The World Was Wide Enough
[MALE COMPANY]One two three four
[FULL COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON AND BURR)]Five six seven eight nine—
[BURR]There are ten things you need to know
[COMPANY]Number one!
[BURR]We rowed across the Hudson at dawnMy friend, William P. Van Ness signed on as my—
[BURR AND COMPANY]Number two!
[BURR]Hamilton arrived with his crew:Nathaniel Pendleton and a doctor that he knew
[COMPANY]Number three!
[BURR]I watched Hamilton examine the terrainI wish I could tell you what was happ’ning in his brainThis man has poisoned my political pursuits!
[COMPANY]Most disputes die and no one shoots!Number four!
[BURR]Hamilton drew first positionLooking, to the world, like a man on a missionThis is a soldier with a marksman’s abilityThe doctor turned around so he could have deniability
COMPANYFive!
BURRNow I didn’t know this at the timeBut we were—
[BURR/PHILIP/HAMILTON]Near the same spot
[BURR/PHILIP]Your son died,
[HAMILTON]My son died,
[BURR/PHILIP/HAMILTON]Is that Why—
[COMPANY]Six!
[BURR]He examined his gun with such rigor?I watched as he methodically fiddled with the trigger
[COMPANY]Seven!
[BURR]Confession time? here’s what I got:My fellow soldiers’ll tell you I’m a terrible shot
[COMPANY]Number eight!
[BURR/HAMILTON/ENSEMBLE MEN]Your last chance to negotiateSend in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight
[BURR]They won’t teach you this in your classesBut look it up, Hamilton was wearing his glassesWhy? If not to take deadly aim?It’s him or me, the world will never be the sameI had only one thought before the slaughter:This man will not make an orphan of my daughter
[COMPANY]Number nine!
[BURR]Look him in the eye, aim no higherSummon all the courage you requireThen count:
[COMPANY]One two three four five six seven eight nineNumber ten paces! Fire!—
[HAMILTON]I imagine death so much it feels more like a memoryIs this where it gets me, on my feet, sev’ral feet ahead of me?I see it coming, do I run or fire my gun or let it be?There is no beat, no melodyBurr, my first friend, my enemyMaybe the last face I ever seeIf I throw away my shot, is this how you’ll remember me?What if this bullet is my legacy?
Legacy. What is a legacy?It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to seeI wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for meAmerica, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for meYou let me make a differenceA place where even orphan immigrantsCan leave their fingerprints and rise upI’m running out of time. I’m running, and my time’s upWise up. Eyes upI catch a glimpse of the other sideLaurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other sideMy son is on the other sideHe’s with my mother on the other sideWashington is watching from the other side
Teach me how to say goodbye
Rise up, rise up, rise upEliza
My love, take your timeI’ll see you on the other sideRaise a glass to freedom...
[BURR AND COMPANY]He aims his pistol at the sky—
[BURR]Wait!
[BURR]I strike him right between his ribsI walk towards him, but I am ushered awayThey row him back across the HudsonI get a drink
[COMPANY]AaaahAaaahAaaah
[BURR]I hear wailing in the streets
[COMPANY]AaaahAaaahAaaah
[BURR]Somebody tells me, “You’d better hide.”
[COMPANY]AaaahAaaahAaaah
[BURR]They say
[BURR AND ANGELICA]Angelica and Eliza—
[BURR]Were both at his side when he diedDeath doesn’t discriminateBetween the sinners and the saintsIt takes and it takes and it takesHistory obliteratesIn every picture it paintsIt paints me and all my mistakesWhen Alexander aimedAt the skyHe may have been the first one to dieBut I’m the one who paid for it
I survived, but I paid for it
Now I’m the villain in your historyI was too young and blind to see...I should’ve knownI should’ve knownThe world was wide enough for both Hamilton and meThe world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me