Open Arms Lyrics - Epic: The Musical

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Song: Open Arms
• Artist: Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Steven Dookie
• Album: EPIC: The Musical
• Track Number: 4
• Release Date: 2024?07?04
• Genre: Pop / Musical / Theatrical
• Writer: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Label: Winion Entertainment LLC
• Language: English
• Mood: Hopeful, suspicious, bittersweet
• © Winion Entertainment LLC

Song Meaning and Annotations

“Open Arms” is a tale of two philosophies in a single duet. It unfolds like a musical debate on the island of the Lotus Eaters — a paradise with a poisonous core. Odysseus and Polites, childhood friends turned weathered warriors, stand on either side of a spiritual divide. One sees danger in every glow; the other sees a world worth trusting.

Greet the world with open arms

Polites’s line is more than a lyric — it’s a personal creed. In contrast, Odysseus is ruled by caution, forever gripping his sword and scanning the shadows.

Open Arms is Polites at his clearest — and kindest. A childhood friend who’s fought beside Odysseus through ten years of war, he sees what others miss: the guilt, the grief, the sword gripped too tight.

Polites knows him. And that’s what makes this song so heavy in hindsight.

He introduces a philosophy — one of trust, of hope, of embracing the world instead of fearing it. He wants Odysseus to breathe again. To believe again. To see people not as threats, but as future friends.

Give and take

This isn’t just a character moment. It’s a fork in the road. Polites becomes the voice of compassion. A counter to Poseidon’s fury. A seed of contrast that blooms — and later, withers.

Odysseus, worn down by war and loss, tries to adopt Polites’ view.

Six hundred friends

But that step comes with risk. The Lotus Eaters echo back Odysseus’ own words. Not as conversation — but as mindless repetition. The fruit has dulled them. They mean no harm, yet still pose danger.

The glow that Polites spots? It’s a trick. The lotus trees shine with a warmth that hides their trap. And still, he smiles. He believes kindness will carry them through.

Odysseus watches. Listens. Feels himself changing. He hasn’t let go of caution — not yet — but Polites’ ideals are sinking in. For now, mercy feels right.

In The Odyssey, the Lotus Fruit made men forget home. In EPIC, it steals will. Thought. Direction. Polites still trusts. Odysseus resists. And that difference may decide who survives.

This is the spark. Later, in Monster, mercy will cost lives. In The Underworld, Polites’ voice will echo even after death. His words don’t leave Odysseus. They haunt him.

Welcome

Even in peace, danger waits. Polyphemus’ cave looms — the "scary cave" the Lotus Eaters fear but can’t explain. It’s the first real signal that trust alone won’t be enough.

Polites ends the song with the same phrase he began. A full circle. Unchanged in belief. Steady to the last.

But Odysseus? He’s already begun to bend.

Contrast of Character

Polites urges his captain to let go of the trauma, to trust again:

You can show a person that you trust them / When you stop and lower your guard

But Odysseus sees danger cloaked in sweetness:

It's a lotus, it controls your mind and never lets you free

This metaphor is searing — what Polites sees as kindness, Odysseus sees as seduction into oblivion.

Musical Texture

The song begins softly, with a lilting calm — the siren song of the Lotus Eaters. But tension bubbles under every harmony. Spoken word intrusions, suspicious pauses, and lyrical pivots give the sense of a paradise teetering on the edge of danger.

Thematic Tension

This moment highlights the tragedy of leadership. Polites leads with heart; Odysseus, with fear forged by years of war. This is not just a detour on their journey — it’s a crack forming between brothers-in-arms. Their differing visions — one open, one guarded — reflect two possible futures.

Similar Songs

1. “For Good” – Wicked
   Both songs revolve around the bond between two ideologically opposed friends. Elphaba and Glinda — like Odysseus and Polites — love each other, but live by different truths. There’s beauty, and heartbreak, in the split.
2. “One Day More” – Les Misérables
   Though more ensemble-focused, the emotional collision of motives feels similar. “Open Arms” has that same multi-voiced tension where perspectives overlap but never quite align.
3. “Touch the Sky” – Brave (Julie Fowlis)
   This track has Polites's spirit — daring, optimistic, and wild-hearted. It’s a sonic cousin to “Open Arms” in its embrace of possibility, even in peril.

Questions and Answers

Why is the song called “Open Arms”?

It’s a metaphor for trust, compassion, and vulnerability — all of which Polites champions. But it's also a double-edged phrase, hinting at naivety in a treacherous world.

What do the Lotus Eaters represent?

Temptation and escapism. Their fruit dulls memory and ambition — it's safety at the cost of freedom.

Why does Odysseus reject the kindness of the island?

Because he sees behind the curtain. The kindness feels too easy, too convenient. He fears losing his men — not to war, but to forgetfulness.

How does this scene affect the relationship between Odysseus and Polites?

It foreshadows a tragic rift. Polites’s hope is met with Odysseus’s fear, planting seeds of future sorrow between them.

Is “Open Arms” a hopeful or tragic song?

Both. It’s full of light, but also the shadows of what’s to come. The hope in Polites’s voice becomes haunting once you know his fate.

Fan and Media Reactions

“This song broke me. Polites is so full of light — you just know it's going to hurt later.” @epicdevotee

“The duet structure is *chef’s kiss*. You can hear the emotional chasm widening.” @musicalmaps

“‘Greet the world with open arms’ is my new life motto. Until the cave. Then… yeesh.” @sweetandsketchy

“Jorge just keeps writing bangers that emotionally wreck you.” @greekgeekgirl

“Every time Odysseus says ‘stay back,’ my heart breaks. He’s so broken.” @guardedleader

The fans aren’t just listening — they’re feeling. “Open Arms” has quickly become a soul-stirrer among the EPIC audience, cherished for its sincerity and tragic foreshadowing. Listeners see themselves in both voices — the hopeful and the hardened — and that’s why it lingers.