Non-Stop Lyrics
Non-Stop
[BURR]After the war I went back to New York
[HAMILTON]
A-After the war I went back to New York
[BURR]
I finished up my studies and I practiced law
[HAMILTON]
I practiced law, Burr worked next door
[BURR]
Even though we started at the very same time
Alexander Hamilton began to climb
How to account for his rise to the top?
Maaaaan, the man is
Non-stop!
[ENSEMBLE]
Non-stop!
[HAMILTON]
Gentlemen of the jury, I’m curious, bear with me
Are you aware that we’re making hist’ry?
This is the first murder trial of our brand-new nation
[HAMILTON]
The liberty behind
Deliberation—
[ENSEMBLE]
Non-stop!
[HAMILTON]
I intend to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt
With my assistant counsel—
[BURR]
Co-counsel
Hamilton, sit down
Our client Levi Weeks is innocent. Call your first witness
That’s all you had to say!
[HAMILTON]
Okay!
One more thing—
[BURR]
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Soon that attitude may be your doom!
[ENSEMBLE]
Awwww!
[BURR]
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?
Write day and night like you’re running out of time?
Ev’ry day you fight, like you’re running out of time
Keep on fighting. In the meantime— [ENSEMBLE]
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?
Ev’ry day you fight, like you’re running out of time
Non-stop!
[HAMILTON]
Corruption’s such an old song that we can sing along in harmony
And nowhere is it stronger than in Albany
This colony’s economy’s increasingly stalling and
[HAMILTON]
Honestly, that’s why public service
Seems to be calling me.
[BURR AND ENSEMBLE]
He’s just
Non-stop!
[HAMILTON]
I practiced the law, I practic’ly perfected it
I’ve seen injustice in the world and I’ve corrected it
Now for a strong central democracy
If not, then I’ll be Socrates
[HAMILTON]
Throwing verbal rocks
At these mediocrities.
[ENSEMBLE]
Awww!
[BURR]
Hamilton, at the Constitutional Convention:
[HAMILTON]
I was chosen for the Constitutional Convention!
[BURR]
There as a New York junior delegate:
[HAMILTON]
Now what I’m going to say may sound indelicate…
[BURR]
Goes and proposes his own form of government!
His own plan for a new form of government!
[COMPANY]
Awwww!
What?
What?
[BURR]
Talks for six hours! The convention is listless!
[ENSEMBLE MAN]
Bright young man…
[ANOTHER ENSEMBLE MAN]
Yo, who the f is this?
[BURR]
Why do you always say what you believe?
Why do you always say what you believe?
Ev’ry proclamation guarantees free ammunition for your enemies!
[BURR AND MEN]
Why do you write like it’s
Going out of style?
Write day and night like it’s
Going out of style?
[COMPANY]
Why do you always say what you believe?
Awww!
[ALL WOMEN]
Going out of style, hey!
Going out of style, hey!
[BURR AND COMPANY]
Ev’ry day you fight like it’s
Going out of style
Do what you do
Percussion: knocking sound
[BURR]
Alexander?
[HAMILTON]
Aaron Burr, sir
[BURR]
It’s the middle of the night
[HAMILTON]
Can we confer, sir?
[BURR]
Is this a legal matter?
HAMILTON
Yes, and it’s important to me
[BURR]
What do you need?
[HAMILTON]
Burr, you’re a better lawyer than me
[BURR]
Okay
[HAMILTON]
I know I talk too much, I’m abrasive
You’re incredible in court. You’re succinct, persuasive
My client needs a strong defense. You’re the solution
[BURR]
Who’s your client?
[HAMILTON]
The new U.S. Constitution?
[BURR]
No
[HAMILTON]
Hear me out
[BURR]
No way!
[HAMILTON]
A series of essays, anonymously published
Defending the document to the public
[BURR]
No one will read it
[HAMILTON]
I disagree
[BURR]
And if it fails?
[HAMILTON]
Burr, that’s why we need it
[BURR]
The constitution’s a mess
[HAMILTON]
So it needs amendments
[BURR]
It’s full of contradictions
[HAMILTON]
So is independence
We have to start somewhere
[BURR]
No. No way
[HAMILTON]
You’re making a mistake
[BURR]
Good night
[HAMILTON]
Hey
What are you waiting for?
What do you stall for?
[BURR]
What?
[HAMILTON]
We won the war
What was it all for?
Do you support this constitution?
[BURR]
Of course
[HAMILTON]
Then defend it
[BURR]
And what if you’re backing the wrong horse?
[HAMILTON]
Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed
For the notion of a nation we now get to build
For once in your life, take a stand with pride
I don’t understand how you stand to the side
[BURR]
I’ll keep all my plans
Close to my chest
I’ll wait here and see
Which way the wind
Will blow
I’m taking my time
Watching the
Afterbirth of a nation
Watching the tension grow.
[ENSEMBLE]
Wait for it, wait for
It, wait…
Which way the wind
Will blow
I’m taking my time
Watching the
Afterbirth of a nation
Watching the tension grow.
[ANGELICA]
I am sailing off to London. I’m accompanied by someone
Who always pays
I have found a wealthy husband who will keep
Me in comfort for all my days
He is not a lot of fun, but there’s no one who
Can match you for turn of phrase
My Alexander
[HAMILTON]
Angelica
[ANGELICA]
Don’t forget to write
[ELIZA]
Look at where you are
Look at where you started
The fact that you’re alive is a miracle
Just stay alive, that would be enough
And if your wife could share a fraction of your time
If I could grant you peace of mind
Would that be enough?
[BURR]
Alexander joins forces with James Madison and John Jay to write a series of essays defending the new United States Constitution, entitled The Federalist Papers. The plan was to write a total of twenty-five essays, the work divided evenly among the three men. In the end, they wrote eighty-five essays, in the span of six months. John Jay got sick after writing five. James Madison wrote twenty-nine. Hamilton wrote the other fifty-one!
[BURR]
How do you write like you’re
Running out of time?
Write day and night like you’re
Running out of time?
[BURR AND MEN]
Ev’ry day you fight
Like you’re
Running out of time
Like you’re
Running out of time
Are you
Running out of time?
[ALL WOMEN]
Running out of time?
Running out of time?
Running out of time
Running out of time
Awwww!
[FULL COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON)]
How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive?
How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write ev’ry second you’re alive?
Ev’ry second you’re alive? Ev’ry second you’re alive?
[WASHINGTON]
They are asking me to lead
I am doing the best I can
To get the people that I need
I’m asking you to be my right hand man
[HAMILTON]
Treasury or State?
[WASHINGTON]
I know it’s a lot to ask
[HAMILTON]
Treasury or State?
[WASHINGTON]
To leave behind the world you know…
[HAMILTON]
Sir, do you want me to run the Treasury or State department?
[WASHINGTON]
Treasury
[HAMILTON]
Let’s go
[ELIZA]
Alexander…
[HAMILTON]
I have to leave
[ELIZA]
Alexander—
[HAMILTON]
Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now
[ELIZA]
Helpless…
[HAMILTON]
They are asking me to lead
[ELIZA]
Look around, isn’t this enough?
[ANGELICA]
He will never be satisfied
He will never be satisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied…
He will never be satisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied…
Why do you fight like
History has its eyes on you…
[HAMILTON]
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
I am
Alexander Hamilton!
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
[ELIZA]
What would be enough
To be
Satisfied
Satisfied
Satisfied…
Look around
Look around!
Isn’t this enough?
What would be enough?
Why do you fight like
History has its eyes on you...
[MEN]
Just you wait!
[FULL COMPANY]
Just you wait!
Alexander Hamilton
Hamilton, just you wait!
[WASH]
History has its eyes…
On…
You!
[WASH/
MULL/
LAUR/LAF]
History has its eyes…
On…
You...
History has its eyes on you...
[BURR]
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room? Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room? Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Soon that attitude’s gonna be your doom!
Why do you fight like you’re running out of time?
Why do you fight like
History has its eyes on you…
[ENSEMBLE]
Non-stop!
Non-stop!
Non-stop!
Non-stop!
History has its eyes on you...
Song Overview
Song Credits
- Producers: Bill Sherman, ?uestlove, Black Thought, Alex Lacamoire, Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Writer: Lin-Manuel Miranda
- Release Date: 2015-09-25
- Album: Hamilton: An American Musical (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
- Genre: Broadway, Rap, Soundtrack, Pop
- Label: Atlantic Records
- Language: English
- Length: Approx. 6 minutes
- Instruments: Violin, Viola, Cello, Harp, Guitar, Banjo, Bass, Drums, Percussion, Synthesizer, Keyboards
- Vocals: Leslie Odom Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda, Phillipa Soo, Christopher Jackson, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Original Broadway Cast
- Music Director, Arranger, Orchestrator & Conductor: Alex Lacamoire
- Recorded At: Avatar Studios
Song Meaning and Annotations
“Non-Stop” is the dizzying, breathtaking capstone to Act I of Hamilton, a six-minute whirlwind chronicling Alexander’s meteoric rise from soldier to Secretary of the Treasury. The title is no exaggeration: the song gallops forward without pause, stacking monologue upon chorus upon counterpoint like Tetris blocks threatening to overflow. This isn’t a track—it’s a living, breathing pressure cooker.
Structurally, “Non-Stop” is a collage of callbacks, arguments, court battles, love letters, political manifestos, and ensemble exclamations. It’s a lyrical mosaic that paints one singular portrait: Alexander Hamilton, relentless and burning, incapable of rest.
“Why do you write like you're running out of time?”
This becomes the spiritual refrain of the song—and arguably, of Hamilton's life. It’s Burr’s rhetorical challenge, Angelica’s lament, Eliza’s heartbreak, and Hamilton’s invisible wound all in one. The line echoes again and again, a ghostly pulse behind Hamilton’s every action.
The Federalist Papers Frenzy
Hamilton's writing of 51 out of 85 Federalist essays is presented as both astonishing and borderline maniacal. Lin-Manuel Miranda doesn’t just have characters narrate the feat—they chant it with disbelief and awe, transforming facts into incantations.
“Hamilton wrote the other fifty-one!”
It lands like a punchline, but also like a prophecy: this man’s pen is both weapon and curse.
Conflict with Burr
Burr’s position as narrator-turned-antagonist solidifies here. He’s increasingly baffled by Hamilton’s intensity, but also clearly threatened. Their confrontation over the Constitution illustrates their diverging philosophies: Burr is cautious, Hamilton explosive. It’s two political ideologies with feet—dueling on a staircase of opportunity.
Emotional Counterpoint
Midway through, the women of the cast return, not to comfort, but to challenge. Angelica sails away, Eliza begs for peace, and yet Hamilton cannot stop. These melodies overlap, and suddenly it’s not just a character study—it’s a symphony of contradictions. Love, ambition, grief, and legacy all vying for center stage.
“He will never be satisfied”
This haunting line from Angelica and Eliza cuts through the noise, a soft blade amid the roar. It reframes the action not as triumph, but tragedy-in-the-making. Hamilton may win every argument, but he’s losing something deeper.
Similar Songs
- “My Shot” – Lin-Manuel Miranda & Cast
Where “My Shot” is ambition beginning to bloom, “Non-Stop” is what happens when that ambition finds no off switch. Both songs use rhythmic repetition and ensemble layering to build intensity, but “Non-Stop” has the added pressure of legacy looming in every line. - “The Room Where It Happens” – Leslie Odom Jr.
This is Burr’s spiritual sequel to “Non-Stop.” If the former focuses on Hamilton’s rise, the latter shows Burr finally cracking under its shadow. The jazzy, sly arrangement offers a stark contrast to Hamilton’s bombast—but thematically, both show men desperate to shape history on their own terms. - “The World Was Wide Enough” – Original Broadway Cast
This song revisits the same characters but at the end of their arc. Burr and Hamilton face off, not in political battle, but with pistols. “Non-Stop” is the beginning of their final descent, the place where admiration turns to animosity. Together, these songs mirror the tragic symmetry of their relationship.
Questions and Answers
- What makes “Non-Stop” unique in the musical?
- It serves as the finale to Act I and combines motifs from several previous songs into one explosive track. It’s both recap and revelation, pushing the story into new territory.
- Why does Hamilton write so obsessively?
- “Non-Stop” implies it’s a coping mechanism for grief (Laurens’ death), a hunger for legacy, and a deep fear of being forgotten. Writing is his way of living forever.
- What role does Burr play in this song?
- Burr is both narrator and foil. His awe gradually turns to envy as Hamilton’s success escalates. Their philosophical split becomes starkly clear during their Constitution debate.
- How are Eliza and Angelica represented?
- They provide the emotional balance to Hamilton’s mania. Angelica offers love and wit from afar; Eliza pleads for peace and presence. Their voices remind us of what Hamilton risks losing.
- What’s the significance of the song’s finale?
- The final moments blend past refrains (“I am not throwing away my shot”) with future consequences (“History has its eyes on you”), creating a thematic tension that leads directly into Act II’s fallout.
Fan and Media Reactions
“I legit need to take a breather after this one. It’s like Lin just keeps throwing boulders of brilliance at your brain.” — @hamobsessed
“Every voice in this track is fighting for something. The chaos is intentional, and it’s genius.” — @musicalmayhem
“The Federalist Papers bit? CHILLS. It turns homework into a battle cry.” — @historynerd4life
“This song is why Act I feels like a full show already. The energy is unmatched.” — @burrbabyburr
“Six minutes of pure adrenaline and heartbreak. You feel proud and exhausted by the end.” — @bwaybeats