What does Tourniquet mean?

Evanescence: Tourniquet Meaning

Album cover for Tourniquet album cover

Tourniquet Lyrics

I tried to kill my pain
but only brought more.
(so much more)
I lay dying
and i'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal.
I'm dying, praying, bleeding and screaming!
Am i too lost to be saved?
Am i too lost?

My God my tourniquet
return to...

  1. 1TOP RATED

    #1 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 20th 2006 !⃝

    I can relate to this song completely. It is from the eyes of a person who attempted suicide by cutting his/her wrists. These are the the thoughts running through their head. I am not Catholic, but I heard that if you commit suicide, they believe you will go to hell. That is what it means by "Will I be denied".

  2. 2TOP RATED

    #2 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Nov 23rd 2006 !⃝

    I know exactly what this song means. The first time I heard this song, I cried, because I realized the song was about me and about all the people that cut themselves. I "tried to kill my pain" basically by cutting, which is what the girl is doing in the song."bleeding and screaming" i,like this person was screaming a silent scream by bleeding. I also think this song is about a christian girl who belives she has commited this terrible sin of cutting herslef rather than believing in God to solve her problems. The girl in the song says" am I too lost to be saved" by this she is doubting Gods mercy like many do. She is confused as to whether God still loves her even though she has sinned against him.I also think she cut her wrist in an attempt of suicide and after wards realized she didn't wan't to die and crys for God to be her tourniquet."my God, My tourniquet".then I belive that at the end of the song God saves her from her attempt at suicide , because she realized she was wrong and she wants her salvation, because her soul cries for deliverance.

    Any way, because I actually went through an event like it helps me to indersatnd it better on a personal and emotional level.but I have gotten help and have not been cutting for almost a year now!

  3. 3TOP RATED

    #3 top rated interpretation:
    anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 5th 2007 !⃝

    TOURNIQUET:
    FROM THE SHAKESPARES PLAY ROMEO & JULIET WHEN AMY SCREAMS "I WANT TO DIE". IS JULIET SAYING SHE WANTS TO DIE.
    THIS SONG IS ABOUT A GIRL WANTING TO DIE AND END HER PAIN BUT SHE IS AFRAID IF SHE WILL GO TO HELL AND SHE IS ASKING GOD TO TOURNIQUET HER SUICIDE.

    "My wounds cry for the grave (HER WANTING TO DIE)
    My soul cries for deliverance (WANTING DELIVERANCE)
    Will I be denied? ( SHE WON'T BE EXPEXT IN HEAVEN)
    Christ? (Christ)
    Tourniquet
    My suicide" ( WANTING GOD TO STOP HER FROM COMMITING SUICIDE.)

  4. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 25th 2023 !⃝

    If you watched the Anywhere but Home DVD, Amy specifically states that it's a song about suicide. It was mentioned because at one point during the intro of the song she was playing around with one of her people backstage and laughing, and was worried because it's a "suicide song" so she had to stifle the laughter.

  5. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 15th 2018 !⃝

    This is one of a number of songs that made the Hit Parade and actually are inspired by Satan, who loves to use the voices of girls to plead his case.
    The first (spiritual) suicide was Lucifer...
    Here he asks will he be forgiven 'on the other side'?
    Others are "I'm With You" by Avril Lavign and "Stronger" by Britney Spears.
    And "Hotel California" is even more satanic but less personal.
    Will Satan find forgiveness beyond Time?
    In Tourniquet, he seems to express his Crimson Regret but Satan is the Master of Lies.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  6. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Dec 25th 2016 !⃝

    It's about heroin addiction. It's quite obvious.

  7. heyimkvylie
    click a star to vote
    Sep 9th 2015 !⃝

    Tourniquet really is obvious a suicide song.
    It's about a girl who committed suicide and is now asking God to forgive her, which brings up the question, can you enter heaven if you take your own life?
    Suicide is a sin!
    A tourniquet is a device to stop blood flow form an artery, in the song, God is the tourniquet. okay so i love this song!!!

  8. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 4th 2015 !⃝

    This song is obviously about suicide. And you don't go to hell if you commit suicide. Suicide is a mental illness...just like cancer. If you claim that suicide is a sin and you can't get to heaven because of sin,I got bad news for you. ALL have sinned. Your little white lie is the same a suicide in God's eyes. People only go to heaven because the put their faith in Jesus Christ. But even the faithful fall prey to illness, including mental illness and suicide. Sorry catholics, read your bible.

  9. IloveLily
    click a star to vote
    Apr 7th 2015 !⃝

    The song says that I tryed to stop the pain but ownly brought more. Probably saying she hurt herself. She says she's dying praying bleeding and screaming which would probably mean suicide or hurting herself. A tourniquet helps a blood artery thing. So she's praying for God to be her tourniquet because in the chorus she says "My God! My tourniquet return my salvation." Hope this helped.

  10. Heyitsclouds
    click a star to vote
    Apr 17th 2014 !⃝

    I found out ages ago that "crimson regret" is blood. This is such a beautiful song!

  11. Miss_Charlie267
    click a star to vote
    Jun 24th 2013 !⃝

    This song is not about suicide,It means Self harm.The lyrics "I tried to kill the pain, but only brought more." mean that Amy has been doing something to get rid of the pain that she has been enduring. She could be cutting like I had when I would listen to this song and cry."I lay dying and I'm pouring crimson regret and betrayal" means that Amy is regretting her cutting and it brought more pain than helping. The lyrics "I'm dying, praying, bleeding and SCREAMING..." mean that she is slowly dying because she has taken it her self harm too far and she is bleeding like crazy.The lyrics "Am I too lost to be saved? Am I too lost?" mean that Amy has thought that she has dug herself a hole too deep for her to be able to climb out.

  12. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Jun 21st 2013 !⃝

    The way I've always seen it, this describes the death of a criminal, (s)he's been through an epic chase/battle scene-type-thing, lost the fight, got slashed or shot or otherwise killed, and now are realizing their sins as they lay dying and cry out to the Almighty for salvation.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  13. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 26th 2012 !⃝

    Could also be about heroin addiction .. saying she tries to kill the pain with drugs but then suffers terrible withdrawals .."am I too lost to be saved" could mean is she too deep into her addiction to be free of it .. just saying

  14. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Aug 18th 2012 !⃝

    i am moslem and we believe exactly what amy said.in our religious we believe that if someone sueside he or she goes to hell.because living is a chance that God gives us and if God wants we die it will happen but we kill ourselves we make desicion for ours and its out of Gods willing and we go hell without asking why.then we dont have any chance to defend ourselves.sry i cant say my interperation as well as you but i love amys proponents and i love to read your interprations niloo
    ;)

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  15. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 19th 2012 !⃝

    Amy Lee committed suicide and she wants to go to heaven, but it is very bad to sommit suicide. "I tried to kill my pain" means that she was depressed/in pain before, and she killed herself to attemt to kill the pain. I think that the sad music at the end is also to represent death.

    This interpretation has been marked as poor. view anyway
  16. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Mar 11th 2012 !⃝

    the song is about someone who died and the person singing is in so much pain/grief that they want to die, too. she is crying for a tourniquet to stop her emotional bleeding.

  17. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Feb 23rd 2012 !⃝

    The meaning of Tourniquet, it's actually simple and other people agree on the meaning. In order to "kill the pain" she attempted to send it away, to herself thus she "only brought more". In other words, she cut herself. In the song, Amy Lee (lead singer of Evanescence) is saying she is Christian. She claimed to had nearly commited suicide, veering off the Christian path. Now she is asking "forgivenss". Her tourniquet is to do exactly what it is meant for. Stop the blood. The blood she shed by own will.God is the tourniquet, she wants him to stop her blooding, take her into his kingdom. Her "betrayal" was near suicide. Salvation is to be in God's arms. "Lost" is straying from him. She is asking if she has gone too far with the suicide. But she is still conflicted, however, because she claims she "WANTS TO DIE!!!". Her "crimson regret" is her blood, and "regreting" the action of shedding it.

  18. anonymous
    click a star to vote
    Oct 28th 2011 !⃝

    I think this means Cutting. "Crimson regret and betryal" could mean she wrote those words with a razor into her skin.
    "My God, My Tourniquet. Return to me salvation" could mean she's praying to God to help her, praying for Salvation.
    "Am I to lost to be saved?" She's feels like she's to messed up to get better.
    So, overall, I think this song is about a someone who hates their life, but if torn between thier religion and suicide. They want to die, but ("Will I be denied?"), they still want to go to Heaven and they fear if they kill themselves they'll go to Hell. So their Praying to God to take away their pain, and probably their life too.

    Of course, that's just my way of looking at it. Anyone else could interpet differently.

‹ prev 1234



More Evanescence songs »


 


Latest Articles

 


Submit Your Interpretation

[ want a different song? ]




Just Posted

Steve's Going to London anonymous
Yes I'm A Mess anonymous
Droppin' Plates anonymous
Rat anonymous
Cry for the Moon anonymous
And the Snakes Start to Sing anonymous
Gingerbread Man anonymous
Not Like the Movies anonymous
This Masquerade anonymous
Birthday Suit anonymous
Dollhouse anonymous
Death anonymous
Copy Cat anonymous
I Hate Jimmy Page anonymous
I Hate Jimmy Page anonymous

(We won't give out your email)