Alexander Hamilton Lyrics - Hamilton

Alexander Hamilton Lyrics

Alexander Hamilton

[AARON BURR]
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten
Spot in the Caribbean by Providence, impoverished in squalor
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

[JOHN LAURENS]
The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

[THOMAS JEFFERSON]
And every day, while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
Across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter

[JAMES MADISON]
Then a hurricane came, and devastation rained
Our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain
put a pencil to his temple and connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain

[BURR]
Well, the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man."
took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came.
And the world is gonna know your name.
What's your name, man?"

[ALEXANDER HAMILTON]
Alexander Hamilton.
My name is Alexander Hamilton.
And there are a million things I haven't done.
But just you wait, just you, wait.

[ELIZA HAMILTON]
When he was ten, his father split
Full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother, bed-ridden
Half-dead, sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick

[COMPANY]
And Alex got better, but his mother went quickly

[GEORGE WASHINGTON and COMPANY]
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride
Somethin' new inside
A voice saying Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf

[BURR & COMPANY]
There would've been nothing left to do
For someone less astute
He would've been dead and destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and other things he can't afford
Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on
Plannin' for the future, see him now as he stands on (oh)
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York, you can be a new man

[COMPANY & HAMILTON]
In New York, you can be a new man (Just you wait)
In New York, you can be a new man (Just you wait)
In New York, you can be a new man

[WOMEN & MEN]
In New York (New York)

[ALEXANDER HAMILTON]
Just you wait

[COMPANY]
Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
We are waiting in the wings for you (Waiting in the wings for you)
You could never back down
You never learned to take your time
Oh, Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
America Sings for you
Do they know what you overcame?
Do they know you rewrote the game?
The world will never be the same, oh

[BURR & COMPANY]
The ship is in the harbor now
See if you can spot him (Just you wait)
Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom (Just you wait)
His enemies destroyed his rep, and America forgot him

[MULLIGAN/MADISON & LAFAYETTE/JEFFERSON]
We fought with him

[LAURENS/PHILIP]
Me, I died for him

[WASHINGTON]
Me, I trusted him

[ELIZA, ANGELICA & PEGGY/MARIA]
Me, I loved him

[BURR]
And me, I'm the damn fool that shot him

[ALL]
There are a million things I haven't done, but just you wait

[BURR]
What's ya name, man?

[ALL]
Alexander Hamilton!


SONG DESCRIPTION AND ANNOTATIONS:

Hamilton, Alexander Hamilton lyrics
Artist singing the 'Alexander Hamilton' in music video.

The show "The King" uses Alexander Hamilton as its "antagonist" and chief narrator, a nod to classic Andrew Lloyd Webber productions. Burr describes Hamilton's life as a mix of illegitimacy, illegitimacy, and a lack of education. His mother, Rachel Lavien née Faucette, was separated from her abusive husband when she took up with James A. Hamilton, the fourth son of a Scottish laird.

Hamilton felt the effects of his illegitimacy from an early age, as he was born out of wedlock and had to make do with alternative means of education. His father abandoned his mother and their children, and his mother died of fever in early 1768. The husband claimed all of her worldly assets, leaving Hamilton orphaned and penniless at 13.

The opening lines of the show use the word "boss," which contradicts the negativity of each word, suggesting that Hamilton is more than the sum of his parts or his less-than-ideal upbringing. The word "providence" has a double meaning, meaning provisions toward the future or fate or God's intervention in the world.

In the 1700s, society held gentlemen-scholars in high regard, but Alexander Hamilton would go far beyond that ideal. Rising from modest beginnings, he became a Revolutionary War hero and used his sharp intellect to help lay the groundwork for a new nation. Today, his likeness, drawn from the 1805 Trumbull portrait, lives on in every ten-dollar bill.

With primary roles in the creation of the US financial system and the establishment of the US Mint, the use of Hamilton's portrait on currency is appropriate. Hamilton worked hard for everything he got, starting with his education in his youth. He received individual tutoring, attended private school led by a Jewish headmistress, and became a dedicated autodidact.

By age 14, Hamilton was working as a clerk at the import-export firm Beekman and Cruger, where his sharp mind and knack for organization quickly made him indispensable.

*Hamilton: The Musical* explores the intense life and enduring legacy of Alexander Hamilton, one of America's most pivotal founding fathers. His early struggles—and firsthand exposure to the brutality of the slave trade while handling cargo that included enslaved people—deeply shaped his abolitionist beliefs.

His foresight and leadership in designing the nation’s financial system laid the cornerstone for the strong centralized government the U.S. relies on today.

On August 31, 1772, a hurricane devastated Hamilton's city. Hamilton showed his mentor, Hugh Knox, a preacher at St. Croix, his letter about the hurricane, which was published anonymously. Hamilton's financial scheme could only have come from him and began to get us in the notion of "We're a United States."

The musical begins with Hamilton's introduction, as other famous rappers usually do. The song "New York" is reminiscent of "Empire State of Mind" by Jay Z and Alicia Keys, and there's an even more apparent nod to the song later on in "The Schuyler Sisters."

The musical also explores the characters who bore witness to Hamilton's life, such as John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other political rivals. Hamilton's outlived reputation allowed them to shape his place in history. However, Hamilton also did a lot to hurt his own reputation during his lifetime and was in many ways his own worst enemy.

In Act I, Hamilton proves his trustworthiness to Washington by being an impeccable resource for wartime tactics, strategy, and information-gathering. Washington repays that good service in Act II's peacetime by showing implicit trust in Hamilton's controversial financial scheme and political advice.

The show raises questions about whether Americans will accurately and sympathetically remember and historicize Hamilton the person.

In Act II, Maria Reynolds enters the play, introducing herself as the "antagonist" of the protagonist's life. The show's "antagonist" is Burr, who serves as the chief narrator of the protagonist's life, a nod to classic Andrew Lloyd Webber productions.

Lin-Manuel Miranda elaborates on the complex world of Nathaniel Hamilton's life, focusing on his past and present. Burr orients the audience to Hamilton in the present aboard the ship heading for his future. The players become characters, noting their relationship with Hamilton and summarizing their history. The company continues to orient the audience to the future of the show and Hamilton.

Scene from Alexander Hamilton track by Hamilton
Visual effects scene from 'Alexander Hamilton' enhancing the experience of the song words and music.
The first song, "Alexander Hamilton," serves several purposes in the production: it introduces the music to the listener, introduces many of the characters and themes that will play a part in the show, and introduces Hamilton himself. The song was originally written as the first on a theoretical hip-hop mixtape, which he might eventually stage à la Jesus Christ Superstar. Ron Chernow, who wrote the biography on which the play is primarily based, had a positive experience with the song, which was performed at the White House and received a standing ovation from the Obamas. Miranda's own words about the song's conception are that it took him a long time to wrestle this onto the stage and understand the worldviews of the characters that inhabit the show. Hamilton won Best Musical Theater Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, performed live in Los Angeles and New York, and was seen on a live screen from Los Angeles.

FAQ

Where and under what name was “Alexander Hamilton” first performed in public?
Lin-Manuel Miranda debuted the piece at the White House Poetry Jam on May 12, 2009, calling it “The Hamilton Mixtape,” six years before the show reached Broadway.
Which hip-hop tracks does the number explicitly reference?
The call-and-response “What’s your name?” echoes classic rap introductions by artists like DMX, while the soaring “New York” refrain nods to Jay-Z & Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind,” among several other sampled cadences.
How does the rhyme architecture mirror Hamilton’s relentless ambition?
The verse packs dense multisyllabic internal rhymes (“bastard / orphan / Scotsman”) and chained slant-rhymes that accelerate without pause, sonically depicting Hamilton’s drive to outrun his past.
What key and tempo is the song, and why were they chosen?
The piece sits in B-minor at roughly 132–134 BPM, a brisk pulse that maintains narrative urgency while the minor key underscores the hardships described.
Which historical details were compressed or altered for dramatic effect?
The lyrics merge events that happened years apart—such as Hamilton’s 1772 hurricane letter and his 1773 voyage to New York—into a single montage, and age him down to heighten the “prodigy” theme.


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Musical: Hamilton. Song: Alexander Hamilton. Broadway musical soundtrack lyrics. Song lyrics from theatre show/film are property & copyright of their owners, provided for educational purposes