TOURNIQUET LYRICS

1. Claustrospelunker

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

If a stone holds you down
Keep your head above ground
Though the foothold can be merciless
In a world not your own
Its the wieght of the stone
Holding me, holding you
Very fast, quite fast
Its not the wieght of the stone that's holding you down
Its the way it fascinates your mind
And just because it causes you to fall
Don't mean it tempts me very much at all
I can see that it feels like a millstone is tied around your neck
But if you come clean and say,"I don't have it together"
You can still keep your faith in check
3, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14 feet
No spineless fellow here
Down below 100 more and not a sign of fear
X marks the spot at 145 a stone dislodged held him fast
How could he know while now alive
13th day would be his last
They tried and tried to bring him to the surface in vain
If a stone holds you down
Keep your head above ground
Though the foothold can be merciless
For 12 more days the foothold was merciless
With no possible means of ingress or egress
In the end a paradox was found
The beast that held him was a 10 pound stone
Are you afraid - are you afraid?
That where he takes you is a cold, dark lonely place
Where its hard to find his face - hard to find his face
In a world that is not your own
In a world not your own - it's not the wieght of the stone [Repeat Line]

2. Crawl To China

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

Is God asking you to crawl to China
Or just to cross the street?
To trudge through the desert through Arabian heat
Or to accomplish the impossible-an Herculian feat
Or maybe just trade in bad thoughts obsolete

Is it the concentration camps at Dackow?
Is it Joan of Arc revisited?
Niagra Falls in a barrel?
Or to mend a broken relationship instead?

[Chorus]
Crawl to China, Crawl to China
He is faithfulI it remains in His hands
From the cold barren Arctic to the war stricken lands

To the place in your heart where despair takes its hold
To the lairs of the demons where deceptions are told
Is God asking you to crawl to China or just to cross the street?

[Chorus]
Crawl to China, Crawl to China
With emotional rigormortis freezing your step
You won't be going far at all

It feels pretty safe but the danger is real
You won't grow till you face the fear that you feel

[Chorus]
Crawl to China, Crawl to China

3. Enveloped In Python

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

[Indian Recorder solo: Ted] My pet, my pet-how fun you are
I trust you so much I even leave the cage door ajar
You'd never harm me, but just to be safe-I admire you from afar

[Chorus]
The coiling is fast
This time it's your last
Your soul asphyxiated
Final chance for escape terminated
Enveloped in Python
Constriction complete

So harmless - me the master - you the slave
I reach out to touch you - I'm getting so brave
You affect me but little - I still haven't changed
And to those who find me abrasive - it's you that's deranged

[Chorus]
The coiling is fast
This time it's your last
Your soul asphyxiated
Finalchance of escape terminated
Enveloped in Python
Constriction complete

Enveloped in Python
Constriction complete

Where dreams become nightmares
Of total defeat
Not just a white line or an addiction of some kind
[Indian Recorder solo: Ted]
But entanglement with anger or to bitterness bind

4. White Knucklin' The Rosary

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

Don't even try to tell me what prayer is for
My genie in a bottle needs to give me some more
And when this mess is over - I don't need Him anymore
I'll put my God back on temporary ignore

If you will do what I need you to do
I'll find some time to praise
You when this whole thing is through
If You get me out of this, Oh great Almighty
I promise I'll never do it again - well maybe...

I get along find most of the time
No thought for thanks or blessings sublime
When turmoil breaks through the shell of my comfort
My lack of a prayer life abort

[Chorus]
White knucklin' the rosary
I know my God by what He does for me
Open only in case of emergency

[Chorus]
White knucklin' the rosary
An acrostic for prayer that I learned as a kid
Praise and repentance, ask for others, yourself
But now in my lackluster state of affairs
Give me what I ask for - beyond that who cares?

[Chorus]
White knucklin' the rosary
I know my God by what He does for me
Open only in case of emergency

[Chorus]
White knucklin' the rosary
Pray without ceasing - give thanks for all things
A prayer life that's missing the joy that can bring

5. If I Was There

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

I close my eyes and think about Calvary
I see it happening right in front of me
The back that bore the whip
The head that held the crown of thorns

What if I was there
Would I even care, would I even care
Or would I only stare
What if I was there, just a face in the croud

Would I hide in shame or would I laugh out loud
Would I pity Him or think that He is just a fool
Another criminal
Or just the truth, just the truth

He is Heaven's jewel
As He marched up that hill
I can picture Him still in my mind
All the blood and the sweat on His brow

As He passed me on by, I could see in His eyes
That His pain was a gift of His love
He was the sacrifice - the Lamb
And He is the great I AM

And He paid the price for me
The price for you and me
You and me
He made the deaf to hear again
He called the sinful man a friend

He walked that hill for me
So my blind soul could see - could see
As He marched up that hillI can picture Him still in my mind
All the blood and the sweat on His brow

As He passed me on by, I could see in His eyes
That His pain was a gift of His love
I close my eyes and think about Calvary
I see it happening right in front of me

Two criminals were there
With one on either side of Him
One hurled insults - and one believed
And one believed

Which one am I [Solo: Ted]

6. The Tell-Tale Heart

[Words: Luke Easter, Music: Aaron Guerra]

I cut him up this evening
And they came to check the scream
On the very spot i'd hidden him
I served a spot of tea

I'd left no evidence
That anything was wrong
But the unnerving sound beneath the floor boards
Reminded me of what I'd done

I thought I'd committed
The perfect, fool-proof crime
I never knew how heavy
This would wiegh upon my mind

Things done in secret
Under cover of night
Have a funny way
Of being brought into the light

I admit the deed
Can't you hear the beating
I admit the deed
I'm being driven mad by the tell-tale heart

7. Bats

[Words & Musid: Ted Kirkpatrick]

[Chorus]
Bats, bats, bats
You think they'll hit you but they won't
You think they nest in your hair
But they don't

[chorus]
Bats, bats, bats
You think that feathers is what they got
You think they are a bird, but they are not
The old adage "blind as a bat"

The truth is they can see
But not as good as you and me
Bats, bats, bats

I used to think that God was always serious
And I could walk the fence

I must have been delirious
Iwonder if He laughs
I guess that I'm just curious

[Chorus]
Bats, bats (Mexican FreeTail Bats)
The God Jehovah is not feathers, wood, or stone
The word became flesh
And ascended to the throne

He walked he Earth like you and me
And dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be
And dwelling in our hearts is where He wants to be

[Chorus]
Bats, bats (Mexican Free Tail Bats)

8. Proprioception (The Line Knives Syndrome)

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

When your life turns upside down
And it will some day
Where is your proprioceptive sense?

Like the feline that finds the floor on all fours
Is the house built on rock that the devil abhors
Build your house on sand to find
The cat with one life instead of nine

[Chorus]
Proprioception
Balence correction
Innate sense gives direction [repeat]

Break your fall with daggers
As your focus staggers
The line knives syndrome [repeat]

Ghinger, Abyssinian, Tsukahara,
Skaukatt, Yurchenko, Korat [repeat]
[Slide Solo: Aaron]

To "see" with that sixth sense
When there is no sign of the other five
3 1/2 inward pikeThe sense that keeps the diver alive

[Chorus]
Proprioception
Balence correction
Innate sense gives direction [repeat]
Proprioception, proprioception, proprioception...

9. Tire Kicking

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

Car for sale - what a deal - I assure you it's a steal
Come and check it out some night - can't I see it in the light?

Kick the tires if you wish - 32 psi?
That's not bondo - It's all stock - do you think that I would lie?
Has it been in any wrecks - my mechanic wants to check
Oh no, to the contrary - to check it it's not necessary

I know many verses and have studied many years
Can't you see how holy my exterior appears?

Armor on all 4 tires - you sure are looking good
But you will be bent out of joint if I lift up that hood

I thought I knew you pretty well - but under stress you fell apart
You do just fine if you are driving up and down the block
But find a road with lots of curves - I see a sponge and not a rock
Find a road with lots of curves - I see a sponge and not a rock

For all these years I've known the Lord
And each year means a higher score
If people tell you your a horse you better saddle up

Have you noticed sin I lack? - odometer has been turned back
I exposite under toil - but that engine sure burns oil

I never miss a week of church - the transmission has a lurch
In our friendship you can trust - hey that frame is full of rust

I have some timely news for you
The car you sell is not so new
It isn't meant to run A1
So as a test or just for fun

For once lets see your real side
The humble side that doesn't lie
When pressures come that doesn't fly
For once let's see your real side

10. If Pigs Could Fly

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

Why does God refuse to move [repeat 4x]

If pigs could fly they'd fly away
and never grace the earth again
I wait and wait and wait and wait
but nothing good happens for me

I pray to fly but when I die
my feet are still flat on the ground
My brain is good, no legs of wood,
but if you could, I think you should

He ain't standing in my way [repeat 4x]
Cause I did nothin' today

Your ship has crashed no sign of shore -
to sit in your lifeboat - you can do no more
5 days at sea starved to the core -
lifeboat is leaking - a rip in the floor

[Solo 1: Ted, Solo 2: Aaron]

But wait - on the horizon -
land - land hoe!
Will you sit there and pray -
or will you get up and row?

The next time you are quick to say
" I'm just waitin' on the Lord"
Just make sure hat you remember
where we all have been before
All things be come one...

11. Crank The Knife

[Words: Luke Easter, Music: Aaron Guerra]

Distance makes my heart to fester
In self inflicted pain
If I can't face the consequences of my actions
I'll find someone else to blame

I greet you with a brothers kiss
And crank the knife another...twist

Twisting fates to fit the fabrications of my mind
I find I've crossed the line
No matter what the cost I must be right

I greet you with a brothers kiss
And crank the knife another twist

Pointing to things that don't exist
I crank the knife with another...

[Solo: Aaron]

Alone among the ashes of the things
Which once defined my lifeI hold that match which lit the fire
But you'll never see me take the blame...

12. Stumblefoot

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

Deep in that cranial psycho vault
The thought you are to be sans fault
It ain't meant to happen on your own
The consequence of diligence
Without Him will show all the dents
That's why our eyes are always on the throne

What's wrong with me, what's wrong with you
How many times we've fallen through
the thin dev-ice of foolish thinking
All along our pride is sinking

The smoothness of another day
Convince me that I'm on my way
At 3 pm it all falls flat
I realizeI ain't all dat

[Solo: Aaron]

Stumble foot foot stumble
As your ideals start to crumble

Stumble soot foot stumble
Just another chance to be humble

Stumble foot foot stumble
As your ideals start to crumble

The consequence of diligence
Without Him will show all the dents
You point out others' sins overt
Under the carpet, sweep your dirt

13. Imaginary Friend

[Words: Luke Easter, Music: Aaron Guerra]

He's got a secret environment locked in his head
Reality suspended
He's got a cast of characters cooped up in his mind
Whenever he wants them

Sitting in a corner admiring the sunbeams
With an imaginary friend
He frolics and plays but he's forgotton the only One
Who can take away the pain

Trading in what's real for a figment
A cashed in life locked up in his brain
They don't give diplomas for catatonic state

[Solo: Aaron]

He bears a ton of gruesome cargo, can't seem to equate
What is fact or fiction
Gonna blow the escape hatch
From the miserable existance - find the Eden in his brain

The same cast fills his dreams and his nightmares
The horrors of night seem twice as harsh in the day
Disconnected existence
Pull the plug to ease the pain

14. Going, Going...Gone

[Words & Music: Ted Kirkpatrick]

[This song is dedicated to the animals we share this planet with and the people who work to protect them]

[Solo: Aaron]

Is it greed or is it ignorance or is it both?
As the bulldozer trashes a thousand years growth
Clear cutting with a clear conscience

A burning desire to burn
If a tree falls and no one's around
The wildlife still hear it crashing down

[Chorus]
You were gone before we even knew you
And there's no way to ever get you back

Gorilla seven days old
Ripped from his mothers dead arms
Her hand now an ashtray souvenir for a tourist's charms

[Chorus]
Will I join the ranks of the photo gallery
It may be the only way left to see me

Thousand acres a day
Burning it all away
Extinction - the price to pay

A ton of rhino, a pound of horn
The Javan one cursed - the wheels of greed are born
Medicinal myth, smuggled to Hong-Kong
Ancient superstition - reality gone wrong

[Chorus]
I joined the ranks of the photo gallery
Its the only way left to ever see me
You were gone before we even knew you
And there's no way to ever get you back

The greatest land animal killed for a foot of ivory
Will your children live to see one
Or witness decimation by tyranny

Passenger pigeons blackened the sky
Never a chance we would say goodbye
Oh how I wish I could see one fly

[Chorus]
You were gone before we even knew you
And there's no way to ever get you back

American symbol of freedom and power
Only for target practice by the hour
Buffalo sat on the brink of no more

[Chorus]
Will I join the ranks of the photo gallery?
It may be the only way left to ever see me

15. America

[Musical Arrangement: Ted Kirkpatrick All instruments played by Ted Kirkpatrick]

Between the years of 1861-1865,
over 620,000 Americans died from gunshot,
disease or sickness
in the bloodiest battles of our nations history -
the Civil War.

Through the instrument of prejudice,
fear and hate,
a different battle rages on to this day.

But in Christ, we are all one people -
united in our commitment to God and each other -
because it is He who First loved us...







TOURNIQUET LYRICS