Right Hand Man
COMPANYBritish Admiral Howe’s got troops on the water.Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor.
ENSEMBLEThirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor.When they surround our troops!They surround our troops!When they surround our troops!
HAMILTONAs a kid in the Caribbean I wished for a war.I knew that I was poor,I knew it was the only way to—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTERise up!
HAMILTONIf they tell my storyI am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTERise up!
HAMILTONI will fight for this landbut there’s only one manwho can give us a command so we can—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTERise up!
HAMILTONUnderstand? It’s the only way to—
HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTERise up! Rise up!
HAMILTONHere he comes!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
BURRLadies and gentlemen!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
BURRThe moment you’ve been waiting for!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
BURRThe pride of Mount Vernon!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the general!
BURRGeorge Washington!
WASHINGTONWe are outgunned,
ENSEMBLEWhat?
WASHINGTONoutmanned,
ENSEMBLEWhat?
WASHINGTONoutnumbered,outplanned.We gotta make an all out standayo, I’m gonna need a right-hand man.
Check it—Can I be real a second?For just a millisecond?Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?Now I’m the model of a modern major general,the venerated Virginian veteran whose men are alllining up, to put me up on a pedestal,writin’ letters to relativesembellishin’ my elegance and eloquence,but the elephant is in the room,the truth is in ya face when ya hear the British cannons go…
ENSEMBLEBoom!
WASHINGTONAny hope of success is fleeting,how can I keep leading when the people I’mleading keep retreating?We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take Brooklyn,knight takes rook, but look,
We are outgunned,
ENSEMBLEWhat?
WASHINGTONoutmanned,
ENSEMBLEWhat?
WASHINGTONoutnumbered,outplanned.We gotta make an all out standayo, I’m gonna need a right-hand man.
Incoming!
HAMILTONThey’re battering down the Battery check the damages.
MULLIGANRah!
HAMILTONWe gotta stop ‘em and rob ‘emof their advantages.
MULLIGANRah!
HAMILTONLet’s take a stand with the stamina God has granted us.Hamilton won’t abandon ship,Yo, let’s steal their cannons—
MULLIGANShh-boom!
WASHINGTONGoes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray and…
COMPANYBoom!
WASHINGTONGoes the cannon, we’re abandonin’ Kips Bay and…
COMPANYBoom!
WASHINGTONThere’s another ship and…
COMPANYBoom!
WASHINGTONWe just lost the southern tip and…
COMPANYBoom!
WASHINGTONWe gotta run to Harlem quick, we can’t afford another slip.Guns and horses giddyup,I decide to divvy upmy forces, they’re skittish as the British cut the city up.This close to giving up, facing mad scrutiny,I scream in the face of this mass mutiny:are these the men with which I am to defend America?We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distance.I cannot be everywhere at once, people.I’m in dire need of assistance…
BURRYour excellency, sir!
WASHINGTONWho are you?
BURRAaron Burr, Sir?Permission to state my case?
WASHINGTONAs you were.
BURRSir,I was a captain under General Montgomeryuntil he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec,and well, in summaryI think that I could be of some assistance.I admire how you keep firing on the Britishfrom a distance.
WASHINGTONHuh.
BURRI have some questions, a couple of suggestionson how to fight instead of fleeing west.
WASHINGTONYes?
BURRWell—
HAMILTONYour excellency, you wanted to see me?
WASHINGTONHamilton, come in, have you met Burr?
HAMILTONYes, sir.
HAMILTON AND BURRWe keep meeting.
BURRAs I was saying, sir, I look forward to seeingyour strategy play out.
WASHINGTONBurr?
BURRSir?
WASHINGTONClose the door on your way out.
HAMILTONHave I done something wrong, sir?
WASHINGTONOn the contrary.I called you here because our odds are beyond scary.Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh.
HAMILTONSir?
WASHINGTONHamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
HAMILTONSir!
WASHINGTONDon’t get me wrong, you’re a young man, of great renown.I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown.Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you…
HAMILTONTo be their Secretary? I don’t think so.
WASHINGTONWhy are you upset?
HAMILTONI’m not—
WASHINGTONIt’s alright, you want to fight, you’ve got a hunger.I was just like you when I was younger.Head full of fantasies of dyin’ like a martyr?
HAMILTONYes.
WASHINGTONDying is easy, young man. Living is harder.
HAMILTONWhy are you telling me this?
WASHINGTONI’m being honest.I’m working with a third of what our Congresshas promised.We are a powder keg about to explode,I need someone like you to lighten the load. So?
COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON)I am not throwin’ away my shot!I am not throwin’ away my shot!Ayo, I’m just like my country, I’m young,scrappy and hungry!
HAMILTONI am not throwing away my shot!
WASHINGTONSon,
WASHINGON AND COMPANYWe are outgunned, outmanned!
HAMILTONYou need all the help you can get.I have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan,Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?
WASHINGTON AND COMPANYOutnumbered, outplanned!
HAMILTONWe’ll need some spies on the inside,Some King’s men who might let some things slide.
HAMILTONI’ll write to Congress and tell ‘em we need supplies, you rally the guys, master the element of surprise.I’ll rise above my station, organize your information, ‘til we rise to the occasion of our new nation. Sir!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
HAMILTONRise up!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
HAMILTONRise up!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
HAMILTONRise up!
ENSEMBLEHere comes the General!
HAMILTONWhat?
WASHINGTONAnd his right hand man!
FULL COMPANYBoom!