[Intro – Female, Cold] Gourmet department. Beautiful bottles. Golden labels. Vintage. Origin. Character. We call it pleasure. As if a beautiful name could somehow change the chemistry. [Male – Deep] Alcohol is still alcohol. [Verse 1 – Male Rap] Champagne for the victory, red wine for sophistication, whiskey for the gentlemen, beer for every occasion. Five dollars. Fifty. Five hundred. Who gives a damn? Wrap it up in velvet, put it on a luxury shelf. It’s still what it is. We talk about the bouquet, the finish and the flavor. Hold the glass up to the light and call intoxication culture. “Just for the pleasure.” “Just on weekends.” “Just to unwind.” Just. Just. Just. Until that little word has to carry a hell of a lot. [Choir – Deep] Alcohol is still alcohol. [Chorus – Female, Powerful] Alcohol is a solvent. And damn right— it dissolves. It dissolves inhibitions. It dissolves boundaries. It dissolves control. Then trust. Then safety. Then people. And while you believe you’ve solved your problem, it’s waiting for you again tomorrow. Only the people around you may be standing a little further away. [Choir] It dissolves. It dissolves. It dissolves. [Verse 2 – Male Rap] A son wants to talk to his father. Not someday. Today. Something’s weighing on his mind, but then he sees the glass. Hears that familiar tone. Knows exactly how this goes. So not tonight. Again. “It’s okay.” No. It’s not. He takes his questions with him. His anger. His disappointment. And eventually, even the hope that the right moment will ever come. [Female] And then somebody wonders why that boy doesn’t talk anymore. [Choir – Low] Not tonight. Not tonight. Not tonight. [Verse 3 – Female] A woman doesn’t need a breathalyzer test. She hears the first few words and knows where the evening’s going. She knows that laughter that slowly gets too loud. The sentence that suddenly means something else. The look that makes her start calculating: Speak? Stay quiet? Leave? Stay? And eventually, the sickest part of it isn’t even the chaos anymore. It’s the routine. [Male] One person drinks. [Female] Everybody else adjusts. [Male] One person loses control. [Female] Everybody else learns to keep it for him. [Chorus – Female + Choir] Alcohol is a solvent. It dissolves inhibitions. It dissolves boundaries. It dissolves control. Then trust. Then safety. Then people. [Female] Expensive wine? [Choir] Alcohol. [Female] Cheap beer? [Choir] Alcohol. [Female] Champagne? [Choir] Alcohol. [Male] A hundred years of tradition doesn’t change a single damn drop. [Both] Alcohol is still alcohol. [Verse 4 – Male / Female] [Male] A daughter doesn’t know the legal alcohol limit. [Female] She knows Daddy’s eyes. Or Mommy’s voice. [Male] She doesn’t know the term “loss of control.” [Female] She knows: “Better keep quiet now.” [Male] She doesn’t understand what addiction means. [Female] But she knows when it’s safer to go to her room. [Male] And grown-ups tell themselves: “Kids don’t really notice.” [Female] Bullshit. Children can feel when the atmosphere at home suddenly changes. [Male] They may forget the bottle. [Female] But never the feeling. [Bridge – Male / Female / Choir] [Male] Pleasure. [Female] Until somebody else suffers. [Male] Relaxation. [Female] Until everybody else is tense. [Male] Good company. [Female] Until everybody’s watching one person. [Male] Fine dining. [Female] Until the fancy label comes off. [Male] A solution. [Female] No. [Choir – Massive] A solvent. [Male] It dissolves inhibition. [Female] Then boundaries. [Male] It dissolves control. [Female] Then trust. [Male] It dissolves connection. [Female] Then people. [Final Chorus – Both] Alcohol is a solvent. Beautiful bottle. Fine vintage. Crystal glass. Same substance. [Female] A son who eventually stops telling his father anything. [Male] A woman who weighs every word before she speaks. [Female] A daughter who learned to read the room before she ever got to just be a child. [Female] And somebody still says: “I don’t have a problem.” [Male] Maybe you don’t. [Female] But maybe everybody else already has one because of your drinking. [Choir – Deep] Alcohol is still alcohol. Alcohol is still alcohol. [Outro – Male] Wrap it in gold. Call it pleasure. Put it on a luxury shelf. It’s still alcohol. [Female] And it dissolves. [Male] Just not the thing you were drinking to make disappear. [Choir – Whisper] The problem remains.
