LOCK AND KEY
Words by Neil Peart, Music by Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson
I don't want to face
The killer instinct --
Face it in your or me
We carry a sensitive cargo
Below the waterline --
Ticking like a time bomb
With a primitive design
Behind the finer feelings --
This civilized veneer --
The heart of a lonely hunter
Guards a dangerous frontier
The balance can sometimes fail --
Strong emotions can tip the scale --
Don't want to silence
A desperate voice
For the sake of security
No one wants to make
A terrible choice
On the price of being free
I don't want to face
The killer instinct --
Face it in you or me
So we keep it under lock and key...
It's not a matter of mercy
It's not a matter of laws
Plenty of people will kill you
For some fanatical cause
It's not a matter of conscience --
A search for probable cause
It's just a matter of instinct --
A matter of fatal flaws
No reward for resistance
No assistance --
No applause...
we don't want to be victims
on that we all agree
so we lock up the killer instinct --
and throw away the key...