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"Tourniquet"
Fallen
Released March 4, 2003
Length 4:38
Producers Dave Fortman
Label Wind-up Records
Chronology
'Fallen'
"Haunted" "Tourniquet" "Imaginary"


"Tourniquet" is the sixth song on the first studio album, Fallen.

Background[]

It is a cover of the song "My Tourniquet" from Rocky Gray's band Soul Embraced, with guitar and lyrics written by Rocky for Soul Embraced's album For the Incomplete. Evanescence's first recorded the cover as a demo and revamped it as track #6 on Fallen. Amy wrote the cover's melody and the second verse.[1]

Amy's comment on the song:[1]

That is actually Rocky’s song, it’s a cover! 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. [...] 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 just put it on the album…”

Amy's comment in a VH1 interview:[2]

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?

On Fallen, this track is titled 'Tourniquet', but on the 2001-2002 Demos it's called 'My Tourniquet'.

On Fallen version of the song, Amy screams "I want to die". On demo versions, it's a sample by Claire Danes saying "I long to die" from the movie Romeo & Juliet.

In 2023, Amy revealed this is her least favorite song on the album.[3] In her Kerrang! cover story in the light of the 20th anniversary of Fallen, she discussed the song:

“Rocky [Gray, ex-Evanescence drummer] was in a metal band called Soul Embraced and Tourniquet was presented to me, like, ‘Could you sing this?’ It had no melody, it was just metal. I was like, ‘I don’t know, let me try,’ and it worked. It started as a cover, but then if you’re getting somewhere, you need words. I remember changing some things to make it fit me. The ‘I long to die’ sample is from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. I was obsessed with that movie. I’m pretty sure we’ve not played it since 2007. I see fans that want it played and I’m always sceptical, like, ‘Do you just want it because you want to be the coolest old-school fan who wants the one thing that we’re not doing? Because what are we going to cut out?’ It’s hard!”[4]

Lyrics[]

(Official)[]

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 [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?
Lost for so long
Will you be on the other side?
Or will you forget me?

I'm dying [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

I want 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
My suicide

Return to me salvation
Return to me salvation

Demo #1 and #2 Versions[]

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

Tell me not, Father
That thou hearest of this
Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it
It strains me past the compass of my wits
If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help
Do thou but call my resolution wise
And with this I'll help it presently!
Hold Daughter!
Be not so long 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
My suicide

My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation
My God, my tourniquet

Demo #3 Version[]

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

Tell me not, Father
That thou hearest of this
Unless thou tell me how I may prevent it
It strains me past the compass of my wits
If in thy wisdom thou canst give no help
Do thou but call my resolution wise
And with this I'll help it presently!
Hold Daughter!
Be not so long...

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
My suicide

My God, my tourniquet
Return to me salvation

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1
    Metal Edge Canada 2003
  2. Kaufman, Gil (May 29, 2003). "Evanescence: Fallen To the Top". VH1.
  3. Enis, Eli (November 14, 2023). "AMY LEE on EVANESCENCE's 'Fallen' at 20: "We fought for a lot"". Revolver.
  4. Garner, George (November 15, 2023). "Evanescence: “I’m so grateful for Fallen. It is something bigger than me”". Kerrang!.


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