Hercules by Livingston Review

Today I will be reviewing the song ‘Hercules’ by Livingston.

 

https://youtu.be/l7IjITknG6k

 

Hercules, also known as Heracles or Herakles, is a hero of Greek and Roman Mythology.  He was a demi-god, born from Zeus and a human mother, Alcmene.  Zeus disguised himself as Alcmene’s lover, and slept with her, thus making Hercules.  Hercules was born with inhuman strength, thus forming the preface of the song.

 

While we’re here / Give me something that I’ll never forget / We would fly / Through the years / As if they never would end / Jumping over the fence / Before we knew where to stop.  Livingston sings of being in love, and how it can make time pass quickly and make you do rash things.  While we’re here / Tell me something that you’ll never regret / Your words went over my head / But they remind me of then / Jumping over the fence / Before we knew where to stop.  The song continues about love and sharing secrets.  

 

Now I’m alive, but I’m lonely / I’m not the child that you showed me to be / I’m terrified ’cause you know me / Better than I know myself.  Livingston is saying how love has shown him a lot of things about himself, and that he is afraid to lose it.  Love often brings out the best parts of us, so much so that you do not feel like yourself without your partner.  Ships in the night / When I found you / Now it’s city lights / Where I’m finding myself /Send me a sign, and I’ll come back / Give me a chance to bleed / I can’t be Hercules.  Comparison between when they first met and now.  Livingston is using Hercules as a symbol of pure strength, saying he is not Hercules is showing how he is simply a human and cannot be strong all the time; he needs time to heal from things.  Nowhere to hide / Or to turn to / I’m trying to find / What you see in myself / Send me a sign, and I’ll come back / Give me a chance to bleed / I can’t be Hercules.  He has no one to help him with this issue and he is trying to figure out what his love saw in him.  He wants her back and is willing to come back if she wants.  Now I’m gone / Sold my heart to still not know what I’m worth / New York sees through my facade / She knows that you loved me first / No, I could never pretend / As if I knew where to start.  He has trouble understanding his value, and has put on a type of fake personality that can be seen through.  

 

After a repeat of the chorus, we have a bridge off: What is the point of changing / If I only lose the one I love? / I counted my stars to make it / But I couldn’t become more than who I was.  In the myths of Hercules, he is struck by a curse of madness and kills his wife; I believe this is what it is referring to.  However it is also metaphorical for how he also lost his love.  After this the chorus repeats one more time for lasting effect.

Author: Lillian Denney

Award winning writer, Lillian enjoys writing short stories, poems, and other personal works. Lillian also enjoys art, gaming, basketball, and archery. She likes anime and other cartoons. She also enjoys reading but rarely has the time and has been reading "Cell" by Steven King for a year.