Tourniquet

The album Antichrist Svperstar, which this song is taken from, tells the story of the rise and fall of the Antichrist. The first song, Irresponsible Hate Anthem, shows the hatred felt by the world for everything. A great majority of the people in the world have been infected by the Worm, which is symbolic of hatred, drugs, sex, and violence. These people are so dead in their hatred that they refuse to think for themselves. They become irresponsible. Eventually this parasitic Worm finds his host in a little boy, whom the Worm completely takes over to serve his own purposes. The Beautiful People speaks of the judgemental mentality so many people have adopted which adds to the resentment building in the boy. In Dried up, Tied up, Dead to the World, the Worm is completely used, and so then tries to make his own lover in Tourniquet. Antichrist Svperstar is very centered in the Christian numerology. This track is number 4, the number for creation. And so, the song is about creating a facade of love.

To me, this song signifies wanting something, but not being quite sure of what you want. On one hand, you want to feel love, but on the other, it cripples you. The worm's greatest fear is to be crippled by another person, to completely trust in another person. He feels the need to be in control of the situation, but he finds that impossible to love someone completely without giving up his control. You have a void you want to fill, but nothing fits. Hence you create something to fill that void. This creation, however, only serves its purpose temporarily. The name tourniquet is significant because it shows that no matter how much he tried to heal their broken relationship, he was only able to do as much as a tourniquet. Just as a bandage doesn't heal a cut, he only put off the end of the relationship.

In the chorus, "Take your hatred out on me, Make your victim my head", is symbolic of the desperation felt by Manson when he can't fill the empty void in himself. He does anything to make her love him, although she only uses him. She uses him as a tourniquet, and after he isn't needed, he is forgotten. Also, if you listen to this song in reverse, you can hear him whispering "This Is My Lowest Point Of Vulnerability". In his desperation, he made himself believed she loved him, but as the song quotes, "Flies will lay their eggs". Everything eventually didn't work out. Another interesting point is that flies lay their eggs in dead corpses, which implies the relationship is dead. He had become so enamored with this imagined love however, that he is completely filled with self-hate. This self hate is the fuel for the fire that turns him into the Antichrist later in the album.

This is my general take on the song, compiled from what others on here thought, and also some of my own thoughts. I'm not necessarily trying to say this is the most correct meaning, its just what it means to me.

just a little extra info: in the beginning when you here manson whispering something into the microphone he is saying "this is my most vulnerable moment" backwards.

I'm aware of what it says in the book, but how closely it parallels to a victim mentality in relationships, motivated me to comment. As it's been said in a concise way already in one of the comments I've read, I simply wanted to expound on it further with my own perspective =P

"she comes on like a crippled play thing" seems to me as a person that only finds self worth by physical intimacy, making up for the lack of emotional needs being met, due to being emotionally shut off.

"spine is just a string" being a metaphor for lack of spine, backbone, or an inability to stand up for one's self. Needing support to stand up.

"I wrapped our love in all this foil/silver-tight like spider legs/I never wanted it to ever spoil/but flies will always lay their eggs". Wrapping this love in silver lining as to preserve the first stage of a relationship (romance, which is addicting) but as all things, it changed but due to it not being handled properly, it rotted away... and in a pessimistic perspective, it was inevitable.

"Take your hatred out on me/make your victim my head/you never ever believed in me/I am your tourniquet" Total victim mentality. Treat me like I'm nothing so that you'll feel better. I'll sustain it because I care for you that much... All in effort to sustain a conditional love relationship at the sacrifice of your own needs just so that they will not leave you. All to feel as if you have a function or purpose in life... and you somehow deserve this abuse because you really are worthless, and you were made to believe it not so much by physical abuse (may be included but not referred to), but by mental/emotional abuse. Or, rather, being emotionally held hostage so that you'd continue sacrificing yourself like Christ just to keep that person happy. And he is continuing to serve and look after all of her wounds believing that she'd die without him being her crutch. He has an incessant need to feel wanted/needed as the she needs support/a crutch once again referencing "spine is just a string".

Perfect example of an unhealthy relationship of two emotionally unavailable people trying to get their needs met... At least, that's what I think =P

This is my fave manson song. it's talking about love and how she takes her hatred for everything out on him. A tourniquet is something that stops a wound from bleeding.

There is a segment in this song that, when reversed, you can hear "I wanna control her because I am weakened by her."

Okay, I believe that Antichrist Superstar is a story about the worm who becomes an irresponsible, hate-fillled and miserable, dirty dirty rockstar. The story is largely autobigographical of course.

In Manson's autobiography he says that this song is about the apocalyptic nightmares he had as a worm, because the christian school he went to pumped him full of fear. It is also coupled with the continual sense of betrayal he continues to feel in relationships, as a previous poster stated. My assumption is that this song is simply about "the worm's" similar experiences. I told you it was autobiographical.

"I've always had these dreams about making a girl out of all these pieces of prosthetic limbs, and then taking my own hair and teeth that I saved from when I was a kid and very ritualistically creating this companion." ("She made of hair and bone and little teeth and things I cannot speak.") - Marilyn Manson

I always thought he was trying to make/find the perfect woman or person and you can never do this because the person you love is always the person that feels they're better than you.

Anyone who read Manson's book, The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, would know that the song's about one of his apocalyptic nightmares and his continual sense of betrayal in relationships. Also the lines should not include always, as he sings "But flies will lay their eggs" very clearly in the song.

bleeding seraphim are you contradicting what manson says in his own words??in hsi own book?or did manson get it wrong as well & he doesnt actually know whats he's saying & you some how do??

I really feel this song is about love and how not matter what you do like everything else it dies, it becomes corrupt or whatever. "The flies will lay their eggs" just means it is being corrupted and no matter what you do to "preserve the innosence" it will die or be killed. Love is exactly what this song is about btu always how it dies.