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...


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