Tourniquet
-Located on the album(s): "Fallen LP" as Track #6; the first 2001 - 2002 Demo is featured on the "Fallen Promotional LP" as Track #4.
-BMI Work #6438959
-Length Time: 3:38 (v1 2001 - 2002 Demo/Fallen Promotional LP); 3:49 (v2 2001 - 2002 Demo); 3:45 (v3 2001 - 2002 Demo); 3:53 (Fallen Pre-Master); 4:37 (Fallen LP)
-Acoustic Version Available? [NO]
-Live Version Available? [YES] - See: Live @ Pink Pop Festival 2003.
-Acapella Version Available? [NO]
-Instrumental Version Available? [NO]
Lyrics:
My Tourniquet - v1 2001 - 2002 Demo & Fallen Promotional LP Version0:00 - 0:11
I tried to kill the pain (
Kill the pain)
But only brought more (
So much more)
I lay dying
And I’m pouring crimson regret and betrayal
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
Do you remember me (
Remember me)
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side
Or will you forget me
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
2:03 - 2:20
I long to die!My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied Christ (
Christ)
Tourniquet (
Tourniquet)
My suicide
2:59 - 3:19
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Song:
My Tourniquet - v2 2001 - 2002 Demo0:00 - 0:24
I tried to kill the pain (
Kill the pain)
But only brought more (
So much more)
I lay dying
And I’m pouring crimson regret and betrayal
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
Do you remember me (
Remember me)
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side
Or will you forget me
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
2:16 - 2:33
(to speak) I long to die!My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied Christ (
Christ)
Tourniquet (
Tourniquet)
My suicide
3:12 - 3:32
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Song:
My Tourniquet - v3 2001 - 2002 Demo0:00 - 0:24
I tried to kill the pain (
Kill the pain)
But only brought more (
So much more)
I lay dying
And I’m pouring crimson regret and betrayal
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
Do you remember me (
Remember me)
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side
Or will you forget me
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
2:16 - 2:33
(to speak) I long to die!My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation (
Return to me salvation)
My wounds cry for the grave
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied Christ (
Christ)
Tourniquet (
Tourniquet)
My suicide
3:12 - 3:32
My God my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God my tourniquet
Song:
Tourniquet - Pre-Master & Fallen Version0:00 – 0:40
I tried to kill the pain
But only brought more (
So much more)
I lay dying
And I’m pouring crimson regret and betrayal
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet (
ahhh ahhh ahh)
Return to me salvation (
salvation)
My God my tourniquet (
ahhh ahhh ahhh)
Return to me salvation (
salvation)
Do you remember me
Lost for so long (
lost for so long)
Will you be on the other side
Or will you forget me
I’m dying (
I’m dying) praying (
praying) bleeding (
bleeding) and screaming
Am I too lost to be saved
Am I too lost?
My God my tourniquet (
ahhh ahhh ahh)
Return to me salvation (
salvation)
My God my tourniquet (
ahhh ahhh ahhh)
Return to me salvation (
salvation)
Return to me salvation
Ah ah ah ah ah ahhh
I WANT TO DIE!
My God my tourniquet (
ahhh ahhh ahh)
Return to me salvation (
salvation)
My God my tourniquet (
ahhh ahhh ahhh)
Return to me salvation (
salvation)
My wounds cry for the grave (
ahh ahh)
My soul cries for deliverance
Will I be denied (
ahhh ahhh) Christ (
Christ)
Tourniquet (
Tourniquet)
My suicide
Return to our salvation
Return to our salvation
3:51 – 4:38
Song:
Some Things To Think About/Debate Over
-This song was played live and put on the "Anywhere But Home Live CD" as Track #11 (4:17). [Zenith, Paris 2004]
Song:
-During the Fallen tour, this song was usually after "Bring Me To Life," but before "Imaginary."
-The version on the Fallen Promotional LP is the same as the first demo (v1) of the 2001 - 2002 Demos. This is despite EvBoard saying it is v2. Even I am getting use to thinking it is v1
.
-This song was originally written by Rocky Gray for his band Soul Embraced. It was located on their album For The Incomplete. It was called "My Tourniquet." When it was being reworked for Fallen, Amy wrote a melody and the second verse to the song, renaming it "Tourniquet."
- The song 'Tourniquet' is actually a cover of 'My Tourniquet' by Soul Embraced. Their ex-guitarist Rocky Gray is now a member of Evanescence.
SOURCE-On bootlegs, the second demo (v2) of the 2001 - 2002 Demos usually is attributed with the name (Long Intro) in order to signify that, compared to the first demo, this one doesn't immediately begin with the song (like v1 does). Sometimes, discographies shorten this to My Tourniquet (Long). More often than not, discographies list the demos as "My Tourniquet" and any Fallen version (Master or Pre-Master) as just "Tourniquet." On Not For Your Ears, the demos are listed as "My Tourniquet."
-The Pre-Master Mix of Tourniquet, also called the No Outro version, ends the song once the lyrics stop. In other words, the violin orchestral outro that connects this song to Imaginary is cut from the Pre-Mater Mix. EvLore states that, originally, this is what Tourniquet would have sounded like and Imaginary (Pre-Master) was going to have the violin orchestral part as its intro. Sound-wise this would not have made a difference to the listener, since Tourniquet was still going to lead into Imaginary. Officially, however, the songs just would have had different ending and beginning times respectfully.
Song:
-Tourniquet v3 was found in November of 2005 on FMB Forums (v1) by
Xero, when he was trying to upload an alleged third demo of TOM, but instead uploaded Tourniquet. This version of Tourniquet differs to the second demo due to a different guitar part playing after "I Long to Die."
-Amy Lee on "Tourniquet":
VH1: Some of your songs certainly beg the question - like "Tourniquet," which has lyrics about salvation and God, but it also seems like it could be about drugs. Is it vague on purpose?
Lee: A lot of our songs are written in a way that you could take them to mean several different things. That one was written by our drummer Rocky [Gray], who was in a Christian death metal band before he joined us. He told me that it is coming from a Christian standpoint, but it's about suicide. It's from the perspective of someone who has just committed suicide and it's about the controversy in Christianity that if you commit suicide, will you go to heaven or hell? If all sins are forgiven after accepting Christ, why would there be an exception?
SOURCEInterviewer: Amy, you didn't write the lyrics for 'Tourniquet'?
Amy: No, I did not - That is actually Rocky's song, it's a cover! [Laughing] Rocky, our drummer, was in another band in Little Rock called Soul Embraced - it's like a Christian metal band - and he played guitar and did vocals. It was this awesome song, but it 's totally different now. We were friends with Rocky and he used to play drums for us, it was a weird song, and really cool, and Ben was just like, 'Hey, we'll just sort of change this and do it for a show. . ." So we took the song and I wrote a melody for it. The lyrics are basically the same, but I wrote a whole other second verse, and the melody pretty much changed the format. It just has this great groove, and we played it from then on, and then we were just like, 'Hey, let's put it on the album . . . '"
SOURCE1057thePoint.com: You spoke of religion in there - there seems to be a discussion of faith and redemption in the lyrics on Fallen, particularly in "Tourniquet" and "Whisper." How do you approach faith, as a concept, in the albums and in the songs when your (Wind-Up) label-mates, Creed, have received kind of a strange reaction from the media to their sort of hot and cold religious stance?
Amy: [...] Tourniquet is actually very interesting. People hear the word "Christ" and think that it's a Christian song, but the song itself is about a controversy that we witnessed living in Arkansas, in the Southern Baptist tradition of things is this big controversy, and how stupid it is, if you die, because you committed suicide, you'll go to hell. It's almost like, oh my God, look at how stupid you are for thinking this. So, just listen carefully and just because that word is used doesn't mean that we're a Christian band or that we're trying to push anything on anyone, because we're certainly not. I'm sure there are plenty of things that we say in our music that would be very offensive to Christian listeners.
SOURCESOURCE (Alt) -Quote taken from Playing Evanescence Interview 2003: [Ben talks, (Amy talks)]
"Uh well, (yeah, we shouldn't totally like, talk about that one because actually we didn't write the lyrics for that one. That's our one song that was Rocky's baby, if he was here I-I would let him explain it um, but that's a song that that is Rocky's - we took it and we revamped it after he had it with a metal band, it was like really different. So, but yeah like I mean I think the lyrics are very moving) Well, the tourniquet is symbolic of of, you know I mean, the tourniquet is something that cuts off blood flow to one part of the body, and um you know, it's-it's cutting off blood flow to a part of the body that you just wounded, you know, in an attempt to kill yourself. And um, so the tourniquet is just metaphorical, you know something that can stop what you've just done. And that's where the situation is, is it too late? Will the tourniquet even help at this point? (Metaphorically, or literally, you know both). Yeah."
-Michelle on "Tourniquet":
Please, we need a section called "Just Ask Michelle. Cause If You Don't Know The Answer, Ask Her. She'll Get To The Truth!" Ok, now that I have stopped freaking out. Ok, Rocky wrote "Tourniquet". Not only did Soul Embraced recorded it (with Rocky in the band) but Ben & Amy heard it and wanted to record it on "Fallen". That's how it got there. Call it a cover tune then if you must.
[From Renee & Michelle's Posts on ev.it - ARCHIVED]
-A "funny" song meaning as posted by Ben Moody:
Tourniquet:
Rocky wrote the lyrics
^Okay, so that wasn't so funny
-According to Music Notes:
(1) Tourniquet is written in G Major
(2) It is set in a time signature of common time and performed in a tempo of 100 beats per minute
(3) Amy Lee's vocals range from D4 to E5.
SOURCEThe following comes from Leonardo di Caprio and Claire Danes version of Romeo + Juliet (1996). You can hear only muffled voices in the bridge of the first demo, but can hear (to speak, I long to die) in the second and third demo:
Romeo & Juliet (1996):
Juliet Capulet (Claire Danes'): Tell me not, father, that thou hearest of this unless thou tell me how I may prevent it.
Father Laurence (Pete Postlethwaite's): It strains me past the compass of my wits.
Juliet Capulet (Claire Danes'): If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help, does thou but call my resolution wise, and with this I'll help it presently!
Father Laurence (Pete Postlethwaite's): Hold daughter!
Juliet Capulet (Claire Danes'): Be not so long to speak, I long to die!
(Partial) Clip:
Please also ignore the incorrect captions, since the Friar says "Hold daughter!" not "Hold on!"
But you get an idea of what the scene was. The full version would have been posted, but it looks like YouTube decided to pull the movie parts from its website.
-The 1996 movie, of course, took some liberties with what Shakespeare ACTUALLY wrote. As a result, below is the official version from Romeo & Juliet (IV.I.51-69.):
JULIET:
"Tell me not, Friar, that thou hear’st of this,
Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it.
If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help,
Do thou but call my resolution wise,
And with this knife I’ll help it presently.
(shows him a knife)
God joined my heart and Romeo’s, thou our hands.
And ere this hand, by thee to Romeo sealed,
Shall be the label to another deed,
Or my true heart with treacherous revolt
Turn to another, this shall slay them both.
Therefore out of thy long-experienced time,
Give me some present counsel, or, behold,
'Twixt my extremes and me this bloody knife
Shall play the umpire, arbitrating that
Which the commission of thy years and art
Could to no issue of true honor bring.
Be not so long to speak. I long to die
If what thou speak’st speak not of remedy."
SOURCE-EvLore states that Evanescence could not use the movie sample in the Fallen version of Tourniquet, since they didn't have the rights to Claire's voice. Therefore, Amy had to scream "I want to die" in the chorus. It is unknown why they changed the lyrics, although perhaps singing "I long to die" without the R+J connection to the song would make it seem awkward.
and about the tourniquet demo, it's actually Claire Danes that's talking, she says
I long not to speak
I long to die
it's a quote from the 1996 movie Romeo + Juliet but due to some legal problems the band couln't use Claire's voice in the song, so instead, amy just screams "I long/want to die" in the Fallen version+
- In 'Tourniquet', the line “I long to die” comes from the Danes/DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet.
it isn't amy that's talking in the demo version, it's Claire Danes (she played Juliet in Romeo + Juliet, the line "I long to die" is a quote from the movie)
The quote "I long to die" is taken from the movie "Romeo + Juliet" starring Leonardo di Caprio and Claire Danes
-There is no
official proof that Tourniquet would have shared a single (A-Side or not) with Imaginary, as commented on in the EvReference. While Imaginary was slated to be the fourth single before Wind-Up interfered and put Everybody's Fool there, the idea that Tourniquet would have shared the single, or that it would have been a double single, or that there would have been two music videos (one connecting into the other) is EvRumor at best. Evanescence could have easily just had a music video/single for Imaginary and left Tourniquet out of it completely. There is no per-se proof that Tourniquet would have been involved at all, unless I'm missing something here.
SOURCE-Thanks to Double A, we now know for sure that the first (and not the second, as previously reported on EvBoard) 2001 - 2002 demo of Tourniquet is on the Fallen Publicity LP Promo.
THANKS to DoubleA for the lyrics and the videos are from FallenEvArmy! The (partial) clip is from killercherrycola.