It starts with a simple, rhythmic thumping. A bass line that feels less like music and more like a heartbeat or a hammer hitting stone. Then comes the voice—deep, gravelly, and terrifyingly certain. When Patrick Page first growled the Why We Build the Wall lyrics as Hades in the original Broadway cast of Hadestown, he wasn't just singing a song. He was channeling an ancient, uncomfortable human impulse.
The song is a masterpiece of circular logic. It’s a call-and-response chant where a charismatic leader asks his followers a series of questions, and they shout back the answers they’ve been conditioned to believe. "Why do we build the wall, my children?" he asks. "We build the wall to keep us free," they respond. It’s haunting. It’s catchy. And honestly, it’s a bit scary how easily those lyrics get stuck in your head.
What’s wild is when Anaïs Mitchell wrote these words. She didn't pen them in response to modern border wall debates or 2016 election cycles. She wrote them in 2006. That’s nearly two decades ago. The song was part of her original "folk opera" concept long before it became a Tony-winning Broadway sensation. It’s a testament to the fact that the themes of isolationism, fear, and economic anxiety aren't new—they're part of the human loop.
The Mechanics of Propaganda in Song
The structure of the Why We Build the Wall lyrics is built on a rhetorical device called "circular reasoning."
Hades: "What do we have that they should want?"
Workers: "We have a wall to keep them out."
Wait. Read that again. The wall exists to protect what they have, but the only thing they really seem to have is... the wall itself. It’s a closed loop. It’s brilliant songwriting because it illustrates how populist rhetoric often feeds on its own tail. The lyrics don't promise riches or happiness; they promise "freedom" from "enemy" influence, but the "enemy" is defined simply as anyone on the other side of the wall.
Mitchell used the character of Hades not as a cartoon villain, but as a boss. He’s the CEO of Hadestown. He offers "security" in exchange for "liberty." In the context of the show, Hadestown is an underground factory where nobody ever goes hungry, but nobody ever sees the sun. The wall isn't just a physical barrier; it’s a psychological one. It keeps the workers so busy building it that they don’t have time to realize they’re actually prisoners.
Why the Lyrics Felt Prophetic
Around 2016, when Hadestown was playing at the New York Theatre Workshop, the audience reaction shifted. Suddenly, a song written ten years prior felt like it was ripped from the morning’s headlines. People started asking Anaïs Mitchell if she’d updated the lyrics to reflect the political climate.
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She hadn't.
That’s the thing about great art—it taps into "archetypes." The idea of a wall is an archetype. It represents the boundary between "us" and "them," between the "civilized" world and the "wilderness." In the Why We Build the Wall lyrics, the "enemy" is "poverty."
"Because we have and they have not / Because they want what we have got."
It’s a brutal, honest look at how wealth inequality drives isolationism. If you have something and someone else doesn't, you start to fear them. You don't see them as a person; you see them as a threat to your resources. Hades exploits this fear. He tells his workers that the "others" are coming to take their jobs and their safety. It's a tale as old as time, or at least as old as the Greek myths the show is based on.
The Musicality of Submission
Musically, the song is a "work song." Think about old chain gang songs or sea shanties. These are designed to keep people in rhythm so they can perform repetitive manual labor for hours on end. The Why We Build the Wall lyrics function exactly like this. The beat is relentless.
Clap. Stomp. Chant.
When you hear it in the theater, the floor actually vibrates. You feel the weight of the stones being stacked. It’s seductive. You find yourself wanting to chant along because the rhythm is so certain. That’s the danger Mitchell is pointing out: there is a weird, dark comfort in being told exactly what to do and who to fear. It takes the burden of thinking off your shoulders.
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Orpheus vs. the Wall
The reason this song works so well in the narrative of Hadestown is because it sets the stakes for Orpheus. Orpheus is the dreamer. He’s trying to write a song that will bring the world back into tune—to bring back the spring.
Hades represents the "way things are." Orpheus represents "how they could be."
When Orpheus finally arrives in Hadestown to rescue Eurydice, he encounters this wall. It’s not just a fence; it’s a wall of people who believe they are free because they are "protected." The Why We Build the Wall lyrics serve as the anthem of the status quo. To break the wall, Orpheus doesn't use a hammer; he uses a melody. He tries to remind the workers of what they’ve forgotten: the feeling of the wind, the smell of the rain, and the fact that the people on the other side aren't enemies—they're just people.
The Impact on Modern Musical Theatre
Before Hadestown, political commentary in musicals often felt a bit "on the nose." But Mitchell’s approach with these lyrics was different. By rooting the song in a mythological underworld, she made it universal. It applies to 1930s labor movements just as much as it applies to 21st-century border policies.
Actors who have played Hades, from Patrick Page to Tom Hewitt, emphasize the "sincerity" of the character. Hades isn't lying to his workers. In his mind, he’s a provider. He’s giving them "work" and "protection." This makes the lyrics even more chilling. It’s not the sound of a tyrant screaming; it’s the sound of a fatherly figure calmly explaining why you should be afraid of your neighbor.
Deep Lyrics Breakdown: "The Enemy is Poverty"
One specific line always stands out: "The enemy is poverty / And the wall keeps out the enemy."
Think about that logic for a second. Can you keep "poverty" out with a wall? Poverty isn't a person. It’s a condition. But by personifying it, Hades gives his people something to fight against. He turns an abstract economic concept into a physical intruder. It’s a masterclass in manipulation. If you keep the workers focused on the "enemy" outside, they won't look at the man holding the whip inside.
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Honestly, it’s one of the most cynical verses in Broadway history, yet it’s sung with such soaring, choral beauty that you almost miss the darkness of it. That’s the "hook." It’s supposed to sound good. If propaganda sounded ugly, nobody would listen to it.
Takeaways for Your Next Listen
When you sit down to listen to the Hadestown cast recording again, try to listen for the "cracks" in the wall. Notice how the workers' voices start to sound a bit more tired as the song progresses. Notice the contrast between the deep, stable bass of Hades and the high, wandering melody of Orpheus later in the show.
If you’re a songwriter or a writer, there’s a lot to learn here about "show, don't tell." Mitchell doesn't tell us Hades is a manipulator. She shows us through the repetitive, circular nature of his speech. She creates a world through a rhythm.
How to experience the lyrics more deeply:
- Listen to the 2010 Concept Album: Before Broadway, the song had a much more "indie-folk" feel. It’s fascinating to hear the evolution.
- Watch the Stage Blocking: If you can see the show live or find clips, watch how the actors move. The wall is often represented by the actors themselves, showing that we are the ones who build our own barriers.
- Read the Myth of Sisyphus: The song echoes the eternal, pointless labor of Sisyphus. The wall is never "done." It’s a perpetual project.
The Why We Build the Wall lyrics remind us that the walls we build—whether they are made of stone, laws, or just ideas—often end up imprisoning the builder just as much as they exclude the outsider. It’s a warning wrapped in a catchy tune. And in 2026, as the world feels more divided than ever, that warning feels more relevant than it did when the ink was still wet on the page twenty years ago.
Next Steps for the Reader
To truly grasp the weight of these lyrics, compare them to "Working It" from the same soundtrack. You’ll see how the musical themes of labor and "freedom" are woven throughout the entire score. Additionally, look into the "Anarchist" origins of the Orpheus myth; it provides a different perspective on why Orpheus's song is such a threat to Hades's wall. Understanding the historical context of folk protest music will give you a much richer appreciation for why Mitchell chose this specific rhythmic style to convey such a heavy message.