Song Overview

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

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…”"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.
“You know I’m afraid of the water.”
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

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

- 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
- The Man Who Can’t Be Moved – The Script – A street-corner vigil mirrors Odysseus’ standstill, gifting time while braving heartbreak.
- Home – Michael Bublé – Jet-lagged crooner aches to return, echoing the nautical separation of hero and queen.
- 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.