In the past, band members dressed in outlandish makeup and costumes, and engaged in intentionally shocking behavior both onstage and off. Their lyrics often received criticism for their anti-religious sentiment and references to sex, violence and drugs, while their live performances were frequently called offensive and obscene. On several occasions, protests and petitions led to the group being blocked from performing, with at least three US states passing legislation banning the group from performing at state-owned venues. They released a number of platinum-selling albums, including Antichrist Superstar (1996) and Mechanical Animals (1998). These albums, along with their highly stylized music videos and worldwide touring, brought public recognition to Marilyn Manson. In 1999, news media, infamously, falsely blamed the band for influencing the perpetrators of the Columbine High School massacre.
As this controversy began to wane throughout the 2000s, so did the band's mainstream popularity. Despite this, Jon Wiederhorn of MTV, in June 2003, referred to Marilyn Manson as "the only true artist today". Marilyn Manson is widely regarded as being one of the most iconic and controversial figures in rock music, with the band and its lead singer influencing numerous other groups and musicians, both in metal-associated acts and also in wider popular culture. VH1 ranked Marilyn Manson as the seventy-eighth best rock band on their 100 Great Artists of Hard Rock. They were inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame in 2000, and have been nominated for four Grammy Awards. In the U.S., the band has seen ten of its releases debut in the top ten, including two number-one albums. Marilyn Manson have sold in excess of 50 million records worldwide.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marilyn_Manson_(band)
Studio albums
Portrait of an American Family (1994)
Antichrist Superstar (1996)
Mechanical Animals (1998)
Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Valley of Death) (2000)
The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003)
Eat Me, Drink Me (2007)
The High End of Low (2009)
Born Villain (2012)
The Pale Emperor (2015)
Heaven Upside Down (2017)
We Are Chaos (2020)
Tourniquet
Marilyn Manson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
things I cannot speak
She comes on like a crippled plaything
Spine is just a string
I wrapped our love in all this foil
Silver tight like spider legs
I never wanted it to ever spoil
But flies will lay their eggs
Take your hatred out on me
Make your victim my head
You never ever believed in me
I am your tourniquet
Prosthetic synthesis with butterfly
Sealed up with virgin stitch
If it hurts, baby, please tell me
Preserve the innocence
I never wanted it to end like this
But flies will lay their eggs
Take your hatred out on me
Make your victim my head
You never ever believed in me
I am your tourniquet
What I wanted, what I needed
What I got for me
What I wanted, what I needed
What I got for me
Take your hatred out on me
Make your victim my head
You never ever believed in me
I am your tourniquet
Take your, take your, get up out of me
I'm not proud of me
I never, ever believed in me
I am your tourniquet
The lyrics of Marilyn Manson's song "Tourniquet" paint the picture of a hauntingly twisted and dark relationship. The opening lines describe the object of the singer's affection as something otherworldly and macabre, made of hair, bone, and little teeth. She is presented as a puppet or plaything, crippled and twisted. Her spine is just a string, implying that she is not truly alive or in control of her own movements.
The next few lines describe the singer's failed attempts to preserve their love. He wrapped it tightly in foil like spider legs, exhibiting an obsessive behavior. However, despite his efforts, their relationship has been tainted by outside forces, represented by flies laying eggs. This could indicate the presence of infidelity or other negative influences interfering with their love.
The chorus of the song takes a dark turn, with the singer appearing to revel in the pain and hatred directed towards him by this twisted lover. He offers himself up as a vessel for the hatred, asking that his lover make him the victim of their anger. The repeated line "I am your tourniquet" suggests that he is willing to be the binding force that both constricts and sustains her.
Overall, "Tourniquet" is a disturbing love song with heavy themes of obsession, control, and submission. The lyrics and imagery used in the song are deeply unsettling, painting a picture of a relationship that is far from healthy.
Line by Line Meaning
She's made of hair and bone and little teeth
The person being referred to is stripped down to the most basic elements, with no real substance or personality.
And things that cannot speak
The person has no voice, no willpower of their own, and is easily manipulated and controlled.
She comes on like a crippled plaything
The person is put on display, a toy to be played with, but one that is not functioning properly.
Her spine is just a string
This person is weak - not just physically but emotionally and mentally as well.
I wrapped our love in all this foil
The person tried to contain their love and protect it with a thin layer of material, but it was not enough to keep it from spoiling.
Silver tight like spider legs
The foil held the love together in a fragile manner, much like the legs of a spider hold its body together.
I never wanted it to ever spoil
The person desperately wanted their love to remain pure and untainted.
But flies will always lay their eggs
No matter how hard they tried, outside forces ultimately ruined their love and made it rot.
Take your hatred out on me
The person is willing to take the brunt of someone else's anger and frustration, as though offering themselves up as a punching bag of sorts.
Make your victim my head
The person is so desperate for attention and affection that they are willing to become a target of someone else's anger, hoping to redirect that energy in their direction.
You never ever believed in me
The person feels unimportant and insignificant, with no one putting any faith in them or their abilities.
I am your tourniquet
Despite being used as a target for others' emotions, the person thinks they are necessary to keep the other person 'alive,' much like a tourniquet stops the bleeding and saves a life.
Prosthetic synthesis and butterfly
The person is artificial, created by others and lacking any sense of true individuality. The mention of a butterfly suggests a fleeting nature, something easily destroyed and forgotten.
Sealed up with virgin stitch
The person has been stitched together in a way that suggests they have never experienced anything - a virgin - a new and cold entity, fitting into a mold set by others rather than forging their own path.
If it hurts baby please tell me
Despite wanting to be loved and accepted, the person recognizes they may still 'hurt' others and wants to be informed if this is the case.
Preserve the innocence
Despite their artificiality, the person wants to remain pure and without any burden of guilt or wrongdoing.
I never wanted it to end like this
The person is unhappy with their current situation and knows there had to have been a better way for it all to have turned out.
But flies will lay their eggs
Despite the person's best intentions, outside forces have contaminated and destroyed what they wanted to preserve.
Take your hatred out on me
The person is willing to be a punching bag for others, absorbing their anger and hate in order to protect something more important to them.
Make your victim my head
The person becomes a target of someone else's anger and frustration, offering themselves up so that the other person can release those emotions without hurting anyone else.
You never ever believed in me
This line repeats, emphasizing the person's feelings of worthlessness and lack of faith from others.
I am your tourniquet
Again, the person sees themselves as a necessary thing that will save the 'life' of the person they are begging for attention from.
Take your, take your
The person is now commanding someone else to take their anger out on them, wanting to be a target of that emotion.
Get up out of me
The person wants to rid themselves of the negative emotions that they've absorbed and held on to for so long.
I'm not proud with me
Despite everything, the person still feels guilty and ashamed of their own existence and everything that has happened to them.
I never ever believed in me
The song ends with yet another repetition of the person's feelings of worthlessness and lack of self-esteem.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Brian Hugh Warner, Scott Mitchell Putesky, Jeordie White
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DrJKintobor
on (s)AINT
Top 10 rappers Eminem was afraid to diss
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on Use Your Fist and Not Your Mouth
I woke up today and wished for tomorrow, I don't wanna be like anyone else!
DrJKintobor
on The Speed of Pain
This song reminds me of Shadow the Hedgehog falling to Earth. The lyrics "I hope we die holding hands, always" refers to him and Maria.
DrJKintobor
on Spade
This is the saddest song on the album.
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on Cyclops
Correction, this song makes me think of the dark night.
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on HALF-WAY & ONE STEP FORWARD
This song is so dark, it makes me think of Endora from Sabrina Online: Skunk's Day Out.
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on I Want to Disappear
This is Zaphod Beeblebrox's theme from Hitchhikers Guide to The Galaxy.
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on Posthuman
This song reminds me of the Mike Teavee Oompa Loompa song from the 2005 Willy Wonka movie, which is funny since Johnny Depp is friends with Marilyn Manson.
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on Tattooed In Reverse
This song gives me Blitzo from Helluva Boss vibes.
SabrinaOnlineFan96
on Long Hard Road Out of Hell
This song reminds me of Shadow the Hedgehog.