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Suffering Lyrics Epic: The Musical

Suffering Lyrics

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[ENSEMBLE, SIRENS]
Penelope (Ah, oh)
Penelope (Ah, oh)

[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 fin?


[PENELOPE]
I could take the suffering from you

[ODYSSEUS]
You know that I pr?fer 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]
Of course!

[ODYSSEUS]
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]
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]
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

Song Overview

Suffering lyrics by Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Anna Lea
Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Anna Lea sing the ‘Suffering’ lyrics in the concept-album video.

Personal Review

Suffering hits like salt spray on sunburn – sharp yet strangely cleansing. Rivera-Herrans lets Odysseus speak with cautious tenor warmth while Anna Lea’s siren glides in silky menace. The hook – “I would take the suffering for you” – sticks like barnacles, hinting at love’s cost and courage in the same breath. One listen, and I feel the deck tilt under my feet.

Song Meaning and Annotations

Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Anna Lea performing Suffering
Performance still from the official animatic.

The track opens Act 2 – The Thunder Saga – of EPIC: The Musical. A lone siren masquerades as Penelope to lure Odysseus. The dialogue pivots on duality:

“Then jump in the water and kiss me…”
“You know I’m afraid of the water.”
"Suffering" is a captivating song from "EPIC: The Musical" by Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Anna Lea. The track unveils a dialogue between Odysseus and Penelope, with an intriguing twist, where Penelope is represented as a siren, calling to Odysseus and attempting to entice him to reunite. The song’s emotional core revolves around the profound love between the two characters, highlighted by the yearning and fear of the unknown that Odysseus experiences. Odysseus, ever cautious of the sea, confesses his fear of the water despite Penelope's promises of safety. Their exchange creates a poignant scene of sacrifice and vulnerability when Odysseus expresses his desire to take on any suffering for her, but simultaneously fears the cost. The internal conflict of Odysseus is palpable as he wrestles with the metaphorical and literal "suffering" that lies ahead. The references to Scylla’s lair and Poseidon’s wrath carry the weight of myth, lending the song a profound resonance as it explores love and fear. Penelope’s offer to “jump in the water” symbolizes not only a literal plunge but an emotional leap into the unknown. Her words reveal a deep desire to see her family reunited, but Odysseus remains hesitant, fearing that confronting the unknown might mean sacrificing his life. This song is in Ab major /F minor and has a 4/4 time signature. Overall, "Suffering" deftly blends themes of love, fear, sacrifice, and longing, embodying Odysseus' internal struggle through its evocative lyrics and emotive delivery. The musical arrangement complements the dramatic tension between the two characters, elevating the raw emotion of the story.

Fear clashes with longing. Odysseus wants home yet trembles at Poseidon’s seas. The siren preys on that fracture, dangling reunion as bait. Mythic markers pepper the lyric – Scylla’s lair, Poseidon’s wrath – anchoring the pop-theatre melody in Homeric stakes. Fans point to instrumental tells: Penelope’s viola motif is absent, replaced by mallet patterns from fallen crewmate Polites – proof the “wife” is a fake

Verse Highlights

Suffering lyric video by Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Anna Lea
Lyric-video frame catching the siren’s lure.
Opening Call – “Penelope?”

Sirens croon the queen’s name in stacked fifths – comfort tilting toward unease.

Odyssean Confession

“You know I’m afraid of the water” flashes rare hero-vulnerability, setting up the moral whirlpool.

Scylla Directive

The siren’s advice steals Circe’s motif on soft piano – a sly nod to tangled myths

Key Facts

Scene from Suffering by Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Anna Lea
Odysseus and the false Penelope in stylised silhouette.
  • Featuring: Anna Lea
  • Producer: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
  • Composer / Lyricist: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
  • Release Date: July 4, 2024
  • Album: EPIC: The Thunder Saga (Official Concept Album) – EP
  • Label: Winion Ventures
  • Track Number: 21
  • Genre: Pop – Musical Theatre fusion
  • Time Signature: 4 / 4 • Key: A? major / F minor
  • Mood: Yearning, foreboding
  • Language: English

Songs Exploring Similar Themes

  1. The Man Who Can’t Be Moved – The Script – A street-corner vigil mirrors Odysseus’ standstill, gifting time while braving heartbreak.
  2. Home – Michael Bublé – Jet-lagged crooner aches to return, echoing the nautical separation of hero and queen.
  3. Fix You – Coldplay – Promises to bear another’s pain line up with Odysseus’ pledge to shoulder the surf and storms.

Questions and Answers

Why cast Penelope as a siren?
It weaponises nostalgia – the one voice Odysseus trusts becomes the deadliest lure.
What does “suffering” signify?
Both literal drowning risk and emotional toll; love demands pain, yet pain proves love.
Is Scylla truly safer than Poseidon?
The lyric argues it’s the only route – a harsh lesson that choice can shrink to the lesser terror.

How to Sing?

Keep tempo near ninety-six BPM. Odysseus lines sit in mid-tenor; aim for chest-mix warmth. Siren phrases float up a fifth – use light head voice, then dip into sultry lows on “jump in the water.” Dynamics matter: whisper the questions, belt the “suffering” refrain. Let vibrato quiver like distant waves, not stadium pop.

Music video


Epic: The Musical Lyrics: Song List

  1. The Troy Saga
  2. The Horse and the Infant
  3. Just A Man
  4. Full Speed Ahead
  5. Open Arms
  6. Warrior of the Mind
  7. The Cyclops Saga
  8. Polyphemus
  9. Survive
  10. Remember Them
  11. My Goodbye
  12. The Ocean Saga
  13. Storm
  14. Luck Runs Out
  15. Keep Your Friends Close
  16. Ruthlessness
  17. The Circe Saga
  18. Puppeteer
  19. Wouldn't You Like
  20. Done For
  21. There Are Other Ways
  22. The Underworld Saga
  23. The Underworld
  24. No Longer You
  25. Monster
  26. The Thunder Saga
  27. Suffering
  28. Different Beast
  29. Scylla
  30. Mutiny
  31. Thunder Bringer
  32. The Wisdom Saga
  33. Legendary
  34. Little Wolf
  35. We’d Be Fine
  36. Love in Paradise
  37. God Games
  38. The Vengeance Saga
  39. Not Sorry For Loving You
  40. Dangerous
  41. Charybdis
  42. Get in the Water
  43. 600 Strike
  44. The Ithaca Saga
  45. The Challenge
  46. Hold Them Down
  47. Odysseus
  48. I Can’t Help But Wonder
  49. Would You Fall In Love With Me Again

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