Chant

Hadestown is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus goes to the underworld to rescue his fiancée Eurydice. The original version of the musical premiered in the town of Barre, Vermont in 2006. There was also a production in Vergennes in the same year and a tour between Vermont and Massachusetts in 2007. Then Mitchell, unsure about the future of the musical, turned it into a concept album, released in 2010. In 2012, Mitchell met director Rachel Chavkin, and the two started to rework the stage production, with additional songs and dialogue. The new version of the musical, developed for the stage and directed by Chavkin, premiered Off-Broadway at New York Theatre Workshop on May 6, 2016 and ran through July 31. Following productions in Edmonton and London, the show premiered in previews on Broadway in March 2019. The Broadway production opened to critical acclaim and received numerous awards and nominations. At the 73rd Tony Awards, Hadestown received a total of 14 nominations (the most for the evening) and won eight of them, including Best Musical and Best Original Score.

[Workers] Low, keep your head, keep your head low Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head Oh, you gotta keep your head low Keep your head, keep your head low Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head Oh, you gotta keep your head [Persephone] In the coldest time of year Why is it so hot down here? Hotter than a crucible It ain't right and it ain't natural [Hades] Lover, you were gone so long Lover, I was lonesome So I built a foundry In the ground beneath your feet Here, I fashioned things of steel Oil drums and automobiles Then I kept that furnace fed With the fossils of the dead Lover, when you feel that fire Think of it as my desire Think of it as my desire for you! [Orpheus and workers] La la la la La la la la la La la, la la La la la la la la la la la la la La la la la la la La la La la la la la la La la la la la la La la la la la la [Workers and Orpheus] Low, keep your head, keep your head low (la la la la la la la) Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head (la la la la la la la) Oh, you gotta keep your head low (la la la la la la la) Keep your head, keep your head low Oh, you gotta keep your head low (la la la la la la la) If you wanna keep your head [Eurydice and Hermes] Is it finished? (Not yet) Is he always like this? [Eurydice and Fates] Looking high and looking low For the food and firewood I know We need to find and I am Keeping one eye on the sky and Tryin' to trust that the song he's working on is gonna (Oooh) Shelter us (oooh) From the wind, the wind, the wind (oooh) [Persephone] In the darkest time of year Why is it so bright down here? Brighter than a carnival It ain't right and it ain't natural [Hades] Lover, you were gone so long Lover, I was lonesome So I laid a power grid In the ground on which you stood And wasn't it electrifying When I made the neon shine! Silver screen, cathode ray Brighter than the light of day Lover, when you see that glare Think of it as my despair Think of it as my despair for you! [Orpheus] They can't find the tune [Hermes] Orpheus! [Orpheus] They can't feel the rhythm [Hermes] Orpheus! [Orpheus] King Hades is deafened by a river of stone [Hermes] Poor boy working on a song [Orpheus] And Lady Persephone's blinded by a river of wine Livin' in an oblivion [Hermes] He did not see the storm coming on [Orpheus and Fates] His black gold flows (oooh) In the world down below (oooh) And her dark clouds roll in the one up above [Hermes] Look up! [Company] Keep your head low [Orpheus and workers] (Oh) And that is the reason we're on this road And the seasons are wrong And the wind is so strong That's why times are so hard It's because of the gods The gods have forgotten the song of their love Singing la la la la la la [Company and Orpheus] Low, keep your head, keep your head low Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head (la la la la la la la) Oh, you gotta keep your head low Keep your head, keep your head low (la la la la la la la) Oh, you gotta keep your head low If you wanna keep your head (la la la la la la) [Eurydice] Lookin' low and lookin' high [Fates] There is no food left to find It's hard enough to feed yourself Let alone somebody else [Eurydice] I'm trying to believe That the song he's working on Is gonna harbor me from [Eurydice and Fates] The wind, the wind, the wind [Hermes] Eurydice was a hungry young girl [Eurydice] Give that back! [Hermes] She was no stranger to the wind [Eurydice] It's everything we have! [Hermes] But she had not seen nothing [Eurydice] Orpheus! [Hermes] Like the mighty storm she got caught in [Eurydice] Orpheus! Shelter us! [Hermes] Only took a minute [Eurydice] Harbor me! [Hermes] But the wrath of the gods was in it [Persephone] Every year, it's getting worse Hadestown, hell on Earth! Did you think I'd be impressed With this neon necropolis? Lover, what have you become? Coal cars and oil drums Warehouse walls and factory floors I don't know you anymore And in the meantime up above The harvest dies and people starve Oceans rise and overflow It ain't right and it ain't natural [Hades] Lover, everything I do I do it for the love of you If you don't even want my love I'll give it to someone who does Someone grateful for her fate Someone who appreciates The comforts of a gilded cage And doesn't try to fly away The moment Mother Nature calls Someone who could love these walls That hold her close and keep her safe And think of them as my embrace [Orpheus and Company] Singing la la la la la la la (low, keep your head, keep your head low) [Eurydice] Shelter us [Hades] Think of them as my embrace [Orpheus and Company] La la la la la la la (low, keep your head, keep your head) [Eurydice] Harbor me [Hades] Think of them as my embrace Of you