Beautiful War – English Lyrics

• By: Kings Of Leon
• Album: Mechanical Bull

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the passionate complexity of love through Kings Of Leon's "Beautiful War." This song offers a great opportunity to explore the figurative language and emotional depth of English lyrics. Its powerful chorus and relatable theme of love as a worthwhile struggle make it a memorable and engaging way to connect with the language on a deeper level.

[English]

Bite your tongue

Don't make a scene, dear

...

Everybody's been here at least once before

We've been here more

...

Your heart breaks

Rolls down the window

I've seen it all go, come back around

And I've heard the sound

...

The tip of your tongue

The top of your lungs is doing my head in

...

I say, 'Love don't mean nothing

Unless there's something worth fighting for'

It's a beautiful war

...

When I hold

The warmth of your body

There is nobody that I'd rather hold

Shattered and cold

...

The tip of your tongue

The top of your lungs is making me crazy

...

I say, 'Love don't mean nothing

Unless there's something worth fighting for'

It's a beautiful war

...

I say, 'Love, love, it don't mean nothing

Unless there's something worth fighting for'

It's a beautiful war

...

It's a beautiful war

...

It's a beautiful war

I say, 'Love, love'

I say, 'Love don't mean nothing

Unless there's something worth fighting for'

I say, 'Love don't mean nothing

Unless there's something worth fighting for'

It's a beautiful war

...

It's a beautiful war

...

It's a beautiful war

...

It's a beautiful war

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
bite /baɪt/ A1	verb - to use the teeth to cut into something
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - the organ that pumps blood around the body
break /breɪk/ A1	verb - to separate into pieces suddenly or forcefully
warmth /wɔːrmθ/ A2	noun - the quality of being warm
shattered /ˈʃætərd/ B1	adjective - broken into many pieces
cold /koʊld/ A1	adjective - low in temperature
tongue /tʌŋ/ A1	noun - the muscular organ in the mouth used for tasting and speaking
lungs /lʌŋz/ A2	noun - the organs in the chest that are used for breathing
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - a deep affection for someone verb - to have a deep affection for someone
mean /min/ A2	verb - to intend to express or refer to adjective - unkind or cruel
fighting /ˈfaɪtɪŋ/ A2	verb - to take part in a physical conflict
beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfəl/ A1	adjective - pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically
war /wɔːr/ A1	noun - a state of armed conflict between different countries or groups
hold /hoʊld/ A1	verb - to have or keep something in one's hand or arms
body /ˈbɑːdi/ A1	noun - the physical structure of a person or animal
crazy /ˈkreɪzi/ A2	adjective - mentally deranged

Key Grammar Structures

• Don't make a scene, dear

  ➔ Negative Imperative

  ➔ Used to give a direct negative command or instruction. The structure is "Don't + base form of the verb." Here, it's telling someone "not to create a disturbance."

• Everybody's been here at least once before

  ➔ Present Perfect for Experience

  ➔ The "present perfect" ("'s been" is a contraction of "has been") is used to describe an action or state that occurred at an unspecified time in the past, often emphasizing the experience. "at least once before" indicates a past experience.

• I've seen it all go, come back around

  ➔ Verbs of Perception + Bare Infinitive

  ➔ After verbs of perception like "see," "hear," "watch," "feel," we can use a "bare infinitive" (verb without 'to') to describe an action that was completed or observed in its entirety. Here, "go" and "come back" are the actions observed.

• The top of your lungs is doing my head in

  ➔ Present Continuous for Ongoing Effect/Annoyance

  ➔ The "present continuous" ("is doing") describes an action happening now or around now, often implying a temporary situation or, in this context, an ongoing action that is causing annoyance or a specific effect. "doing my head in" is an idiom meaning "making me crazy or annoyed."

• Love don't mean nothing

  ➔ Double Negative (Non-standard English)

  ➔ In standard English, a "double negative" ("don't" and "nothing") would make the sentence positive. However, in informal speech, song lyrics, or some dialects, it's used to emphasize the negative. Standard English would be "Love doesn't mean anything."

• Unless there's something worth fighting for

  ➔ Conditional Clause with "Unless" and "Worth + Gerund"

  ➔ "Unless" means "if not." The clause sets a condition: "If there isn't something worth fighting for, then love means nothing." "worth fighting for" uses the adjective "worth" followed by a "gerund" (-ing form) to indicate that something deserves the effort of that action.

• There is nobody that I'd rather hold

  ➔ Existential "There is" + "Would Rather" for Preference

  ➔ "There is" introduces the existence of something. "nobody" emphasizes the absence. "I'd rather" is a contraction of "I would rather," used to express a preference, followed by a "bare infinitive" ("hold"). The phrase "that I'd rather hold" is a relative clause modifying "nobody."

• The warmth of your body

  ➔ Possessive with "of"

  ➔ The preposition "of" is used to show possession or relationship, especially when referring to inanimate objects or abstract nouns. It indicates that the "warmth" belongs to or is a characteristic of "your body."

• is making me crazy

  ➔ Causative "Make"

  ➔ The "causative verb 'make'" is used to express that someone or something causes another person or thing to do something or to be in a certain state. Here, "is making" shows an ongoing action that causes "me" to become "crazy." The structure is "make + object + adjective/bare infinitive."

• Shattered and cold

  ➔ Participial Adjectives

  ➔ "Shattered" is a "past participle" used as an adjective, describing a state of being broken or deeply affected. "Cold" is a regular adjective. Both describe the emotional or physical state of the speaker or the situation.