IKE OJI Back to Cascade track list
Cascade release artworkIKE OJI / LINER NOTES

CASCADE / 03

| Drink Up | (Red)

Artist
Ike Oji
Release
Standalone single · Cascade
Position
03 of 3
Released
22 September 2026
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Liner notes

This one started with an errant conversation. Someone mentioned almost drinking from a cup that was broken, and the phrase stayed with me: drinking from a broken cup. I thought about people who have been through hurt, and the people who still choose to drink from that cup, knowing it has been broken.

To me, the words hold that fragile space between fear and acceptance: being loved when you know you’re broken. It’s a painful place to live from. We say “hurt people hurt people,” but who among us hasn’t been hurt? This song is a way of showing and sharing those hurts openly, and of being quietly in awe of the people who choose to share a life with us in spite of our sharp edges.

I hadn’t meant to release this single as quickly as I did; circumstances carried it out sooner than I planned. I remember working on the cover during a bus trip to Toronto, thinking of kintsugi, the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery so its seams show in gold. I imagined that neck and the gold between its cracks: the vulnerability of baring your neck, showing your scars rather than hiding them. There’s power and strength in that, but it’s also scary as fuck.

Detail of the Drink Up cover showing gold seams across an exposed neck

Lyrics

You knew about the cracks Before you picked me up Saw the damage in the glass Still you filled the cup I never said I'm watertight Never said I wouldn't leak Some things I hold forever Some run right through me On occasion I might fuck things up Might lose a little more than I can fill You knew exactly what you lifted up And put your mouth against me still You are drinking from a broken cup Drinking from a broken cup Careful how you hold me Some of my edges still cut You are drinking from a broken cup And somehow I am still enough Of course I'll make a mess and cause a spill But you are drinking from a broken cup Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up I've been dropped before I know the kitchen floor Know the sound a good thing makes When it ain't good anymore I got pieces put back wrong Little seams along the side Funny how a thing can break And still hold something inside On occasion I might fuck things up Might lose a little more than I can fill You knew exactly what you lifted up And put your mouth against me still You are drinking from a broken cup Drinking from a broken cup Careful how you hold me Some of my edges still cut You are drinking from a broken cup And somehow I am still enough Of course I'll make a mess and cause a spill But you are drinking from a broken cup Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up I can hold you something sweet I can hold you something strong Just don't blame the broken cup When some things go quite wrong Of course I'll make a mess And cause a spill Of course I'll make a mess And cause a spill On occasion I might fuck things up You are drinking From a broken cup You are drinking from a broken cup Drinking from a broken cup Careful how you hold me Some of my edges still cut You are drinking from a broken cup And somehow I am still enough Of course I'll make a mess and cause a spill But you are drinking from a broken cup Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up Drink me Drink me up