This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
He surely sails on tameless seas
With idle hours in devils hands
One hundred men on tameless seas
Always searching for sacred land
Rain lashing raw shoulders
So heave, onwards, and heave again!
With wrists bangled in scars again
From below, she watched only him
Secretly, she watched only him
Stowaway, she crept so grim
He surely sails enchanted seas
Hearing voices he believes
Hail Odysseus, come to us
So heave onwards and heave toward us
With wrists bangled with gold and stars
And from below she screams out ‘No! Odysseus, please don’t go’!
And you must fear the voice you hear
Already now, they’re so near
‘And you will fall at the sirens call, into their poisoned claws!’
Fearing loss she watched them go
The sirens, she thought, take me
From below, she leapt into the sea
From the sea to the land, greeting her, a golden hand
‘Welcome child, to our isle, become one, take my hand’
So it was, a new voice sung aloud from the sand
‘So now sing, lure them in, Odysseus can be your king
The only way to love him, dear child, is to sing them in’
And so it was, the crew were lost, even brave Odysseus
Into her arms forevermore, she sings no longer on the shore
With idle hours in devils hands
One hundred men on tameless seas
Always searching for sacred land
Rain lashing raw shoulders
So heave, onwards, and heave again!
With wrists bangled in scars again
From below, she watched only him
Secretly, she watched only him
Stowaway, she crept so grim
He surely sails enchanted seas
Hearing voices he believes
Hail Odysseus, come to us
So heave onwards and heave toward us
With wrists bangled with gold and stars
And from below she screams out ‘No! Odysseus, please don’t go’!
And you must fear the voice you hear
Already now, they’re so near
‘And you will fall at the sirens call, into their poisoned claws!’
Fearing loss she watched them go
The sirens, she thought, take me
From below, she leapt into the sea
From the sea to the land, greeting her, a golden hand
‘Welcome child, to our isle, become one, take my hand’
So it was, a new voice sung aloud from the sand
‘So now sing, lure them in, Odysseus can be your king
The only way to love him, dear child, is to sing them in’
And so it was, the crew were lost, even brave Odysseus
Into her arms forevermore, she sings no longer on the shore
Lyrics submitted by In_My_Dreams
Hail Odysseus Lyrics as written by Andrew David Craighan Aaron Stainthorpe
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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