The Mars Volta : Noctourniquet

Experimental Rock / USA
(2012 - Warner Music Group)
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Lyrics

1. THE WHIP HAND

When you leave the lights on
Contagions bind your doublespeak

Malice tends to choke my father's grip
But his hands are always clean

Walk towards the light
Convalesce, your fetish in me

You make me older
Swatting flies in the vaseline

And I'm not getting any better
In this plot of dormant wakes

Thorns decipher speak serrated
From the figure of an eight

That's when I disconnect from you
That's when I disconnect from you

That's when I disconnect from you
That's when I disconnect

No turning back now
Too many shovels past the Rubicon

Must I desecrate it
Why can't you tell me where you've gone

Christened to die
Paranoia has hoax and device

Just when I find out
Moira draws the moth to fire

When the moon has burned the spirits
Across the stem of higher self

You will hardly ever hear it
Because the moon will always fail

That's when I disconnect from you
That's when I disconnect from you

That's when I disconnect from you
That's when I disconnect

I am a landmine, I am a landmine
So don't just step on me, so don't just step on me

Cause I'm a landmine, cause I'm a landmine
And I can blossom in the petals of an ECT

That's when I disconnect from you
That's when I disconnect, disconnect from

That's when I disconnect from you
That's when I disconnect, disconnect from


2. AEGIS

The days are catching up to me
My unconscious fear unbound
Is it time to tailor fit the notion
That come Sunday I'm in the ground

The obelisk fumes have occupied
Emphatically austere
A smelter pile made by the debt collector
Where the children should be seen, not heard

Even if there is no way back home

I'm not running away
I'm not running away
I'm not running away
I'm not running away

Can you hear him saber rattling
With bones I've left behind
Obloquy is the bulwark of his implants
Am I your son or just a clone

Dasehra, you were sworn to be
A window to my night
My subterfuge, just branches to the mandrake
Where the children should be seen, not heard

Even if there is no way back home

I'm not running away
I'm not running away
I'm not running away
I'm not running away

Under the aegis of cognition
I am dead, I will escape

Engrammic marks of ligature
I am dead, I will escape

Under the aegis of cognition
I am dead, I will escape

Engrammic marks of ligature
Am I dead, will I escape

I'm not running away
I'm not running away
I'm not running away
I'm not running away


3. DYSLEXION

Nature red in tooth and claw
I haven't seemed to keep my powder dry
I always seem to hear it in your laughter

The second that I fell in love
With the handle of your revolver
I always seem to hear it in your laughter

I begged to you a second chance
With dried white roads to Bethlehem
I always seem to hear it in your laughter

Am I the valency that you deny

In the time of the sixth sun
We are cattle to the prod
And I burn this dictionary
Because its my dyslexion

When I collapse and bury all the things unconsciously I hear
Cackling in chloroform this spectre will ensnare
I always seem to hear it in your laughter

A braided strand of children's manes
Acquired with impunity
I always seem to hear it in your laughter

The things you say to me
Are deaf in tongue
I always seem to hear it in your laughter

Am I the valency that you deny

In the time of the sixth sun
We are cattle to the prod
And I burn this dictionary
Because it’s my dyslexion

You've never tasted heaven
Stood the mother filled with grief
In the wake of Monday morning
Finds the seventh day

If fate is your endearment
Through pistil and through stem
In the wake of Monday morning
Finds the seventh day

And on the seventh day
You will come to find
My prism is not colorblind
In death's mosaic spirit
Finds the seventh day

That's why I repent
That's why I go under
That's why I repent for the night

In the time of the sixth sun
We are cattle to the prod
And I burn this dictionary
Because it’s my dyslexion


4. EMPTY VESSELS MAKES THE LOUDEST SOUND

If I trust in the wind she will pave me a different road
I will try and start over but I think I must choose someone else
I am pulled from the pages where the letters lack the pigment of trust

Must be on my way, I’ve got to get home
Won’t be back someday, so let it unfold

I’ve abandoned the outcome in search of the rest I deserve
You can do what you will with my body but I won’t ring the bell
I’ve omitted the chapters that bow and admit defeat

Must be on my way, I’ve got to get home
Won’t be back someday, so let it unfold

I am a mountain
Of cavernous people
Searching for a lighthouse in the fog

Of the flowers that grew from the cracks in the ground you paved
Didn’t you think he would warn me through the thorns of my waking dreams
When the riddles connected the dots of this constellation

Must be on my way, I’ve got to get home
Won’t be back someday, so let it unfold

I am a mountain
Of cavernous people
Searching for a lighthouse in the fog

I found a reason to leave you with this load
All I can do is forgive your broken heart
Trapped in this tower made of amber for too long
All I can do is forgive your broken heart


5. THE MALKIN JEWEL

I must have crawled through your bedroom door
In a fit of jealous breath
Perched upon the Bacchus foot
Of your unsuspecting bed

From the blossom rags in my jackal croon
To the stems of this cinquefoil
I give to you the shrapnel
With which to sprinkle in the soil

Because...

All the traps in the cellar go clickety clack
Because you know I always set them for you

Yeah, for you

And all the rats in the cellar form a vermin of steps
Yeah, you know they're gonna take me to you

Yeah, to you

Wash it down with harlot soap
Well, is this what you want
I'll paint your steps with the lilac stains
Of smelter revenant

My cutlery is rattling
In the dormant wooden drawers
From the palm of my throne I beckon you
To cut the orchid cord

Because...

All the traps in the cellar go clickety clack
Beause you know I always set them for you

Yeah, for you

And all the rats in the cellar form a vermin of steps
Yeah, you know they're gonna take me to you

Yeah, to you

I know a girl that was woven
In spindle and thread
Wrapped in a bivouac of taffeta
Scaffolding wed

She tosses and turns
And wakes all the children in bed
Yawning with hunger
They take turns of nourishment

She says...

Somebody, somebody help me
Is there anybody that can set me free

From the mountains of avarice this I beg to you
My ether turns flesh to gravel

And all the traps in the cellar go clickety clack
Because you know I always set them for you

Yeah, I set them for you

And all the rats in the cellar form a vermin of steps
Because you know they're gonna take me to you

Yeah, to you

And all the traps in the cellar go clickety clack
Because you know I always set them for you

Yeah, for you

And all the rats in the cellar form a vermin of steps
Yeah, you know they're gonna


6. LAPOCHKA

How long must I wait
How long must I wait
'Til the mountains of avarice turn blue

How long must I wait
How long must I wait
'Til the moleskin I pick becomes fused

The avulsion whims its spurs in the pinches of my earth
The dust I kick of animus shatters

Recorded on my reels of tape, the trauma stops my flow
And in your suppression tastes sulfur

Hear the children say
Inexpressible innocence

How long must I wait
How long must I wait
'Til the mountains of avarice turn blue

How long must I wait
How long must I wait
'Til the moleskin I pick becomes fused

As suddenly your avalanche
Reverses my polarity

And secretly come Sunday morning
Standing at the pulpit to an empty room

Hear the children say
Inexpressible innocence

Tear of mended sails

How long must I wait
How long must I wait
'Til the mountains of avarice turn blue

How long must I wait
How long must I wait
'Til the moleskin I pick becomes fused

The drowning water you drink, passed on by birth
I’m no longer willing to give you control


7. IN ABSTENTIA

There was once a boy
With knives stuck in his voice
All he wanted, all he wanted was a little affection

Until one day he came
To tempt his mother’s taste
All she wanted, all she wanted was to spread her infection

Spit and spindle we refuse
Burning fumes of lucid youth to mend
Her broken thoughts

They’ve stolen all my love
Buried in absentia

Can you hear my vitreous heart
Breaking in absentia

Smokestacks burn
I won’t turn
I won’t ever let you go

They’ve stolen all my love
Yes, they’ve stolen all my love

He returns alone
Changes here nor there

Does he want some
Does he want a little insurrection

Withhold my regrets
Insomnatic fate

Opt out of incision
Tear down the reason
I’ve just gotta get out of here

Spit and spindle we refuse
Burning fumes of lucid youth to mend
Her restless limbs

They’ve stolen all my love
Buried in absentia

Can you hear my vitreous heart
Breaking in absentia

Smokestacks burn
I won’t turn
I won’t ever let you go

They’ve stolen all my love
Yes, they’ve stolen all my love

Taken by the night
Dye the gates remembrance

Check the puzzle, does it fit
I am alpha and omega

And on the seventh day I rise
Past the pangs of my resistance

When the son gives up his throne
What becomes of this theft

Dasehra, make these shackles go away
Dasehra, make these shackles go away

Dasehra, won’t you help me stand my ground if I should fall

Dasehra, as long as I am injured
Dasehra, as long as I remember

Dasehra, as long as I am injured
Dasehra, as long as I remember


8. IMAGO

My anguish told you
A persistent lie

The parasitic psychics that you push by wheel
Were spoken to me every time

And like a charlatan
You counterfeit the vessels through flesh and time

These pacts we keep in secret
Drinking from a well that was cured by drought

My torment adores you
When my strings are tied

Out of compulsion I must decimate
The sapless embryonic miles

And like a charlatan
You counterfeit the vessels through flesh and time

These pacts we keep in secret
Drinking from a well that was cured by drought

My knives are burrowed voices
Glistened by the handles so they won't let go

These limbs are out of reaches
Extensions of a spirit that is not controlled

My heart is trapped inside
And I refuse to accept this throne

My night's unfolding
Reads like a page of test results

This sterile codex
Is missing all my last resolve

And like a charlatan
You counterfeit the vessels through flesh and time

These pacts we keep in secret
Drinking from a well that was cured by drought


9. MOLOCHWALKER

The world is burned, it never hurts
Shanks round the bend when you're foaming at the binge

On your serrated edge, you're like a snail that sticks
The hiss I make is warning to the scoundrel

When you walk the plank, tell me what you see
Moloch in the time of mutiny

When you walk the plank, tell me what you see
Moloch in the time of mutiny

When the body wants to fix this frame
The guilty presence starts to villicate

Fall into the strangle, skip around the neck
This albatross is warning with extreme prejudice

When you walk the plank, tell me what you see
Moloch in the time of mutiny

When you walk the plank, tell me what you see
Moloch in the time of mutiny

When you walk the plank, tell me what you see
Moloch in the time of mutiny

When you walk the plank, tell me what you see
Moloch in the time of mutiny

Half of the time
I'm never clean

Filth of my filth
Can't get no relief

Half of the time
I see the weak

Don't roll your eyes
And still you can't see

All of my coins
You've taken and gave

Filled 'til you're bawling
And still you're empty

What's that satchel of numbers doing
Can't my fingers tell extinction


10. TRINKETS PALE OF THE MOON

By the landfill I rest
I burn their clothing before I dig into the ground
I am Janus-faced denial with vines
You're gonna wish you hadn't run

Clarity is calling me
I hear the hums of tiny beating drums
I feigned umbrage at my bruising fist
You're gonna wish you hadn't run

And with these trinkets pale of moon
Senescent charms become a bludgeon of wrinkles
When I nurse your tired heart

For every time you hear the strain
Of lullabies collapsing
Walk towards the echo and let it hold you trembling

Their gourds are punctured easily
Amnesia fumes in little twists of silk
Induce this multistrobe with melody
You're gonna wish you hadn't run

I sing here at the seedy urn
My father taught me when I was young
You wear the tattered fringe of hangnail regalia
You're gonna wish you hadn't run

And with these trinkets pale of moon
Senescent charms become a bludgeon of wrinkles
When I nurse your tired heart

For every time you hear the strain
Of lullabies collapsing
Walk towards the echo and let it hold you trembling


11. VEDAMALADY

Here it comes again
Mesh of arms travels up my neck

Morning dawn declares itself
And mirrors stare back at my reflection

When I’m alone, I’m alone at night
I want winter to fall on me

And I’m alone, I’m alone in flight
I am free of equity

Where did I go wrong
I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that I’m under

A kindred connivance
I’m ripped and in ruins

Here it comes again
Malady of Veda in your ears

Flood the droughts that those...
I can’t stop myself because

When I'm alone, I’m alone at night
I will set my father free

And I’m alone, I’m alone in flight
My mother holds the lock and key

Where did I go wrong
I’ve got a sneaking suspicion it ain’t over

A kindred connivance
I’m ripped and in ruins

Long way patience to drown
With friends that you won’t save for me

Long way patience to drown
Spin through my spiral, I danced with delay

Long way patience to drown
You call me, I answer and all I can do is obey

Long way patience to drown
I can’t hold my breath for this long

When I’m alone, I’m alone at night
I wanna set my father free

And I’m alone, I’m alone in flight
My mother holds the lock and key

Where did I go wrong
I’ve got a sneaking suspicion it ain’t over

I won’t let you, I won’t let them
Set me to repeat


12. NOCTOURNIQUET

Make my bed in droughts of beryl
I haven't shot this thing in years
Do you think I'll fold

Calloused hands of detriment
From a crossbow flinch of gasping air
Do you think I'll fold

So long, don't fall apart
The words have made a perfect burden

Sewn along your hollow heart
We'll never hassle you

Remember at the hips where we once joined
Severed by the scalpel when we were young
Do you think I'll fold

Held under the water in a blacklist trough
Buried in the plots of your front steps
Do you think I'll fold

Incinerate the faith that you were taught
Incinerate your crown of useless flesh
Do you think I'll fold

So long, don't fall apart
The words have made a perfect burden

Sewn along your hollow heart
We'll never hassle you

And if this life belonged to me
You can stop the rain from falling

Tie it on in your mind
It’s your noctourniquet

And in your fight to live and breathe
Then you keep it to the night

Tie it on in your mind
It’s your noctourniquet

Made my bed in droughts of beryl
I haven't shot this thing in years
Do you think I'll fold

Your color seems to flower from your hissing tongue
Your livery of siblings cut from saffron cloth
Do you think I'll fold

I'll reach out through the pavement with the shortest straw
Lavera, don't play in your mother's drawer
Do you think I'll fold

Come hasten to the first drop of endless flasks
Heretics and peasants with a quench forboding
Do you think I'll fold

So long, don't fall apart
The words have made a perfect burden

Sewn along your hollow heart
We'll never hassle you

So long, don't fall apart
The words have made a perfect burden

Sewn along your hollow heart
Whatever one takes, whatever one takes for you


13. ZED AND TWO NAUGHTS

I'm not breathing any better
Mallets crack with every grin

I hear the scraping plea of branches
Against my broken window

I won't let you in

The silhouette holds me under
Can't poke me with these pins

Flotsam drip of nectar
Nexus bean sprouting

When she says

Saint Christopher
Don't go wandering

With none left to save
Cause none's at the wheel

Saint Christopher

Antidote claps with thunder
From a gash of staple rain

This bed will never rest you
The answers in the sermons

I won't let you in

The stoking fits the crowning
A wasted gust of kin

Repulsion turns to nectar
When the pigment leaves the body

When she says

Saint Christopher
Don't go wandering

With noone left to save
Cause noone's at the wheel

Saint Christopher

Lastborn prey and firstborn caught
Crawling like an animal

Hold your breath its feeding time
In this zed and two naughts

Painted a fulcrum of caves
Piled with dreams of

Phantom masses made of pastures
Labyrinths turning, cystic maze

I've been hanging wreaths of cancer
On every door where children sing

Watch it all blister

Saint Christopher
Don't go wandering

With none left to save
Because none's at the wheel

Saint Christopher

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