Lyrics of 'Alexander Hamilton' by Hamilton: An American Musical

[Aaron Burr]
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?

[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 14, 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

[Aaron 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 10, his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead, sitting in their own sick, the scent thick

[Company]
And Alex got better, but his mother went quick

[George Washington and company]
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
Left him with nothing but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying: Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf

[Aaron Burr and company]
There would have been nothing left to do for someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute, without a cent of restitution
Started working, clerking for his late mother's landlord
Trading sugar cane, and rum, and all the things he can't afford

Scamming for every book he can get his hands on
Planning 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

[Alexander Hamilton and company]
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)

[Company]
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 the game?

The world will never be the same, oh

[Aaron Burr and company]
The ship is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him
(Just you wait) another immigrant coming up from the bottom
(Just you wait) his enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him

[Hercules Mulligan, James Madison, Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson]
We fought with him

[John Laurens and Philip Hamilton]
Me? I died for him

[George Washington]
Me? I trusted him

[Eliza Hamilton and Angelica, Peggy and Maria Schuyler]
Me? I loved him

[Aaron 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

[Aaron Burr]
What's your name, man?

[Company]
Alexander Hamilton