How to get to Hadestown
You’ll have to take the long way down
Through the underground, under cover of night
Laying low, staying out of sight
Ain’t no compass, brother, there ain’t no map
Just a telephone wire and the railroad track
Keep on walking and you don’t look back
’til you get to the bottomland -- Hermes explaining how to get to Hadestown to Orpheus on the song Wait For Me from Anais Mitchell's new album, Hadestown
So begins the song describing Orpheus going to Hadestown to rescue Eurydice off of Anais Mitchell's new album, Hadestown. It's a folk opera set in post-apocalyptic depression era south that is based on the Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice. In the original story, Orpheus is the best musician and poet around and is very much in love with his wife Eurydice. When she gets bitten by snakes and is pulled down to the underworld, Orpheus is convinced by others to do what very few have done before -- go down to the underworld, rescue Eurydice, and pull her back to the living world. He makes it down successfully and, through his beautiful music, is able to convince Hades to let Eurydice return with him to the living world. However, Hades will only let her go on one condition -- Orpheus must walk ahead of her and he can't look back until they're both out of the underworld. Of course Orpheus agrees and walks ahead, but once he gets out of the underworld, he is so excited that he looks back before she's out and she gets pulled back down forever.
Anais Mitchell's telling of this tale is very creatively set in the depression-era South with Hades being the king-boss of a wall-building corporation in the underworld city of Hadestown. Since it's set in the depression, he convinces the citizens to come to Hadestown b/c he can offer work. What they don't know is, once they go down, they can never return. B/c Orpheus is poor and can't support her, Eurydice is lured down to Hadestown. Orpheus doesn't trust Hades and tries to convince Eurydice to stay with him. She won't listen and ends up taking the train down to Hadestown. Orpheus then meets Hermes who tells him how to secretly get down to Hadestown and Orpheus sets off to rescue Eurydice. Just like the original story, and with a little help from Persephone--a speakeasy owner selling air, rain, and sunshine in Hadestown--Hades is convinced to let Orpheus take Eurydice out of the underworld. As the story goes, they both walk out, but only Orpheus escapes and the opera ends with Persephone and Eurydice singing a reverse elegy to Orpheus.
It's an incredibly creative and interesting album and includes a cast of modern indie-rock stars -- Orpheus is played by Justin Vernon of Bon Iver, Hermes is played by Ben Knox Miller of The Low Anthem, Hades is played by Greg Brown, Persephone by Ani DiFranco, and Eurydice by Anais Mitchell. I highly recommend it.
This week's show was originally inspired by the movie Crazy Heart and as I gathered similar songs all week, I stumbled upon Hadestown. So tonight's show includes songs inspired by Crazy Heart as well as tunes inspired by Hadestown.
1. Link Wray - Big City After Dark - Missing Link Vol. 2
2. Jeff Bridges - Hold On You - Crazy Heart Soundtrack
3. Ryan Bingham - The Weary Kind - Crazy Heart Soundtrack
4. Ryan Bingham - I Don't Know - Crazy Heart Soundtrack
5. A.A. Bondy - How Will You Meet Your End - American Hearts
6. A.A. Bondy - There's A Reason - American Hearts
7. The Low Anthem - To Ohio - Oh My God Charlie Darwin
8. The Low Anthem - (Don't) Tremble - Oh My God Charlie Darwin
9. Anais Mitchell - Wedding Song - Hadestown
10. Anais Mitchell - Wait For Me - Hadestown
11. Anais Mitchell - Why We Build The Wall - Hadestown
12. Townes Van Zandt - If I Needed You - High, Low, And In Between
