Bloodwine and Pomegranates

[Verse 1]
We met where the olives lean
By the red-mouth river stones
You carried a lion's tooth
I carried my father's oaths
Your braid full of laurel leaves
My hands full of ash and rope
Two rival names on the wind
And still you said
"I hope"
[Chorus]
Bloodwine and pomegranates
Staining our unspoken plans
Do we choose the heart that burns
Or the summons of our lands
Oh
The gods sit
Counting breaths
While we bargain with our hands
Bloodwine and pomegranates
Love and law in tangled strands
[Verse 2]
You laughed at the oracle
Spitting seeds into the sea
"Let them carve our fate in stone
I'll carve my own
" you told me (oh)
But the horn on the distant cliff
Called your brothers out to war
And my mother wove black thread
Into every cloak I wore
[Chorus]
Bloodwine and pomegranates
Dripping down our crossed right hands
Do we break the ribs of time
Or obey the old commands
Oh
The gods lean close to hear
If we whisper or we stand
Bloodwine and pomegranates
Love and duty
Grain and sand
[Bridge]
Night on the hill of bones
Torches like furious stars
We met where the borders blur
Between prayers and scars
"I could end this feud
" you said
"With my breath
With just one word"
"I could end your life
" I answered
And my dagger never stirred (hey)
[Verse 3]
Dawn split the horizon wide
As the first spear cut the sky
Your father rode
Bronze and steel
My uncle swore you'd die
You stepped between storm and shore
Threw your shield down on the dust
"Take my throat
" you cried to them
"or lay down this ancient rust"
[Chorus]
Bloodwine and pomegranates
Rolling from your trembling hands
I ran in
I raised my voice
Like a wave against their chants
If I give my life for peace
Will they bless it
Will it stand
Bloodwine and pomegranates
Bright as wounds across the land
[Outro]
Now they tell our twisted tale
At the hearth on winter nights
Two young fools who fed the gods
With their joy and with their fights
On the hill our names are carved
Side by side in jagged stone
Clan and clan at last share bread
Where we sleep
At last
Alone

folk, Epic folk ballad with Greek modal flavors, nylon-string guitar and bouzouki interlocking, hand drums in a slow 6/8 pulse. Male vocals, warm and intimate in verses; chorus swells with haunting female backing harmonies and low drone. Subtle flute phrases between lines; final chorus lifts with layered chants and a tambourine crest, then falls to a single exposed voice., romantic