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 workin' a lot harder
By bein' a lot smarter
By bein' 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, drippin' 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
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 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 quick
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 retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf
BURR and (COMPANY):
There would've been nothin' left to do
For someone less astute
He would've been dead or 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 (oooh)
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
In New York you can be a new man
COMPANY and (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:
In New York
MEN:
New York
HAMILTON:
Just you wait
COMPANY and (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
BURR and (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
MULLIGAN/MADISON AND LAFAYETTE/JEFFERSON:
We fought with him
LAURENS/PHILLIP:
Me? I died for him
WASHINGTON:
Me? I trusted him
ANGELICA SCHUYLER, ELIZA, MARIA REYNOLDS:
Me? I loved him
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
BURR:
What's your name, man?
HAMILTON & COMPANY:
Alexander Hamilton!
