Lin-Manuel Miranda - Alexander Hamilton Lyrics

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?

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

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

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

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?

Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait

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

And Alex got better but his mother went quick

Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying, "Alex, you gotta fend for yourself"

He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf

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 the new land
In New York you can be a new man

In New York you can be a new man (just you wait)
In New York you can be a new man (just you wait)
In New York you can be a new man

In New York, New York
Just you wait

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 your game?
The world will never be the same, oh

The ship is in the harbor now
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

We, fought with him

Me, I died for him

Me, I trusted him

Me, I loved him

And me, I'm the damn fool that shot him (shot him, shot him)

There's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait

What's your name, man?

Alexander Hamilton