Survive Lyrics - Epic: The Musical

Song Overview

Song Credits

• Featured: Steven Dookie
• Composer: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Release Date: July 4, 2024
• Genre: Pop, Orchestral, Musical Theatre
• Language: English
• Album: EPIC: The Musical
• Track #: 7
• Label: Winion Entertainment LLC
• Length: ~3 min
• Phonographic Copyright: ? 2024 Winion Entertainment LLC
• Copyright: © 2024 Winion Entertainment LLC

Song Meaning and Annotations

Polyphemus could’ve thrown a rock at Odysseus — that’s likely why the cave’s crumbling.

The ensemble chants Polyphemus in Greek.

My brothers. The rest of our fleet waits at the beach. And if we’re defeated, they’re as good as dead. Straight ahead, that is who we’re fighting… No backup, no chance for support. So draw out your swords. Our foe must be thwarted right here and now. Show me how great your will to survive.

Here, Odysseus matches Zeus’s melody from The Horse and the Infant, reflecting the power and authority he holds while commanding his crew.

This version of Zeus’s melody is more urgent, driven by tense percussion — likely the moment when Odysseus resolves to kill Polyphemus. The theme recurs multiple times in this track.

The Cyclops asks where Odysseus’s ships are. Odysseus responds: Poseidon destroyed them, and he came with just a few men. But there’s no time to lie — Polyphemus knows others are nearby.

This references Full Speed Ahead — once again, they go straight ahead.

The ensemble repeats threats loudly and rapidly, first heard with Polyphemus here — a faster echo of a melody from The Horse and the Infant.

A vision of what is to come, cannot be outrun. It can only be dealt with right here and now.

Then Odysseus asks:

Tell me how.

and Zeus had warned,

I don’t think you’re ready.

And yet, when the moment comes, Odysseus orders his men not to kill, but to blind Polyphemus — contradicting his earlier logic. This mercy brings Poseidon's wrath and extends their journey.

This marks the beginning of divine interference — a long war with the gods.

It also mirrors Odysseus’s shift toward Zeus-like leadership: commanding, measured, but wary of needless loss.

The turning point is when Polyphemus picks up a club — suddenly, he can reach. Odysseus’s warning to keep distance was right.

This could nod to Achilles in The Iliad — invincible, until the heel.

Polyphemus’s heel becomes his weakness. His size gives him strength, but not speed.

When clubless, he’s limited. But with it — he’s lethal.

This same knowledge helps Odysseus in Done For when he fights Circe’s chimera. He’s learned what a Cyclops is capable of.

There’s also a haunting callback to The Horse and the Infant — the infant Odysseus chose to kill to save his kingdom. This is another impossible choice.

“Push forward.” Possibly a phalanx — the Greek military formation — driving into battle.

We hear the club drag. Then crash.

A body rolls.

Polites’s first and last word in EPIC:

Captain.

Polyphemus brings the club down again. Polites is gone.

A soldier cries out:

He’s got a club, he’s got a club!

Another thud. Soldier #1 is dead.

In Homer’s version, Polyphemus bashes heads and eats them. Here, the club is his wrath.

Soldier #2 pleads:

Captain, Captai—

But his voice is cut off by another blow.

Odysseus is stunned. Paralyzed by Polites’s death. He doesn’t react. No orders. No escape. Nothing.

Just silence.

He is frozen. Shattered.

As the next song begins, Eurylochus’s voice is faded — because Odysseus is no longer present.

During these lines:

Six hundred lives I’ll take, six hundred lives I’ll break. And when I kill you, then my pain is over. You’re dying here and now; escape is not allowed. You won’t live through this day, now die, di-i-i—

Polyphemus slams the ground with his club — nine times.

In total, 14 soldiers die in this song — including Polites.

The club becomes percussion — its strikes punctuate every line. In the background, the “danger is nearby” motif plays again.

Polyphemus even begins to echo Odysseus’s phrasing — a power reversal.

As he kills, Polyphemus believes it will end his pain. That vengeance will quiet grief.

He traps the crew in the cave, just like in The Odyssey, blocking the exit with a stone only he can move.

Eventually, Polyphemus collapses. Drunkenness? No — the Lotus.

Odysseus mixed it into the wine. It worked. Polyphemus falls. Rocks crumble. Sand shifts.

The silence after is deafening.

Welcome to the Cyclops’ Lair

The track "Survive" by Jorge Rivera-Herrans & Steven Dookie doesn't whisper a ballad — it thunders into the listener like a war cry hurled across a battlefield. Pulled from EPIC: The Musical, it dramatizes a fierce moment from Homer’s Odyssey, transforming myth into a choral siege laced with modern theatrical thunder. At its core, this track is not just about brute force — it’s about desperation, leadership, and strategy. As Odysseus faces the monstrous Polyphemus, he doesn’t just command; he pleads, rallies, and ignites the dwindling fire in his men's hearts.

“Six hundred lives at stake, it's just one life to take / And when we kill him, then our journey's over”

This line serves as both the track's thesis and its war drum — a chilling math of survival, morality compressed into battlefield calculus.

The War Within the War

The song's brilliance lies in how it weaves the chaos of battle with layered vocal harmonies and commands that sound like shouted orders in a war film. It’s Odysseus versus the monster, yes — but it’s also man versus fear, leadership versus panic.

“No backup, no chance for support / So draw out your swords”

Here, the urgency shivers through the orchestration, swelling strings mimicking the tension in each soldier's breath. The lyrics hammer home that moment before all hell breaks loose, when courage is more necessity than virtue.

Polyphemus’ Retort — A Villain’s Verse

Then, the tables turn. Polyphemus gets his say — his verse.

“Six hundred lives I'll take, six hundred lives I'll break / And when I kill you, then my pain is over”

Suddenly, the monster isn’t just a brute. He’s a grieving, vengeful beast, which adds a touch of tragic grandeur. He’s not just an obstacle; he’s an echo of their own fury, mirrored in scale and wrath.

Musical Craftsmanship

The instrumentation — sweeping orchestral strings, percussive stomps like a titan’s march, layered with rapid-fire choral chants — pushes this into cinematic territory. Each voice in the ensemble is a soldier, each note a blade.

Similar Songs

1. "Wait for It" – Leslie Odom Jr. (from Hamilton)
   Both songs wrestle with fate, leadership, and legacy. Where "Survive" externalizes that battle in combat against Polyphemus, "Wait for It" dives inward, into Burr's quiet storm of ambition and restraint. They’re tactical anthems — one charging headlong, the other seething beneath the surface.
2. "One Day More" – Les Misérables Cast
   Ensemble-driven and emotionally charged, this track shares "Survive’s" sense of an impending clash. Both deliver multi-voiced declarations of purpose, fear, and readiness before a major turning point. They also showcase that irresistible blend of individual vs. collective will.
3. "The Battle" – Harry Gregson-Williams (from The Chronicles of Narnia)
   Though instrumental, this track and "Survive" conjure the same imagery — warriors racing into odds they barely understand. Both rely on orchestral swells and a push-pull of hope versus doom. “Survive” just adds voice to that symphony of tension.

Questions and Answers

What mythological moment does "Survive" depict?

It captures Odysseus’ confrontation with the Cyclops Polyphemus from Homer’s *Odyssey* — reimagined as a boss battle with high theatrical stakes.

What makes "Survive" stand out among musical theatre numbers?

Its battle-anthem tone, layered ensemble shouts, and cinematic orchestration fuse to create something between Broadway and a Marvel action sequence.

Is Polyphemus just a villain in this song?

Not quite. His lines frame him as a tragic, vengeful force — still monstrous, but not mindless. His pain is voiced, which gives depth to the conflict.

What musical styles does the track blend?

It fuses pop and orchestral theatricality — epic, sweeping arrangements with a modern choral structure that enhances the combat drama.

How does this track reflect Odysseus as a character?

He emerges as a strategist and leader, not a brute, but a calculating commander trying to protect his men while facing mythic odds.

Fan and Media Reactions

“This is the most cinematic thing I’ve heard from a musical in ages. Feels like I’m in the battle!” – YouTube User

“The way Odysseus commands… I got chills. Literal chills.” – YouTube Commenter

“Polyphemus' verse hit hard. Almost felt bad for him. Almost.” – Fan Reaction

“EPIC: The Musical keeps raising the bar. This? This was a masterpiece.” – Comment on official video

“Every ensemble member had a purpose. That’s rare. That’s good direction.” – Theatre Enthusiast