ok but can we talk about the lyrics in I Cant Help But Wonder?
there are SO many little details in the lyrics of this song that I haven’t seen anyone point out and I need to write them down to stop me from going insane.
First cool thing, notice the difference in phrasing
Telemachus: “I cant help but wonder” Odysseus: “I can only wonder”
It’s small but SUPER substantial. The wording of “can’t help” usually suggests hesitance, like he shouldn’t be wondering but can’t stop himself. And this makes sense, Telemachus spent his whole life with about his dad, and likely had to condition himself to not think about him much to deal with the fact.
Odysseus’s “can only” on the other hand is much more eager, as if he wishes that he could do more but can’t. And again, this is in line with his character. For the past 20 years he’s wanted nothing more than to reconnect with his family and finally meet his son. He doesn’t know anything about Telemachus, but desperately wants to.
Second, when Ody is talking about the impossible things that he said he’d do for Telemachus, these are all things that he’s ALREADY DONE for him.
“Used to say I’d make the storm clouds cry for you” “Used to say I’d capture wind and sky for you”
the “capture wind and sky” obviously refers to the windbag that Aeolus gave him
the “make the storm clouds cry” is a bit more of a stretch but I think it still works. Poseidon was the one who sent out the huge storm and is the god of the sea, so for all intents and purposes, HE IS the storm clouds. And Ody most definitely made him cry…
So Odysseus isn’t just being dramatic with the impossible things he’d do, these are things that he was very literally willing to do for his son, which goes to show how much he loves Telemachus without even meeting him yet.
