I heard this song a long time ago from the hit Broadway musical, Hadestown, and completely fell in love with it. The irony, right? Not only did the harmonies from the original cast of Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada collide perfectly, but the lyrics to this song are absolutely beautiful.

I was alone so long
I didn’t even know that I was lonely
Out in the cold so long
I didn’t even know that I was cold
Turned my collar to the wind
This is how it’s always been

All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own
All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own
But now I wanna hold you too

By the first verse, we see the lonely, cold world of Eurydice. It’s like complacency without even knowing it. Sometimes it takes a wake up call for you to realize the reality that you’ve been living in. I think everyone goes through that at some point in their life. You can’t see the damage while you’re standing in the eye of the storm. It’s hard to realize how deep you truly are without a forced change in perception. In Eurydice’s case, a change in perception for the absolute better. Her whole world is about to change and not only is she able to witness it, she gets to FEEL it.

You take me in your arms and
Suddenly there’s sunlight all around me
Everything bright and warm
And shining like it never did before
And for a moment I forget
Just how dark and cold it gets

All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own
All I’ve ever known is how to hold my own
But now I wanna hold you too

There are very few things in the world that are more beautiful than sunlight. Pure goodness and warmth. It fills you up and makes you forget what it was like being in the dark shadows. Your eyes open up to the blue sky and you can see all the color surrounding you. The crisp fresh wind, vibrant green leaves on the trees, the sunlight shining down. The idea that a person can do that is amazing. A person can be light and warmth. It’s security. You are safe with them.

Now I wanna hold you, hold you close
I don’t wanna ever have to let you go
Now I wanna hold you, hold you tight
I don’t wanna go back to the lonely life

This is how Orpheus makes Eurydice feel. He makes her feel safe. The familiarity of the cold darkness is overshadowed by the warmth he provides. How strong that love must be for her to want to never go back to that life she knows all too well.

I don’t know how or why
Or who am I that I should get to hold you
But when I saw you all alone against the sky
It’s like I’d known you all along

I knew you before we met
And I don’t even know you yet
All I know is you’re someone I have always known

Even Orpheus sees how alone Eurydice was and he knows the risk she’s taking by coming out of the shadows. But his world has also turned upside down. You can see how confused he is when meeting her. This is someone so real to him and safe that it feels like going back home. Except, home has come to him when he didn’t even know he left.

Say that you’ll hold me forever
Say that the wind won’t change on us
Say that we’ll stay with each other
And it will always be like this

I’m gonna hold you forever
The wind will never change on us
Long as we stay with each other

This is the moment of perfect trust and understanding. Eurydice opening up and being vulnerable about her fear of losing him. He is her sunlight and she’s more afraid of losing the light and warmth that is him, rather than having to return back to her dark, lonely world. Darkness is the absence of light. Like how the sun compliments the moon, Orpheus hears her and gives the most powerful reassurance someone can give to another person: he won’t leave her.

Then it will always be like this

No matter what happens, everything will be okay because nothing can ever be that bad as long as they’re able to take on the world together (or in their case, the underworld). I’d like to think that everyone finds their person. The one person they feel completely safe with, the one that gives sunlight and helps them to see the world in color. For me, I reside in the eye of the storm. I’m surrounded by darkness and it’s cold, but the eye of the storm is the safest place to be. I would like to step outside and see the sunshine, feel the warmth and the wind. But once I do, I can’t go back to the lonely life. Darkness is the absence of light and despite all I’ve ever known, I hope that my sunlight will never leave me.