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Why We Build the Wall Lyrics
HADES
Why do we build the wall?
My children, my children
Why do we build the wall?
CERBERUS
Why do we build the wall?
We build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
HADES
How does the wall keep us free?
My children, my children
How does the wall keep us free?
CERBERUS
How does the wall keep us free?
The wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
HADES
Who do we call the enemy?
My children, my children
Who do we call the enemy?
CERBERUS
Who do we call the enemy?
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
HADES
Because we have and they have not!
My children, my children
Because they want what we have got!
CERBERUS
Because we have and they have not!
Because they want what we have got!
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
HADES
What do we have that they should want?
My children, my children
What do we have that they should want?
CERBERUS
What do we have that they should want?
We have a wall to work upon!
We have work and they have none
And our work is never done
My children, my children
And the war is never won
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
We build the wall to keep us free
Why do we build the wall?
My children, my children
Why do we build the wall?
Why do we build the wall?
We build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
How does the wall keep us free?
My children, my children
How does the wall keep us free?
How does the wall keep us free?
The wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
Who do we call the enemy?
My children, my children
Who do we call the enemy?
Who do we call the enemy?
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
Because we have and they have not!
My children, my children
Because they want what we have got!
Because we have and they have not!
Because they want what we have got!
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
What do we have that they should want?
My children, my children
What do we have that they should want?
What do we have that they should want?
We have a wall to work upon!
We have work and they have none
And our work is never done
My children, my children
And the war is never won
The enemy is poverty
And the wall keeps out the enemy
And we build the wall to keep us free
That’s why we build the wall
We build the wall to keep us free
We build the wall to keep us free
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Something I think people overlook in Hadestown, is that Hades is NOT the archetypical modern capitalist. He's a sincerely paternalistic, company town owner, something that hardly exists today. We had such people where I live, apostles of the pietist preacher Hans Nielsen Hauge. They genuinely believed that all "worldly" happiness was pointless since it would all end in sorrow anyway ("each moment of joy you had on earth will be paid in sorrow" as one playwright described it), and that the only escape from the existential dread and dark thoughts of this certainty, was to work yourself to utter exhaustion, so you couldn't think. It also fits nicely in with the mythological Hades: he wants them to let go of all their hopes, desires, longings, that keep them tethered to the world. So they can drink the water of Lethe and forget everything, so they can be reborn. The wall Hadestown Hades makes them build blocks out both the joys and suffering of the world, and what they get in return is the blissful oblivion of exhaustion.
But there's a crack in the wall. His wife undermines his effort, and tempts the dead with pale memories of the world they left. She may be the goddess of spring and rebirth, but Persephone has a bit of a cruel streak too. Make no mistake, she likes being queen of the underworld too. Those pomegranates taste good.
This song was written in the 2000's for the music theater piece Hadestown, in which the character of Hades uses this song for indoctrination.
Anaïs Mitchell wrote a nice piece for The Huffington Post in 2016, explaining the songs origins and noting its uncanny political relevance in anticipation of the 2016 US presidential election:
"(...) America, too, has a choice coming up. I’ve taken to saying, when I play “Why We Build the Wall” now at my own shows: “This song is ten years old… Any resemblance of any contemporary political figures to the King of the Underworld is purely coincidental.”
But we all know the Underworld Boss/King archetype when we see him. Let’s not elect him President."