Exploring the Meaning and Impact of "Guns and Ships" from Hamilton
Song Credits:
- Featuring Artists: Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr), Daveed Diggs (Marquis de Lafayette), Christopher Jackson (George Washington)
- Producers: Bill Sherman, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Alex Lacamoire, Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Composer and Writer: Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Release Date: September 25, 2015
- Label: Atlantic Records
- Musical Genre: Musical Theater, Hip-Hop
- Album: Hamilton: An American Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Language: English
- Mood: Energetic, Triumphant
Song Meaning
Daveed Diggs fires off Lafayette’s verse at near-machine-gun speed—still one of the quickest rap passages to hit a Broadway stage. That breakneck delivery isn’t just a vocal flex; it captures the urgency of the fight and Lafayette’s own “hit-fast, hit-hard” battlefield style. Laced through the lyrics are shout-outs to specific battles, commanders, and supply runs, mixing present-day hip-hop swagger with 18th-century strategy. The number underlines a recurring Hamilton theme: immigrants don’t just get the job done—they redefine the battlefield.
The show also draws a clever parallel between the ragtag American rebels and Alexander Hamilton’s equally improbable rise. Their army, built on volunteers, drove General Washington crazy; he hated relying on short-term enlistments and pressed Hamilton to advocate a professional, conscripted force in his memo “Sentiments on a Peace Establishment.” Congress, wary of standing armies, never enacted universal service during the war, so Washington and Lafayette had to make do—hence the scramble for “guns and ships.”
The term "superpower" is anachronistic in Hamilton, as it was not used until the mid-20th century. This section from Lin's notebook reveals an early draft of this section, which reads:
[BURR: How does a ragtag volunteer army in need of a shower Somehow defeat a global superpower? How does King George underestimate his haters?] King George: Once we beat the traitors, we'll be greeted as liberators! [MEN: Yay!!] No. We have a secret weapon! […]
The word "quagmire" can be taken as a piece of swamp land or a sticky situation—military, legal or otherwise. It's often used in conjunction with America's more recent military quagmires in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The Betsy Ross flag was the first popularly adopted version of the flag of the United States of America, designed while the Patriots were still fighting the Revolution. According to oral history, Betsy Ross created it for George Washington after he came to her seamstress shop to commission it from a sketch.
The company's repeated exclamation of Lafayette's name also echoes Hamilton's, but with the three syllables rising in pitch rather than falling. His line in particular emphasizes Lafayette's similarities to Hamilton.
Marquis de La Fayette, like Hamilton, was orphaned at an early age and joined the military at 13. He joined the military at 13 and was only 18 when, moved by the American cause and hoping to prove himself in battle, commissioned a ship and arranged to be appointed by the Continental Congress—then overseeing the American army—as a Major General. Unlike Hamilton, he was quickly received with warmth and deference due to his patriotism, strong connections with the French military and aristocracy, and his willingness to serve without pay.
The use of the term "immigrant" concerning Lafayette is interesting, as he played a gigantic part in America's war effort but was not a person who came to live permanently in a foreign country. Many states even made Lafayette a citizen of their states, with Maryland going so far as to establish him and all his male descendants as natural-born citizens.
Lafayette was a tactical wunderkind. His biggest selling point was his abilities as a kind of military Houdini. He pulled off one of the most daring escapes of the war outside Philadelphia in 1778 (during the Battle of Barren Hill). He was viewed by many as fighting for selfless reasons (for the liberty of others rather than for self-glory). When he came back from France during the war, morale was at a low point, and he was seen as a savior of sorts since he came through with supplies (i.e., French aid).
“Guns and Ships” is Act I’s whirlwind tribute to the Marquis de Lafayette. The song fires off at breakneck speed—Daveed Diggs delivers one of the fastest rap verses in Broadway history—mirroring the urgency of 1777 battlefields and Lafayette’s own “hit fast, hit hard” style. We hear references to specific campaigns, nods to French artillery, and the show’s recurring premise that immigrants do more than join the fight—they redefine it. Within the lyric, Lafayette boasts he’ll “get the job done,” and history backs him up: he brokered French arms, ships, and officers (including his friend Rochambeau) and turned Washington’s ragtag volunteer army into a force capable of boxing Cornwallis in at Yorktown.Even before the Revolution’s end, Lafayette’s legend grew: when he returned for America’s 50th anniversary tour in 1824, all 24 states greeted him like royalty. Hamilton hints at that enduring adoration in “Aaron Burr, Sir”: the ensemble shouts “Lafayette!” on three rising syllables—an echo of “Hamil-ton,” whose accents tumble downward.
The lyric “taking the horse by its reins” doubles as practical advice and political metaphor. A spooked horse must be controlled at the reins. Likewise, the undisciplined Continental Army needed firm leadership and hard supplies. Lafayette stepped into that breach, cajoling French officials for muskets, cannon, powder, and cash. Then, persuading fellow officers to cross the Atlantic and drill the Americans.
Opposite those scrappy colonials stood the British “Redcoats,” so named for their madder-root–dyed uniforms. That vivid scarlet made them easy targets in forests and fields—“big walking bulls-eyes,” as rebels liked to joke. Lafayette’s warning that he will “bleed and dye those red coats” is more than wordplay: he means to soak the cloth (and the men inside) in real blood. Bold talk, yet the French-born general proved good on it; by war’s end, he ranked among the Revolution’s most valuable commanders.
Within the musical’s larger frame, Washington’s frustration over short enlistments surfaces in his memorandum “Sentiments on a Peace Establishment,” which Hamilton helped transmit. He wanted a long-service, conscripted army—a policy Congress never adopted during the fight, forcing improvisers like Lafayette to hustle for every gun and every ship.
In the song, Lafayette spits out 19 words in an approximately 3-second span, making it the fastest set of lyrics in Broadway history. Daveed Diggs is a veteran of such mind-boggling pace, dealing out some seriously fast verses as an MC in clipping., his LA rap group. According to LMM's interview on Stephen Colbert, this line is also intended to show Lafayette's evolution from a weak English speaker in his first appearance in the show to this point, where his command of the English language is the most powerful of anyone in the show.
In 1779, Lafayette left America for France to campaign against the British colony of Canada. Despite being anti-British, he pressed Washington to invade Canada, which was then a loyal British colony. However, Washington turned him down, and Lafayette spent his time in France attempting to engineer a British invasion with France's allies, the Spanish. In July, it seemed like Lafayette would get his wish, but everything could go wrong, so he returned to America. He returned with France's promise of 6000 soldiers and provisions, and John Laurens, who came back with more guns, ships, and money.
The American cause was popular in France, but Lafayette had to campaign hard to get official support from the French government. The Revolution would have almost certainly failed without Lafayette's campaigning and the eventual ground troops and naval power France lent to the Americans. Jean-Baptiste Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, was commander-in-chief of the French forces sent to aid the American revolutionaries. In 1781, Washington's forces and Rochambeau's joined and abandoned a plan to attack New York, instead marching south to "consolidate" their force with the French Admiral de Grasse's fleet in Virginia to hem in Cornwallis and force the surrender of the British forces.
In actuality, Lafayette nominated his aide, Jean-Joseph Sourbader de Gimat, to lead the charge at Yorktown. Hamilton personally appealed to Washington for the command, and Lafayette was overruled. Gimat (and Laurens) served under Hamilton for the day.
The musical about Lafayette is about Hamilton, who was raised in Saint Croix by his mother, who was of French Huguenot descent. His fluency in French is unsurprising, as Danish was never spoken in large numbers there and had until 1733 been controlled by the French.
Lin-Manuel Miranda has spoken about the use of the word "ingenuitive" in his work. In the song, he describes it as an archaic conjugation of ingenuity, which he believes was there for him when he needed it. The pronunciation of this word sounds like "ami", the French word for "friend," emphasizing Hamilton's and Lafayette's camaraderie.
The line "Yeah, get ya right-hand man back" may be a nod to "Please Mr. Postman" by The Marvelettes, which contains the immortal line "Deliver de letter de sooner de better." Washington sings this verse in the style of "Alexander Hamilton," with some lines directly calling back to those in the opening number. The opening number is about history commenting on the legacy Hamilton left to it, setting the audience up for his next number, the directly legacy-focused "History Has Its Eyes On You."
Washington is once again reiterating how much he needs Hamilton. The emphasis on "tide" helps intensify the last four lines of the song and set the minor, eerie tone for the next song. The line "I have men who will take orders from you," but the submissive connotation of "yield" suggests much more.
This line calls back to the Continental army troops ready to yield to Hamilton's command from the previous line, but it reframes the context of "troops" and moves clearly into the other troops waiting in the field, the British troops who are unknowingly waiting to be defeated. Foreshadowing "One Last Time," Washington is just as concerned with "getting things right" as both Burr and Hamilton are. He's something of the happy medium between them, and so no wonder he comes off best of anyone in the show.
British surrender occurred on the morning of October 17th. The wording may be a reference to the line "by the dawn's early light" in the U.S. national anthem.
Key Imagery and Metaphors:
- "I'm takin' this horse by the reins, makin' redcoats redder with bloodstains" – This line underscores Lafayette's leadership on the battlefield and the brutal reality of war.
- "We rendezvous with Rochambeau, consolidate their gifts" – A reference to General Rochambeau, the French commander who played a key role in supporting the American forces.
- "Everyone give it up for America's favorite fightin' Frenchman!" – A celebratory nod to Lafayette’s contributions, recognizing him as an essential figure in the American Revolution.
Songs with Similar Themes
- "Alexander Hamilton" from Hamilton: This opening number introduces Hamilton’s rise from an orphan to a revolutionary leader, paralleling Lafayette’s journey as an immigrant who plays a crucial role in the war.
- "My Shot" from Hamilton: This song showcases Hamilton’s determination to prove himself and fight for America’s independence, echoing the ambition and urgency found in "Guns and Ships."
- "Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)" from Hamilton: This song depicts the decisive battle of Yorktown, where Lafayette’s strategies and alliances, as highlighted in "Guns and Ships," lead to victory.
Questions and Answers
- What role did Marquis de Lafayette play in the American Revolution?
- Lafayette was a French aristocrat who volunteered to fight for the American cause, becoming a major general in the Continental Army. His ability to secure financial and military support from France was instrumental in securing American independence.
- How does "Guns and Ships" reflect the themes of immigration?
- The song presents Lafayette as an immigrant who makes a critical impact on America’s fight for independence, reinforcing the idea that immigrants have shaped the nation’s history.
- Why is the rap delivery significant in "Guns and Ships"?
- The rapid rap delivery reflects the urgency and high stakes of the war, emphasizing the fast-paced nature of Lafayette’s military strategies and the rapid developments of the revolution.
Awards and Chart Positions
- The Hamilton cast recording, which includes "Guns and Ships," reached number one on the Billboard Rap Albums chart.
- Won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2016.
- The song was certified Gold by the RIAA on January 9, 2019.
Fan and Media Reactions
Fans and critics have widely praised "Guns and Ships" for its high-energy performance and historical storytelling. Daveed Diggs' rapid delivery as Lafayette has been recognized as one of the most impressive feats in Broadway history."This is one of the fastest Broadway songs ever, and Daveed Diggs delivers it flawlessly. It’s an electrifying moment in the show."The song continues to be a fan favorite, demonstrating the power of hip-hop in making history feel immediate and alive.