Questlove - Alexander Hamilton lyrics

(Lights up on Aaron Burr & the company.) [AARON BURR] How does a ba*tard, orphan, son of a who*e 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 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 [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, 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'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 [FULL COMPANY EXCEPT HAMILTON (whispering)] And Alex got better but his mother went quick [GEORGE WASHINGTON] Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside A voice saying [WASHINGTON] “You gotta fend for yourself.” [COMPANY] “Alex, you gotta fend for yourself.” [WASHINGTON] He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf [BURR] There would have been nothin' left to do For someone less astute He woulda been dead or destitute Without 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 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] Scammin' Plannin' Oooh... [COMPANY] In New York you can Be a new man— In New York you can Be a new man— [HAMILTON] Just you wait! Just you wait! [COMPANY] In New York you can be a new man— [WOMEN] In New York— [MEN] New York— [HAMILTON] Just you wait! [COMPANY] Alexander Hamilton We are waiting in the wings for you You could never back down You never learned to take your time! Oh, 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 See if you can spot him Another immigrant Comin' up from the bottom His enemies destroyed his rep America forgot him [COMPANY] Alexander Hamilton Waiting in the wings for you You never learned to take your time! Oh, Alexander Hamilton Alexander Hamilton… 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 [MEN] Just you wait [COMPANY] Just you wait [MULLIGAN/MADISON & LAFAYETTE/JEFFERSON] We fought with him [LAURENS/PHILIP] 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!