Why Do We Build The Wall?

From the musical Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell
Why do we build the wall, My children, my children? Why do we build the wall?
Why do we build the wall? We build the wall to keep us free That’s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free
How does the wall keep us free, My children, my children? How does the wall keep us free?
How does the wall keep us free? The wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That’s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free
Who do we call the enemy, My children, my children? Who do we call the enemy?
Who do we call the enemy? The enemy is poverty And the wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That’s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free
Because we have and they have not, My children, my children Because they want what we have got
Because we have and they have not Because they want what we have got The enemy is poverty And the wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That’s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free
What do we have that they should want, My children, my children? What do we have that they should want?
What do we have that they should want? We have a wall to work upon We have work and they have none
And our work is never done! My children, my children! And the war is never won
The enemy is poverty And the wall keeps out the enemy And we build the wall to keep us free That’s why we build the wall We build the wall to keep us free We build the wall to keep us free...