The Rats (death metal)

[Donna D]

I blame this one on the evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, and the chapter on rodents in his amazing book "The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution". Dawkins speculates that there's a greater possibility of humans becoming extinct and rats surviving than the other way around.  That got me thinking... 

Definitely not everyone's cup of tea. 

Music/instrumentation/vocals...errr...growling and shouting: Peter Watkinson
Lyrics: Donna Devine

Time:

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The Rats

(v1)
65 million years for us
To come into our own
65 million years to wait
Before our time had come
Finally Armageddon
When some fool hit the red
Leaving us in freedom
With the human species dead

Chorus
Arsenic Ratsac Warfarin
We survived them all
At last the earth
Belongs to us
Oh, how the mighty fall
Wretched humans
Pale and weak
Outshouted by
A rodent squeak

(v2)
Every ship you sailed on
To build your lives anew
We travelled with the cargo
And journeyed there with you
We crouched along a gangplank
Or scurried up wet ropes
We were the shadow side
Of all of your dreams and hopes

Chorus
Arsenic Ratsac Warfarin
We survived them all
At last the earth
Belongs to us
Oh, how the mighty fall
Wretched humans
Pale and weak
Outshouted by
A rodent squeak

Bridge
We gave you gifts of malice
Like typhus and the plague
But you were your worst enemy
Now see the choice you made

(v3)
Since the dust has settled
And nuclear winter's past
We've gnawed our way through
Tokyo, Toronto and Belfast
Had gastronomic pleasure
In London and New York
Dined on human corpses
That tasted just like pork

Chorus
Arsenic Ratsac Warfarin
We survived them all
At last the earth
Belongs to us
Oh, how the mighty fall
Wretched humans
Pale and weak
Outshouted by
A rodent squeak

Outro
We're no longer lean
But we're still mean
A gnawing machine

*Sound of rats squeaking, soft at first and then louder, more aggressive

© 2010 Donna Devine

[Oldrottenhead]

great lyric and subject matter, glad you posted lyric or i'd have been at a loss as to what it was about. richard dawklins has inspired a few songs for me too, not read  "The Ancestor's Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Evolution". i had better get down the library.

great tune not a style i would usually listen to but its braw tell yer maw.

[cuthbert]

Not my stylistic cuppa tea, but I do like the lyrics - reminds me a bit of some of the subject matter covered by The Stranglers back in their heyday.

Of course, the insect world will bury all us mammals...   

[stoman]

Not my style either, but great lyrics again, Donna. A colleague of mine listens to such music (Alex, who did the bass for "No Tears"). I think I should send him a copy of your song.

Impressing how many completely different styles your lyrics work with. I wish I could write lyrics myself ...

Regards,
  Steffen

[Riche]

Very enjoyable ...

[Gnasty]

Holy Donna! You are a death metal queen now!!..LOL

I used to listen to this kinda stuff back in my teenager years. It still can be my cup of tea sometimes.
Your lyrics are perfect for it actually.
People might not think this is great music overall but try and play this kinda stuff every night on a tour. Its high energy and i always cant understand how a drummer can do shows like this every night. It can be physically draining for everyone. But they love it!! Thats why they do it!

Thanks for sharing

[Satchwood]

Holy smokes, i feel my heart rate rising.....    Great lyricist you are DD!! 

Not particularly crazy about that vocal style; my ear did welcome the changes in there ~ flippin heart palpitating speed metal guitar!   I wonder what bpm that was recorded at?

....that ending put a smile on my face :~)

[Ferryman]

What a surprise! Didn't expect this Donna!! But I loved it, great lyrics and great playing here. Love that bridge, it works really well and the outro is just fab.

Cheers,

Nigel

[Kenneth]

maybe i'll use this instead of a cup of coffee in the morning!
When I was a kid  Metallica were the extremes, but wow!
As always, great writing Donna, and i'm still considering taking on the wal mart one if no one else does.

[Johnbee]

Strange!  I look at your picture and I see a tame and rather serene lady, but then I play the tune and.......well, I was thinking to myself "What's wrong with this picture"?
Okay.  You only wrote the words.  I see.

It's cool to experiment with different things every now and then.  Your lyrics add a quite compelling dimension to this tune, however I am relieved this isn't your regular style.
 
JohnBee