TOURNIQUET LYRICS

1. Onward To Freedom Prelude

2. Onward To Freedom

Those without a voice
The ones who have no choice
We as humans holding all the cards
Bearing this in mind
Is it too much to be kind
All inclusive in our world of caring

Onward to freedom
Compassion is what I give to you
And mercy within me
Is what I show to you

Held within our hand
An idea that’s so grand
Written in his word it's plain to see
Help to all the weak
And the ones who cannot speak
A song for them is waiting to be sung

Onward to freedom
Compassion is what I give to you
And mercy within me
Is what I show to you
And mercy within me
Is what I show to you

Write your song to them
Within your own heart
Reach your hand out to them
Set yourself apart

Set your mind to help them
No it won’t cost a thing
Caring is easy
When it comes from the heart

Onward to freedom
Compassion is what I give to you
And mercy within me
Is what I show to you

3. The Slave Ring

It’s a total betrayal of mans best friend
Sadistic intent always powers your greed
Splattered blood on the plywood walls
Serves to fuel your evil need

Lowlife world - No sign of humanity
Tear away - Another piece of me

Treadmill, anchor chain, needle and thread
Stitch up the wounds, to enter the pit again
Muzzle ripped to shreds, as you look on and cheer
Fight on cuz your retribution is near
Master I serve you as my body is destroyed
All I know is your wrath to avoid
Stuck in a world of hopeless violence
Kept alive by a cruel shroud of silence

No way out - Lose the fight means lose my life
Tormentor - Did I do you proud?

Hopeless violence, shroud of silence
We will find you in the deepest pit
Pull you from torture
You can count on it

4. The Noble Case For Mercy

Animals - they call out to us. Not in words, but in a universal
language we all understand. They call out for mercy. They call
out for compassion. Are we too callous to appreciate their
struggles, as they try to adapt to a land, and sea - we all too
often degrade and exploit to suit only our own kind?

Have we seen enough of noble animals, like the wolf, the ultimate symbol of courage and resolve, reduced to pest status, victims of a one-sided war - to be eliminated by any means possible?

Have we seen enough of wild animals languishing in boredom and depravity behind bars or in chains, trotted out only to perform silly tricks - waiting for a freedom that may never come?

Will we passively stand by as our majestic wild bison are roughly corralled into holding pens and sent to slaughter - wrongly convicted of a crime they did not commit?

As we are coming to realize that our oceans are brimming with intelligent, social creatures – there are those with bloody hands who continue to make a profit from their confinement, misery, and murder.

The ever increasing pulse of humanity awakened, who refuse to turn a blind eye to their suffering, who are angered by the cruelties inflicted upon any creature great or small, wild or domestic – it is the noble side of us that rises up to fight for those who cannot.

Defenders – guardians - warriors against cruelty. The caring human hearts for millions of sentient beings, a tidal wave of awareness that cannot, that will not - be silenced.

5. Let The Wild Just Be Wild

Let the wild just be wild
Let the wild just be wild

From Asian lands to Africa
From America to Antarctica
We invade their habitat
Leaving nowhere for them to go
We hunt them, we exterminate them
Why can’t we just let them be?

Do not tame what is meant to be wild
And do not confine
what is meant to be free
Why do we kill
what is meant to have life

They’re not here just for us

Let the wild just be wild
Leave their land undefiled
Give them space in their places

Let the wild just be wild
Let the wild just be wild

6. No Soul

Hung up on semantics - what’s in a word
Draw a hard line in the sand I have heard
Take the word “soul” we all know what it means
But maybe, just maybe it ain’t what it seems

Humans the master race that's what we are
Animals and creatures, beneath us by far
Souls, they don't have one, so I’ve been told
Subservient to us 'cause that is their role

So much we share with them, easy to see
Like they all long, long to be free
To seek out the things we all want to live by
Their freedom we should
never deny, never deny

Can they not suffer
Do they not want to live
Are they so different – are we being fair
To exclude them from care

Can they not feel the warmth of the sun upon their faces
And do they not love and guard their young just as we do
And do they not fear violence, like human beings do

Can they not suffer
Do they not want to live
Are we so different – are we being fair
To exclude them from care

7. If I Had To Do The Killing

In windowless sheds
They live in misery
Victims of systematic cruelty

Never know a gentle touch
Never know a kind word
Nameless, faceless, voiceless
Soon to be in pieces

If I had to do the killing
Would it change what's on my plate
Could I look at you face to face
And take your life away

Don't show me, don't tell me
I don’t want to see this
Don't show me, don't tell me
I don’t want to hear this
Don't show me, don't tell me
I don’t want to see this
Don't show me, don't tell me
I don’t want to hear this

Let your heart feel their state
Yours is the power to change their fate
Let your heart feel their state

8. Virtual Embryo

9. Stereotaxic Atrocities

[Words & Music: Kirkpatrick]

Brilliant scientific enterprise
The altruistic benefit of humanity justifies
A white lab coat represents the icon
Eradicate disease, the pedestal it stood on
Lies shattered on the floor

Just another day, the dead half a million lay
Your taxes will foot the bill, supply animals to kill

Stinging infusion of chemical
The moribund patient clings to the wall
Another scapegoat to suffer for our sickening vices
You cut their neck, they cut your check
Endless barrage of repitition, satisfies your need
Of colleague competition

Pseudo scientist watches in fascination
As electrode-ridden monkey #32
Has his dignity completly destroyed
We need another $200,000 to find a scientific reason
Why cats land on their feet
Feline fuel for the incinerator

Even though this test will not help the human mess
Continue it anyway, the car payment's due today

10. Animal Crossing At The Rainbow Bridge

11. Drowning In Air

An underwater realm, your home
Amazing beauty and life abound
With gills instead of lungs
And scales instead of skin
We dismiss you suffering
For to us your form is so foreign

As nets rape the ocean floor
Catching anything in their path
The unwanted and unlucky dead
Tossed back as lifeless trash

As they are dragged on deck
Could it be they're drowning in air
With no voice for us to hear
And no way to show their fear

Oceans filled with plastic debris
Toxic dumping ground for humanity
Up the chain of life they choke
and die on our garbage. We pull them
from their world with only us in mind

When will we learn that we are not
the only ones who live here?
Is it too late to change our fate
as we empty the waters?

Drowning in air

12. Cage 23

Well I walked right in the front door
Started moving down the rows of so many cages
All the faces staring back at me
Each and every one with a sad story

I wonder how they got here, where did they come from
Somewhere somehow someone didn't want them anymore

I paused at cage number 23
As a dog with a sad but hopeful face was looking up at me
I said I’ll take you home someday, but not today
And if not by me, by some other family, I'm sure

Hang tight my little friend while I figure it out
A better life waits for you just around the bend
Hang tight my little friend while I figure it out
Just wait for me and you’ll soon be free

Every year, approximately 7 million companion animals enter animal shelters nationwide. Sadly, over 2 million of these precious animals are euthanized before anyone comes to give them a home. Together, we can change these tragic statistics.

In Cage 23 and beyond - they're waiting – waiting to offer their unconditional love, their loyalty, and a bond that can't be put into words. Will you make room in your home, and in your heart – to change not only their life – but very likely, yours too...

So when I finally found the time to take him home with me
I walked back to find an empty cage 23
They said nobody came to rescue him
His time ran out, I’m sorry he’s gone
Oh how I miss that special soul in cage 23...







TOURNIQUET LYRICS