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 rained
Our man saw his future drip-dripping down the drain
put a pencil to his templeand 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 ya name, man?
Alexander Hamilton.
My name is Alexander Hamilton.
And there are a million things I haven't done.
But just you wait, just you, wait.
When he was 10, his father split
Full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother, bedridden
Half-dead, sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick
[COMPANY]
And Alex got better, but his mother went quickly
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride
Somethin' new inside
A voice saying Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started reading and retreatin' every treatise on the shelf
There would've been nothing left to do
For someone less astute
He would've been dead and destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and other 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 (oh)
The bow of a ship headed for a 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)
America Sings for you
Do they know what you overcame?
Do they know you rewrote the 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
There's a million things I haven't done, but just you wait
Whats ya name man?
Alexander Hamilton