Hamilton - Alexander Hamilton
Misc MusicalsSong storyLoading…
Chords
Transpose
Content
Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton (written by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
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?
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
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
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
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?
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
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
N.C.
And Alex got better but his mother went quick
Washington
Moved in with a cousin, the
cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin' but ruined
pride, something new inside
A voice saying
Washington] // [company
"You gotta fend for yourself" // "Alex, you gotta fend for yourself"
Washington
He started retreatin' and
readin' every treatise on the
shelf
Burr
There would have been nothing
left to do
For someone less astute, he woulda been
Dead or destitute without a
sense of restitution
Started workin', clerkin' for
his late mother's landlord
Tradin' sugarcane 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
The bow of a ship headed for a
new land
In New York you can be a new man
Company
In New York you can //
(HAMILTON)
Be a new man // Just you wait
In New York you can //
(HAMILTON)
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
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
The ship is in the harbor now
// (COMPANY)
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 & Lafayette/jefferson
We fought with him
Laurens/phillip
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
Company
There's a million things I
haven't done
But just you wait!
Burr
What's your name, man?
Company
Alexander Hamilton!
Save this song
Sign in to save in your profile, It's free!