Appetite Lyrics – EPIC: Cut Songs

Song Overview

Personal Review

The first spin of Appetite [Cut Song] hit me like salty sea air in midsummer: sharp, teasing, impossible to ignore. The Lyrics trade battle cries for bedroom banter, and Jorge Rivera-Herrans lets Odysseus’ silver tongue gleam. Key takeaways? A hero fakes desire to win freedom, Calypso mistakes hunger for love, and seven years of cabin fever boil into one slick serenade. One-sentence snapshot: Odysseus weaponises charm the way others brandish spears—quick, lethal, smiling.

Song Meaning and Annotations

The scene: Calypso’s paradise, year seven of forced leisure. Odysseus opens with a velvet apology—“I know that my attitude each year has been so jarring”—a sly nod to his simmering resentment. Like a gambler reshuffling the deck, he pivots from anger to flirtation because strategy, not romance, fuels him.

Listen for the echo of Circe’s motif just before the Lyrics proper; Rivera-Herrans plants it as breadcrumb evidence that Odysseus borrows rival sorceress tactics. The hero’s hunger line—“Suddenly my appetite has changed, I’m starving / For more than just a meal tonight”—drips double entendre yet really points to an exit strategy.

“So wait for me, precious!” sounds tender until we tag it with subtext: he needs Calypso distracted long enough to gather gear and bolt. Even his invitation to bed riffs on her earlier promise in “Love in Paradise,” turning her own words into bait.

Musically, Appetite [Cut Song] dances on a Latin-tinged 6/8 groove—hand drums, nylon-string guitar, fluttering flutes—suggesting warm island nights. Yet low brass lurks beneath, hinting at ulterior motives. Rivera-Herrans purposely lets Odysseus sing higher than usual, brushing tenor heights to signal forced passion rather than true comfort.

The emotional arc is tight: apology, seduction, secret countdown. Every phrase shortens, breathless, as if he’s already halfway to the shoreline. That pacing mirrors the “fight or flight” spike before escape.

Culturally, the number spotlights a darker trait in Greek heroism: cunning over candour. While Homer’s poem casts Calypso as sincere, Rivera-Herrans flips the lens—Odysseus becomes the tempter, Calypso the tempted. The shift freshens a thirteen-hundred-year-old story, giving modern audiences a taste of toxic charm.

“There’s no time to spare / I think love is in the air!”

A line so sugary it rots on the tongue. Love? Hardly. Odysseus smells opportunity, not romance. Yet that final exclamation mark sells the ruse, because he understands theatre: Calypso must feel adored to loosen her grip.

Verse Highlights

Opening Couplet

Internal rhymes (Calypso / my darling), (attitude / jarring) paint sincerity but also reveal a performer polishing lines.

Pre-Chorus

Shifts to dotted-eighth syncopation, mirroring quickened heartbeat—his, or hers? Ambiguity keeps tension alive.

Song Credits

• Artist: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Composer / Lyricist: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Written: 2019 (concept draft)
• Fan-share Upload: October 10, 2021 (YouTube demo)
• Genre: Latin-folk musical theatre
• Language: English
• Album: EPIC: The Musical Cut Songs
• Instruments: nylon guitar, congas, flute, low brass, strings
• Mood: sultry, calculating
• Label: Independent
• Poetic Meter: loose iambic over compound 6/8
• Copyright: © 2019-2025 Jorge Rivera-Herrans

Songs Exploring Themes of Strategic Seduction

“Poor Unfortunate Souls” sees Ursula coax Ariel with faux maternal warmth; both villains drape manipulation in velvet but Odysseus’ goal is freedom, not power. The orchestration—swirling woodwinds and minor trills—shares Appetite [Cut Song]’s playful menace.

Jump to “When You’re Good to Mama” from Chicago. Matron “Mama” Morton barters protection for favors, winking through jazzy slides. Where Odysseus feigns desire, Mama dangles it; each number spotlights consent blurred by necessity.

Lastly, “Unworthy of Your Love” from Assassins channels obsessive devotion as bargaining chip. Its tender folk guitar mirrors Odysseus’ faux intimacy, yet the duet’s sincerity makes his ploy feel colder by comparison.

Questions and Answers

Why was “Appetite [Cut Song]” removed from the final score?

Rivera-Herrans folded its plot beats into dialogue, deciding the musical flowed better without an extra Calypso ballad.

Does Odysseus genuinely love Calypso here?

No; the seduction is calculated. His true aim is escape and reunion with Penelope.

How long has Odysseus been on the island at this point?

Seven years, as referenced by Athena in “Love in Paradise.”

Is Calypso aware she’s being tricked?

In the cut canon, no—she’s convinced by his newfound “appetite.”

Could the song resurface in a future EPIC project?

Jorge teases a Cut Saga EP; fans hope “Appetite” returns fully orchestrated.

How to Sing?

Range: B?2–G4. Keep vowels forward and warm—think sunlight on water. The 6/8 swing demands gentle lilt; let hips sway to feel pulse. Slide into grace notes on “Calypso, my darling” for flirty nuance, then tighten vibrato when the plan clicks (“Suddenly my appetite has changed”). For Calypso covers, mezzos hover D4–B4, spinning legato to contrast Odysseus’ crisp phrasing.