Hadestown Original Broadway Cast - Epic III - Lyrics

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[inkbery]

Epic III: Hades is Tricked Into Couples Therapy

[samaram.c.]

I think it's interesting how Orpheus says "a MAN in love with a WOMAN", when throughout the song the words 'girl' and 'boy' are used to describe Orpheus and Eurydice. I like to think that it signals the complexity that surrounds Orpheus and Eurydice's love, and Orpheus beginning to recognize it. They're no longer two naive lovers, but two tragic star-crossed adults, thrust into a world they weren't ready for. Orpheus realizes that he and Eurydice are more like Hades and Persephone, and that they can't go back to the way they were before.

[stephpiano]

I love how the start of Hades’ la la la part sounds like a gasp and has none of the powerful deep bass sound his voice usually has. After the first la Persephone sobs and encourages Hades to keep singing. Both of them had already been crying because I saw tear stains on both Patrick and Amber’s cheeks and it WRECKED me.

[nyah]

OH MY GOD THEY MADE IT SO PERSEPHONE SINGS AT THE END WKTH HADES AND ORPHEUS HOLY

[elenamarcato]

the la la la section never fails to give me full body chills

[Lavmoonmothcos]

I’m crying. We have been blessed to be alive in the same lifetime as this musical.

[chalybslam]

I adore this version (especially the parts from Hades and Persephone) but I do miss the parts where Orpheus talked about Hades' heart unhardening from that of a king to that of a man

[SSMp]

I MISS THE PERSEPHONE IN THE GARDEN LINES THOSE LYRICS WERE AN ACTUAL BOMB

[georgie]

This is so beautiful. No wonder this is what Orpheus was writing the whole time. I couldn't have believed the pressure on Anaïs Mitchell. She literally had to write a song so beautiful and miraculous that made people believe that it could touch the heart of a cold, petty man like Hades. This song is the entire backbone of the show. Basically if Epic iii sucks, then the while premise of the show would just fall apart. I love it so much

[Kiterpuss]

So the cults of Persephone had a rule that the only person who could sing her name was Persephone herself. Hence why the workers only ever refer to her as Our Lady of the Underground and she introduces herself.

In the first verse Orpheus sings her name to sway Hades' heart. It was a risk that paid off for him when she sang with him later, allowing his audacious choice.

[agenttheater]

Look, I do really like the original Epic III and how it talks about Hades's heart unhardening and becoming the heart of a man rather than the heart of a king or a god. But I like how in this version, Orpheus almost sounds uncertain when he starts because of the mental and emotional trial he's just been through and is just starting to get his confidence back, and how it builds along with the song. And they're still touching on what it was like for Hades to have the heart of a man because Orpheus is reaching out to him saying that he knew how it felt, because he felt the same way, he's speaking to him as a man. Does that make sense?
Either way, it's a beautiful song.

[giomuncal]

I actually prefer this version over the original because I think it actually depicts a lot more subtle story rather than just being a really pretty song like the original version. Like yeah the old lyrics were really poetic and profound and stuff, but I like how this one starts with the very simple Epic I lyrics, almost as if Orpheus doesn’t know what to sing and is just spitting out his first draft. Then there’s the line “I know how it was because he was like me: a man in love with a woman.” At first I thought this line was super literal and clunky, but now I interpret it as him coming to a realization: that this whole time, Hades and Orpheus really were once the same person and went through the exact same experiences. The entire rest of the song is then completely new lyrics in which Orpheus projects his exact experiences onto Hades, directly referencing All I’ve Ever Known. Even the second half of the song with “he keeps his head low and he keeps his back bending” is a direct parallel to Orpheus working on his song, and I really like how we actually get to witness Orpheus’s realizations as well as the subtle transition from the incredibly basic Epic I lyrics to the stunning rest of the song. I’ll certainly miss how romantic and meaningful and breathtaking the original lyrics were, but I feel this version is more complex than people give it credit for.

[willoweeeeee]

2:26 counting all the "la"s to write the lyrics down must've been so much fun

[clairemckinley]

God I’m not even two minutes into this and the line ‘and it was like she was someone you had always known’ has me DEAD. Ugh the parallels. Wow

[noirblack]

ITS DIFFERENT BUT NOT RUINED OH MY GOD ITS ACTUALLY AMAZING AND IM SHAKEN

[cadencestephens]

So I saw this on opening night
I was in the second row
And I watched Amber Gray practically break down when Patrick Page sang his line towards the end.
And if she wasn't actually crying, it sure was some damn good acting because I couldn't tell.
Either way, I bawled my eyes out.
Thanks for coming to my TED Talk

[cicadeus]

Orpheus, when he sings, summons a red carnation.

I headcanon that his finished song, at maybe 2:30, managed to bloom an entire meadow in the throne room itself. And hades, seeing persephone, as tired as she is, in that meadow, stirred his heart. He felt like a young man in love and that cracked his resolve just enough to really listen to orpheus.

As he realises all he gave up, how he ignored summertime herself and let jealousy ruin him, he begins to cry. And persephone cant help but smile and weep, herself. Surrounded by pinks and reds, the iron walls sprouting vines. For the first time in eons, hadestown is full of life and love.

[olivia__fiz]

the way hades is just like "ooo a song about me" is hilarious in my opinion

[johnny--guitar]

i'm sorry, hades' "oh it's about me" caught me so off guard this is the funniest fuckin thing

[adri_is_sleepdeprived]

i was internally crying at hades and persephone’s dance in epic iii. i freakin’ love hadestown so much