Anais Mitchell How Long
PERSEPHONE
Hades, my husband, Hades, my light
Hades, my darkness
If you had heard how he sang tonight
You’d pity poor Orpheus!
All of his sorrow won’t fit in his chest
It just burns like a fire in the pit of his chest
And his heart is a bird on a spit in his chest
How long, how long, how long?
HADES
How long? Just as long as Hades is King
Nothing comes of wishing on stars
And nothing comes of the songs people sing
However sorry they are
Give them a piece and they’ll take it all
Show them the crack and they’ll tear down the wall
Lend them an ear and the Kingdom will fall
The Kingdom will fall for a song
PERSEPHONE
What does he care for the logic of kings?
The laws of your underworld?
It is only for love that he sings!
He sings for the love of a girl
HADES
You and your pity don’t fit in my bed
You just burn like a fire in the pit of my bed
And I turn like a bird on a spit in my bed
How long, how long, how long?
PERSEPHONE
How long? Just as long as I am your wife
It’s true the earth must die
But then the earth comes back to life
And the sun just goes on rising
HADES & PERSEPHONE
And how does the sun even fit in the sky?
It just burns like a fire in the pit of the sky
And the earth is a bird on a spit in the sky
How long, how long, how long?
