This is the story of Orpheus and Eurydice as told in Anaïs Mitchell's album "Hadestown" and stage adaptation.
In depression era New Orleans, young Orpheus and Eurydice fall in love but Eurydice dreams of a better life than the poverty she grew up i...
Summer was always Orpheus's favorite time of year: swimming in the bayous, eating fruit straight from the trees, cooking on campfires, parties at the La Bouffe Mansion, and sleeping out in open fields underneath the stars. With a beautiful girl by his side, he was in heaven. Eurydice spent whatever time she could with him but it seemed like she always had to work. One evening in August, Orpheus sat in Saint Louis Cemetery waiting for Eurydice. She had told him to meet her there, since she was going to place some flowers on her mother's grave. It was a warm day but it's cool breeze spoke of autumn. The sunlight which danced through the leaves of the trees over Orpheus's head was golden and melancholy. Summer would come to an end soon. A tune had been playing in his head for weeks. Sitting there, waiting, he strummed his guitar, his fingers searching for the right cords. The tune was lovely and lilting, bitter-sweet and haunting. "La la la la la," he sang. "What are you playing, son?" a deep, gravelly voice asked him. Orpheus looked up to see Mr. Hermes standing above him. "Something I'm writing," Orpheus replied. "It's good but it needs some work. What are you doing here?" "I'm waiting for Eurydice." Their conversation was interrupted by a whistle being blown. Across the way, they could see a train of rusted boxcars chug and rattle a long the other side of the cemetery. "That would be the Styx Line," Mr. Hermes said, "Another one headed for Hadestown. Another batch of lost souls for the mines and mills." "Why so many people?" Orpheus asked. "Mr. Hades needs a constant supply of fresh blood to build his wall and there's plenty willing to go for the promise of a steady paycheck, a roof over their heads, and a full belly every night." Orpheus continued strumming his guitar. "King of diamonds," he sang, "king of spades. Hades was king of a kingdom of dirt. Miners of mines, diggers of graves, they bowed down to Hades who gave them work. And they bowed down to Hades, who made them sweat, who paid them their wages and set them about, digging and dredging the depths of the earth, to turn its insides out, singing la la la la la la... oh singing la la la la la la... king of mortar, king of bricks, the river Styx was a river of stones, and Hades lay them high and thick with a million hands that were not his own. With a million feet that fell in line and stepped in time with Hades's step and a million minds that were just one mind, like stones in row, stone by stone, row by row, the river rose up, singing la la la la la la... oh singing, la la la la la la..." A/N These are the lyrics to the song Epic: Part 2. "That's better," Mr. Hermes commented, "Gotta go, boy. I gotta catch a street car." As Mr. Hermes walked out of the cemetery, Eurydice walked in. "You're late," Orpheus said after kissing her. "I got held up at work," she replied, "At least one of us has to work if we're going to set up housekeeping together." Her words were meant to be teasing but there was the slightest hint of bitterness in her voice. "Come, let's get a nectar snowball."
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