you put your hard earned money into a bad investment
You will tell me there are no garauntees but you
Got solutions for security
And I will ask you, I would ask you
How about my dreams
But you say life is a battlefield and you have
You say I have to fight
I have to keep moving on
Someday I will ask myself if I was disillusioned
I will ask myself, if I have proven
That I made it on my own terms
Yeah I may have suffered some burns but I am
Living my dreams and am who I wanna be
But you say life is a battlefield and you have
Given me the arms
You say I have to fight
I have to keep moving on
On this path that you've tread
On this map, that is yours
Well I have to say, have to say, have to say
That I can't fight your war, I can't fight your war
But you say life is a battlefield and you have
Given me the arms
You say I have to fight
I have to keep moving on
Hey yeah oh oh oh
This is your battlefield
This is my life that you're asking for
This is my life that you wanted much
More than yours
But you say life is a battlefield and you have
Given me the arms
You say I have to fight
I have to keep moving on
(this is your battlefield, this is your, this is your battlefield)
In "Your Battlefield," Susie Suh reflects on the ongoing struggle to fulfill her dreams while acknowledging her family's influence and investment in her success. She confronts the possibility that she may not live up to their expectations or have pursued the wrong path, as she contemplates asking her loved ones if she was a "disappointment" or a "bad investment." As she seeks reassurance and validation from those around her, she also acknowledges that life is a battle and that she must fight for what she wants, even if it means going against others' expectations or values. In the end, Suh asserts her independence and ownership of her life, refusing to fight someone else's war or live solely for the approval of others.
Line by Line Meaning
Someday I will ask you if I was a disapointment
In the future, I will question you if I was a letdown.
I will ask you if you put your hard earned money into a bad investment
I will inquire if you invested your money in me poorly.
You will tell me there are no guarantees but you
You will reply that in life, there are no certainties.
Got solutions for security
You have solutions for safety and stability.
And I will ask you, I would ask you
I will request an answer from you.
How about my dreams
What about my aspirations?
But you say life is a battlefield and you have
However, you claim that life is a metaphorical warzone and you have
Given me the arms
Provided me with the tools to fight
You say I have to fight
You assert that I must battle
I have to keep moving on
And keep pushing forward.
Someday I will ask myself if I was disillusioned
Eventually, I will question myself if I had false beliefs.
I will ask myself, if I have proven
I will inquire if I demonstrated
That I made it on my own terms
That I accomplished my goals on my own conditions.
Yeah I may have suffered some burns but I am
Although I may have faced difficulties, I am still
Living my dreams and am who I wanna be
Leading the life I desire and being the person I want to be.
On this path that you've tread
On this journey you have already walked.
On this map, that is yours
On your map marked with your experiences and choices.
Well I have to say, have to say, have to say
I must declare, must declare, must declare
That I can't fight your war, I can't fight your war
That I cannot battle the same fight as you do.
Hey yeah oh oh oh
Vocals expressing emotion.
This is your battlefield
This warzone is yours.
This is my life that you're asking for
You're asking for control in my life.
This is my life that you wanted much
You wanted my life.
More than yours
More than your own life.
(this is your battlefield, this is your, this is your battlefield)
Vocals expressing emotion.
Lyrics © CAK MUSIC PUBLISHING, INC
Written by: SUSIE SUH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind