Alexander Hamilton
BURRHow does a bastard, orphan, son of a whoreand a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of aforgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence,impoverished, in squalor,grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
LAURENSThe ten-dollar founding father without a fathergot 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 atrading charter.
JEFFERSONAnd every day while slaves were being slaughtered and cartedaway 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.
MADISONThen 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.
BURRWell, 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, andthe world is gonna know your name. What’s your name, man?”
HAMILTONAlexander Hamilton.My name is Alexander Hamilton.And there’s a million things I haven’t done,but just you wait, just you wait...
ELIZAWhen 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,
COMPANYAnd Alex got better but his mother went quick.
WASHINGTONMoved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide.Left him with nothin’ but ruined pride, something new inside,a voice saying,
WASHINGTON & COMPANY“Alex, you gotta fend for yourself.”
WASHINGTONhe started retreatin’ and readin’ every treatise on the shelf.
BURRThere would have been nothin’ left to dofor someone less astute,he woulda been dead or destitutewithout 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 affordscammin’ for every book he can get his hands on,plannin’ for the future see him now as he stands onthe bow of a ship headed for a new land,In New York you can be a new man.
COMPANYIn New York you can be a new man—
HAMILTONJust you wait!
COMPANYIn New York you can be a new man—
HAMILTONJust you wait!
COMPANYIn New York you can be a new man—In New York—New York—
HAMILTONJust you wait!
COMPANYAlexander HamiltonWe are waiting in the wings for youYou could never back down,you never learned to take your time!Oh, Alexander HamiltonWhen America sings for youWill they know what you overcame?Will they know you rewrote the game?The world will never be the same, oh.
BURRThe ship is in the harbor now,see if you can spot him.Another immigrant,comin’ up from the bottom.His enemies destroyed his rep,America forgot him
MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTEWe fought with him.
LAURENSMe? I died for him.
WASHINGTONMe? I trusted him.
ELIZA/ANGELICA/MARIAMe? I loved him.
BURRAnd me? I’m the damn fool that shot him.
COMPANYThere’s a million things I haven’t done,but just you wait!
BURRWhat’s your name, man?
COMPANYAlexander Hamilton!