"How Long?" lyrics - ANAIS MITCHELL

[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?