Suffering

Suffering is the first song of The Thunder Saga and the opening number of EPIC's Act 2. During this song, a siren disguises herself as Penelope to lure in and kill Odysseus, while the latter asks the siren for the best path to get home.

Lyrics[]

[SIRENS]
Penelope
Penelope

[PENELOPE?]
Don’t you miss me?

[ODYSSEUS]
More than you know

[PENELOPE?]
Then jump in the water and kiss me

[ODYSSEUS]
Penelope, I’ve told you this before
You know I’m afraid of the water

[PENELOPE?]
I’ll make sure that you are safe and sound
Come play with me and our daughter
and let’s watch our love leave the ground

[ODYSSEUS]
Oh, I would
But I’d be suffering trying to float the whole time

[PENELOPE?]
I would take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
Oh, as good as it sounds, right here I’m just fine

[PENELOPE?]
I could take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
You know that I prefer my feet on the ground

[PENELOPE?]
I will take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
Fine, but only if you answer a question or two

[PENELOPE?, spoken]
Of course!

[ODYSSEUS, spoken]
Okay, so let’s say I was on the run or hiding…
From, I don’t know, Poseidon…
And let’s say he blocked the way home with giant waves and giant storms...

[PENELOPE?, spoken]
Oh no!

[ODYSSEUS]
How am I to evade him?
How am I to get home?
Which route should I take?
Where am I supposed to go?

[PENELOPE?]
He will chase you high and low
So find a place he’d never go
The one way you'll get home
Is sailing where he's scared to roam, oh
It’s through the lair of Scylla

[ODYSSEUS, spoken]
No...

[PENELOPE?]
This is your only way home
The lair of Scylla

[ODYSSEUS]
But Scylla has a cost

[PENELOPE?]
Well, you asked and now you know
Now jump in the water!

[ODYSSEUS]
Penelope, why?
You know I’m too shy and terrified

[PENELOPE?]
I would take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
Oh, for you, I would die, but can't you let me stay dry?

[PENELOPE?]
I could take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
You should come onto the ship
We'll jump at the same time

[PENELOPE?]
I will take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
Ah, the things I do for you

Trivia[]

This song is in Ab major/F minor and has a 4/4 time signature.
Penelope's theme is playing throughout the song, but it is slightly altered, musically representing to us that it is a trick, and that the siren is not actually Penelope.
Another clue towards this is the lack of violas, despite them being her signature instrument.
Before this song was revealed, Jorge was insistent that the sirens would not be in the musical making a joke saying the sirens were 'cut', alluding what would happen to them in Different Beast.
Jorge uses dual messaging in this song to symbolize Odysseus addressing 'Penelope', as well as the siren, at the same time:
- "More than you know" shows the extent he misses his wife and the lack of awareness the siren has towards who he is.
- "For you I would die" shows the love Odysseus has for Penelope, and the fact that joining the siren would kill him.
In a video posted by Jorge, he explains that in order to accurately collect information and memories, a siren's song must fully reach her victims' ears. Due to the beeswax that Odysseus and his crew used, the siren could not do so, and apart from the lyrics (i.e. claiming that Odysseus has a daughter), the music shows this in several ways:
- For example, an important instrument used, rather than a viola, is from Polites' music: a mallet. The mix-up occurred because Polites was also someone Odysseus deeply cared about.
- When the siren is explaining how to evade Poseidon ("He will chase you high and low, so find a place he'd never go"), she uses Zeus' melody from The Horse and the Infant as he describes a future Astyanax's vengeance. She understands the idea of chasing Odysseus down and taking vengeance, but mixes up the melodic motif between people.
When the siren says “The lair of Scylla”, Circe’s motif is played but in piano. This hints that there is a connection between Circe and Scylla

Animatics[]

We found 2 relevant animatics on the wiki:

Suffering - EPIC- The Musical Animatic

Suffering - EPIC the musical - animatic