[Intro]
Pass the cup with the cracked gold lip,
No god drinks first without a careful sip.

[Verse 1]
They carved a bowl from an old shield boss,
Still black at the edge from a battlefield loss.
Each god spat truth, each god spat pride,
Into the cup where the old lies died.
Thor spat thunder, FRAYR spat grain,
FRAY-yah spat fury, NYORD spat rain.
Odin held the cup to the fire,
And watched peace learn the taste of mire.

[Pre-Chorus]
No honey covered the iron tang,
No harp forgave what the war-horns sang.
The cup went round with a heavy sound,
And every god stared at the ground.

[Chorus]
The Bitter Peace Cup, drink it slow,
Gold at the bottom, ash below.
The Bitter Peace Cup, hard to hold,
Warm with blood and cold with gold.
Raise it once, do not look up,
We are bound by the bitter peace cup.

[Verse 2]
[Duet]
They spoke of hostages, names, and seats,
Of shared halls, roads, and measured feasts.
HOH-neer’s smile was polished thin,
MEE-meer listened through his skin.
FRAY-yah's eyes cut Odin’s face,
“You want our art with your lawful grace.”
Odin answered, “Peace needs price,”
But his one eye glittered once, then twice.

[Pre-Chorus]
The cup went round with a ring of bone,
No mouth could make the burden its own.
What they swallowed would not sleep,
It settled low and it settled deep.

[Chorus]
The Bitter Peace Cup, drink it slow,
Gold at the bottom, ash below.
The Bitter Peace Cup, hard to hold,
Warm with blood and cold with gold.
Raise it once, do not look up,
We are bound by the bitter peace cup.

[Instrumental Break][Cup percussion and frame drums form a ritual pulse beneath low guitar drones.]

[Bridge]
A treaty can seal a bleeding gate,
But not the hand that opened hate.
A cup can pass from mouth to mouth,
Yet leave the north afraid of south.

[Breakdown]
Drink. Do not sing.
Taste the cost of everything.
Drink. Do not cheer.
Peace has teeth behind the beer.

[Final Chorus]
The Bitter Peace Cup, drink it slow,
Gold at the bottom, ash below.
The Bitter Peace Cup, hard to hold,
Warm with blood and cold with gold.
We are bound by the bitter peace cup.
But ash still clings to the bitter peace cup.

[Outro]
Pass the cup with the cracked gold lip,
Peace begins with a bitter sip.
