https://open.spotify.com/track/4TTV7EcfroSLWzXRY6gLv6?si=D7rxskykRfq98d_BPZC_-Q
[ 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 reigned Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
[ Aaron 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's gonna know your name. What’s your name, man?”
[ Alexander Hamilton ] Alexander Hamilton My name is Alexander Hamilton And there's a million things I haven't done But just you wait, just you wait...
[ Eliza Schuyler ] 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
[FULL COMPANY EXCEPT HAMILTON (whispering)] And Alex got better but his mother went quick
[ George Washington & COMPANY, BOTH] Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside A voice saying “Alex, you gotta fend for yourself.” He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf
[ Aaron Burr & COMPANY, BOTH] There would have been nothin’ left to do For someone less astute He woulda been dead or destitute Without a cent of restitution Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord Tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the 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 (ooh) The bow of a ship headed for a new land In New York you can be a new man
[COMPANY & Alexander Hamilton, WOMEN, MEN] 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 In New York, New York 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) When America sings for you Will they know what you overcame? Will they know you rewrote the game? The world will never be the same, oh
[ Aaron Burr , MEN, & 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 America forgot him
[ Hercules Mulligan / James Madison & Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson ] We fought with him
[ John Laurens / Philip Hamilton ] Me? I died for him
[ George Washington ] Me? I trusted him
[ Eliza Schuyler & Angelica Schuyler & Maria Reynolds ] Me? I loved him
[ Aaron Burr ] And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him
[COMPANY] There's a million things I haven’t done But just you wait!
[ Aaron Burr ] What's your name, man?
[COMPANY] Alexander Hamilton!
The song serves to introduce the characters, primarily Alexander Hamilton . It also explains Hamilton's backstory and early life. Finally, it brings us into the present as it shows Hamilton arriving in New York City.
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