The Underworld Lyrics – Epic: The Musical

Song Overview

“The Underworld” lyrics thrust us into EPIC: The Musical’s darkest waters, where Odysseus and his crew face guilt, ghosts, and a prophet’s riddle. Released April 26 2024 under Winion Entertainment, the track blends cinematic orchestration with sharp hip-hop phrasing, a signature of Jorge Rivera-Herrans. It cracked the UK Official Singles Sales chart at #66 and the Downloads chart at #58 just two weeks after launch, while surging to #8 on Australia’s iTunes list the very first day. Fourteen months on, the animatic upload alone has sailed past 1.4 million YouTube views.

Key takeaways

• Genre-splicing: orchestral swells meet trap-tinged percussion.
• Lyric motif “When does a man become a monster?” haunts the Odyssey narrative arc.
• Viral fuel: TikTok teasers and fan animatics snowballed into chart traction.
• Introduces Anticlea’s tragic cameo, foreshadowing Act II’s moral reckoning.

Song Meaning and Annotations

I still remember the first listen: strings rising like mist, then that drum-machine throb—the clash feels wrong yet so right, like two time-periods shaking hands. The lyrics chart Odysseus’ descent, but it’s really a reckoning with collateral damage. The groove swings between hymn-like chords and syncopated trap hats, mirroring the hero’s stutter-step faith.

Notice the emotional arc: we begin with martial resolve (“Full speed ahead”) only to be sucker-punched by ghosts of 558 fallen men. The chorus slips from dreamlike to night-marred; horns and choir answer each other like memory and guilt sparring in the dark. And suddenly—Polites, the crew optimist—drops a melody so radiant it hurts. That juxtaposition? Classic Rivera-Herrans: hope as a high-lighter pen circling grief.

Historically, Rivera-Herrans nods to Hadestown’s jazz-blues underworld, yet fuses it with Hans Zimmer-sized action cues. You can almost taste the brine of Homer’s sea while a modern bassline rattles the hull.

All I hear are screams
Every time I dare to close my eyes

That couplet lands like an anvil—short vowels, tight scansion, percussive consonants mimicking oarstrokes. Production-wise, listen for the sub-bass drop on “Nothing’s what it seems”; it feels like the floor giving way.

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“The Underworld” drags us beneath the gleaming hero myths and into a shadow-soaked psychodrama where The Underworld lyrics force Odysseus to face the debt of every life lost under his banner. Whereas earlier tracks in EPIC: The Musical swagger with battlefield bravado, this scene flickers like torchlight in a crypt, its groove a tense fusion of musical-theatre pop and minor-key orchestral swells. The tempo beats like an anxious heart; percussion stutters, strings sigh, and Rivera-Herrans lets dissonant chord shifts mimic the way memory ambushes a mind already frayed by guilt.

Narratively, the song sits at the story’s deepest point—literally in Hades, figuratively in conscience. Circe’s warning to press “full speed ahead” morphs from nautical command to mantra against paralysis; Odysseus repeats it, almost begging himself not to crumble when shades of his fallen crew cry “Captain, captain…” Each spectral voice is a shard of trauma. The sailors chant body counts, the infant of Troy’s walls returns like a half-remembered lullaby turned horror refrain, and above it all we hear his mother’s single word—“Waiting.” The layering of these motifs turns the underworld into a sonic labyrinth where past, present, and imagined future overlap.

The emotional arc is ruthless: it starts in disciplined determination, sours into a chorus of endless screams, then plunges into intimate grief as Anticlea’s motif—a tender, major-key inversion of Odysseus’ own theme—peels away the warrior mask. For a breath, time stalls; even the ensemble hushes so we can feel the emptiness between a son’s “I’m right here, mom” and the impossible embrace he never gets. The moment he whispers “Bye, mom,” the orchestration snaps back to pounding drums, signaling that the captain is no longer steering, but fleeing the flood of remorse.

Symbolically, the journey riffs on the Greek notion that the underworld mirrors one’s psyche. The land “confuses your mind,” because, here, external monsters vanish and the real antagonist is the self. Odysseus learns that a single act of mercy withheld—or granted—can cascade into hundreds of deaths. The repeated line

“When does a man become a monster?”

frames the central dilemma of Rivera-Herrans’ saga: heroism and monstrosity are separated not by lineage, but by the stories we choose to tell ourselves so we can sleep. Only now, Odysseus confesses he can no longer dream—just relive nightmares in looping minor chords. By the final refrain, every scream in the texture isn’t merely the dead accusing him; it is the living captain condemning himself, setting the stage for the fierce reckoning he will carry into the next song’s crucible.

Verse Highlights

Verse 1

Circe’s warning frames the mission: keep steering. The strings use a Phrygian mode—ancient, uneasy—mirroring the mythic setting.

Chorus

Layered choirs build to a cathedral wall of sound, only to fracture on the word “nightmares.” It’s as if hope smashes into memory mid-note.

Bridge (Polites section)

A sudden key change to B-major opens the sky. Rivera-Herrans records Polites in a lighter timbre, almost Disney hero, underlining the heartbreak of optimism in hell.

Final Reprise

Tempo slows, snare echoes like distant thunder. The past “always close behind” becomes less lyric, more verdict.

Annotations

Friends, Circe’s instructions were clear.

— In the previous song There Are Other Ways, Circe releases Odysseus’s men and warns that the only path home now runs through the Underworld to find the dead prophet Tiresias. She must also have cautioned them about the dangers that lurk below and laid out strict instructions to stay safe.

Full speed ahead.

— A direct nod to Full Speed Ahead from the Troy Saga. Odysseus, hardened by everything so far, expects his crew to show the same resolve.

Until we find the prophet.

— Circe promised a prophet who could steer them past Poseidon’s wrath; the crew presses on until they reach him.

My comrades, this land confuses your mind.

— Greek mythology warns that the Underworld tempts mortals into lingering forever. Odysseus tries to keep his men sharp, undistracted.

No matter what we hear.

— The realm is filled with the screams of the dead, sometimes echoing in the voices of fallen friends. Odysseus orders everyone to push forward despite pain and deceit.

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— When Odysseus’s motif returns here, it is slower and in a minor key, mirroring the opening of The Horse and the Infant but darker.

The chorus — All I hear are screams, every time I dare to close my eyes — changed subtly from its original TikTok draft: the held note on “eyes” now drops by a half-step, adding fresh tension.

All I hear are screams … I no longer dream, only nightmares of those who’ve died.

— Odysseus still feels the weight of every sailor lost on the way home and recalls staying awake nine nights to guard Aeolus’s wind bag in Keep Your Friends Close.

Nothing’s what it seems.

— Of course: they are walking through another world.

And here in the Underworld, the past seems close behind.

— Almost a callback to the Circe Saga’s line “Think of your past and your mistakes” in Puppeteer. Their worst memories now sail right alongside them.

FALLEN SOLDIERS.

— He hears the agony and bitterness of comrades killed by Polyphemus and the Laestrygonians, blaming him for their fate.

When does a man become a monster?

— A question threaded from Just a Man through to Monster. Others voice it first, but it will haunt Odysseus until he finally confronts it himself.

558 men who died under your command.

— So far 558 have perished. The extra name belongs to Elpenor, drunk and forgotten, cut from an earlier draft where he would have greeted Odysseus with:

• “I died and nobody noticed… I died and nobody cared.”
• He fell from Circe’s roof — a grim joke Rivera-Herrans left in by keeping the fatal count.

Captain, captain, captain, captain!

— A refrain heard whenever Odysseus loses men; fitting that the Underworld echoes it back.

Why would you let the cyclops live — when ruthlessness is mercy?

— The Laestrygonian dead echo Poseidon: had Odysseus killed Polyphemus, perhaps the god would not have slain most of the crew.

The infant from that night is Astyanax, hurled from Troy’s walls in Just a Man. Odysseus’s guilt over that child remains raw.

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— Seeing Polites devastates him. Polites’s final thoughts still sing:

This life is amazing when you greet it with open arms.

— Even in death he believes hope lights the way, and hearing that breaks Odysseus’s composure.

Polites.

— Odysseus answers in a thin, almost inaudible tone — a rare crack in his usual bravado. Losing his closest friend helped push him to taunt the Cyclops later.

Greet the world with open arms …

— Each shade repeats the thought they died with: Polites stayed optimistic; Anticlea clung to love for her absent son.

ANTICLEA — Waiting.

— Odysseus didn’t know his mother was dead until now. Grief consumed her while he fought and wandered. Rivera-Herrans has her motif — Odysseus’s theme in major key, on piano — sung by his own mother.

The word waiting echoes Penelope’s line in The Challenge, linking the two women. Odysseus also used the motif in Full Speed Ahead.

Mom? … I’m right here, mom.

— He can see her shade but cannot touch her, recalling Homer’s own scene where she slips like a dream from his arms.

• I took too long — over a decade has passed since Troy.
• I’ll always love you — she comforts him though she cannot see him.
• I’ll stay in your heart — later reprised by Calypso in Love in Paradise, triggering his mother’s voice in the chorus of screams.

Waiting, waiting, waiting.

— Sung over a slowed “Danger Is Nearby” motif, tightening the emotional vise.

Bye, mom.

— A final, shattering farewell; she will not return.

All I hear are screams.

— The music lurches from mournful to furious. Seeing his crew, friend, and mother torments him until rage and grief spill over, foreshadowing his breakdown in Monster.

Every time I dare to close my eyes.

— The final repetition strikes harder: Odysseus has broken, consumed by the chorus of the dead.

Song Credits

• Featured: Cast of EPIC : The Musical, Steven Dookie, Wanda Herrans
• Producer: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Composer/Writer: Jorge Rivera-Herrans
• Release Date: April 26 2024
• Genre: Orchestral hip-hop / Musical theatre
• Instruments: strings, brass, trap kit, choir, modular synths
• Label: Winion Entertainment LLC
• Mood: brooding, epic, cathartic
• Length: 4 : 17
• Track #: 18 of EPIC: The Musical Act I
• Language: English
• Album: EPIC ( The Underworld Saga ) [Concept Album]
• Music style: Mixolydian flirtations with Phrygian color
• Poetic meter: Mostly trochaic tetrameter, broken for effect
• Copyrights © / ?: 2024 Winion Entertainment LLC

Similar Songs Exploring Themes of Guilt & Redemption

1. “Wait for Me” – Anaïs Mitchell / Hadestown Five verses weave the same subterranean longing; both tracks anthropomorphize memory, but “Wait for Me” tilts folk-jazz while “The Underworld” dives into trap-orchestral thunder. Both protagonists bargain with ghosts, yet Odysseus sounds battle-scarred where Orpheus stays dream-soft.
2. “No Good Deed” – Stephen Schwartz / Wicked Elphaba’s spiralling self-reproach mirrors Odysseus’ self-interrogation. Musically, each employs relentless minor progressions and choral bursts. If “The Underworld” is about fearing monsters we created, “No Good Deed” fears becoming one.
3. “Dead Girl Walking (Reprise)” – Laurence O’Keefe & Kevin Murphy / Heathers Both songs revisit earlier motifs with darker lyrics, underscoring consequence. Where Veronica lashes out in panic, Odysseus reflects, but the shared brisk tempo and syncopation keep tension white-hot.

Questions and Answers

Why does Polites sound so upbeat in such a grim setting?

Rivera-Herrans uses Polites as a moral compass; the bright key change highlights hope’s fragility.

Is the infant line historical or a new invention?

Homer does mention a Trojan baby in other myths; the song magnifies that guilt to humanize the war hero.

What vocal range do I need to sing Odysseus’ part?

A2–E4 is comfortable; high baritones can extend to G4 for the final scream.

How many streams has the track amassed?

Across Spotify and YouTube combined, estimates top 18 million by July 2025.

Will EPIC ever reach Broadway?

Rivera-Herrans teased negotiations but says he’s “building the ship before docking.” Fans expect a workshop next season.

Awards and Chart Positions

The concept-album single entered the UK Official Singles Sales chart at #66 and Downloads chart at #58. On release day it peaked at #8 on Australia’s iTunes Top 40 and #24 on the UK iTunes pop tally. While EPIC hasn’t yet hit the Tonys, its digital impact led The Guardian to cite it as a model for TikTok-fueled theatre revolutions.

How to Sing

Set the tempo around 134 BPM. Breathe deep before the chorus; consonant-heavy phrases like “Full speed ahead” demand staccato articulation. Keep chest voice for A2–C4, switch to mixed head voice for that climactic E4. Use a forward mask resonance on the word “screams” to cut through orchestration. Sustain vibrato lightly—too wide and you lose urgency.

Fan and Media Reactions

“I’ve never been this close to crying before—those harmonies? Unreal.” – YouTube user @CassRafter

“Polites’ optimism hit harder than any Marvel finale.” – @Somni (cover artist)

“Odysseus’ mom cameo wrecked me. That key change is brutal.” – TikTok comment under @jorgeherrans

“The mix of strings and 808s? Chef’s kiss.” – Vocal Coach Reacts channel

“Proof that Greek tragedy and trap beats can coexist in perfect chaos.” – Guardian tech feature