Anaïs Mitchell
Wait for Me
[HERMES, spoken]
How to get to Hadestown:
You have to take the long way down
Through the underground, under cover of night
Layin' low, stayin' out of sight
Ain't no compass, brother, ain't no map
Just a telephone wire and a railroad track
Keep on walkin' and don't look back
'Til you get to the bottomland

[ORPHEUS]
Wait for me, I'm comin'
Wait, I'm comin' with you
Wait for me, I'm comin' too
I'm comin' too

[HERMES, spoken]
The River Styx is high and wide
Cinder bricks and razor wire
Walls of iron and concrete
Hound dogs howling 'round the gate
Those dogs'll lay down and play dead
If you got the bones, if you got the bread
But if all you got is your own two legs
Just be glad you got 'em
[ORPHEUS & Chorus]
Wait for me, I'm comin'
Wait, I'm comin' with you
Wait for me, I'm comin' too
I'm coming too

[FATES]
Who are you?

[LACHESIS]
Where do you think you're going?

[FATES]
Who are you?

[CLOTHO]
Why are you all alone?

[FATES]
Who do you–

[LACHESIS]
–Think you are?

[FATES]
Who are you–
[ATROPOS]
–To think that you can walk a road that no one ever walked before?

[ORPHEUS]
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la

(The CHORUS begins to echo and do rounds)

[Chorus]
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la

[ORPHEUS]
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la

(HERMES cuts them off)

[HERMES]
You're on the lam, you’re on the run!
Don't give your name, you don't have one
And don't look no one in the eye
That town'll try to suck you dry
They'll suck your brain, they'll suck your breath
They'll pluck the heart right out your chest
They'll truss you up in your Sunday best
And stuff your mouth with cotton!
[ORPHEUS & CHORUS]
Wait for me Wait for me (I'm comin'!)
I'm comin' I'm comin' (I'm comin'!)
Wait, I'm comin' with you Wait, I'm comin with you
(I'm comin'!)
Wait for me, I'm comin' too Wait for me, I'm comin' too
(Wait I'm comin')
I'm comin'! I'm comin'!

[Chorus]
Wait!

[ORPHEUS]
I'm comin', wait for me

[Chorus]
Wait!

[ORPHEUS & HERMES]
I hear the walls repeating

[Chorus]
Wait!

[ORPHEUS, HERMES & Chorus]
The falling of my feet and

[ORPHEUS & Chorus]
It sounds like drumming

[Chorus]
Wait!

[ORPHEUS, HERMES & CHORUS]
And I am not alone

[Chorus]
Wait!

[ORPHEUS, HERMES & Chorus]
I hear the rocks and stones

[Chorus]
Wait!

[ORPHEUS, CHORUS]
Echoing my song
I'm comin'! Comin', comin', comin'...