Lyrics of 'Right Hand Man' by Hamilton: An American Musical

British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor
When they surround our troops, they surround our troops
When they surround our troops

As a kid in the Caribbean, I wished for a war
I knew that I was poor
I knew it was the only way to (rise up)
If they tell my story
I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or (rise up)

I will fight for this land
But there's only one man
Who can give us a command so we can (rise up)
Understand? It's the only way to (rise up), (rise up)
Here he comes

Here comes the General (ladies and gentlemen)
Here comes the General (the moment you've been waiting for)
Here comes the General (the pride of Mount Vernon)
Here comes the General (George Washington)

We are outgunned (what?)
Outmanned (what?)
Outnumbered, outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)
We gotta make an all out stand
Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

Check it
Can I be real a second?
For just a millisecond?
Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?
Now I'm the model of a modern major general
The venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all
Lining up
To put me up on a pedestal, writing letters to relatives
Embellishing my elegance and eloquence, but
The elephant is in the room
The truth is in ya face when you hear the British cannons go (boom)

Any hope of success is fleeting
How can I keep leading when the people
I'm leading keep retreating?
We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take Brooklyn
Knight takes rook, but look

We are outgunned (what?)
Outmanned (what?)
Outnumbered, outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)
We gotta make an all out stand
Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)
Incoming

They're battering down the Battery, check the damages (hah)
We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages (hah)
Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us
Hamilton won't abandon ship
Yo, let's steal their cannons shoot (boom)

Goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray and (boom)
Goes the cannon, we're abandoning Kips Bay and (boom)
There's another ship and (boom)
We just lost the southern tip and (boom)
We gotta run to Harlem quick, we can't afford another slip

Guns and horses giddyup
I decide to divvy up
My forces, they're skittish as the British cut the city up
This close to giving up
Facing mad scrutiny
I scream in the face of this mass mutiny

Are these the men with which I am to defend America?
We ride at midnight
Manhattan in the distance
I cannot be everywhere at once, people
I'm in dire need of assistance

Your excellency, Sir
Who are you?
Aaron Burr, Sir?
Permission to state my case?
As you were

Sir
I was a captain under General Montgomery
Until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec
And well, in summary
I think that I could be of some assistance
I admire how you keep firing on the British
From a distance
Huh

I have some questions
A couple of suggestions
On how to fight instead of fleeing west
Yes?
Well

Your excellency, you wanted to see me?
Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?
Yes, sir
We keep meeting

As I was saying, sir
I look forward to seeing your strategy play out
Burr?
Sir?
Close the door on your way out

Have I done something wrong, sir?
On the contrary
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh (Sir?)
Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
Sir

Don't get me wrong
You're a young man of great renown
I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown
Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you
To be their Secretary? I don't think so

Now, why're you upset? (I'm not)
It's alright, you want to fight, you've got a hunger
I was just like you when I was younger
Head full of fantasies of dying like a martyr? (Yes)
Dying is easy, young man, living is harder

Why are you telling me this?
I'm being honest
I'm working with a third of what our Congress has promised
We are a powder keg about to explode
I need someone like you to lighten the load
So?

I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Ayo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
I am not throwing away my shot (son)

(We are outgunned, outmanned)
You need all the help you can get
I have some friends
Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?

(Outnumbered, outplanned)
We'll need some spies on the inside
Some King's men who might let some things slide
(Boom)

I'll write to Congress and tell 'em we need supplies
You rally the guys
Master the element of surprise
(Chicka-boom)

I'll rise above my station, organize your information
Till we rise to the occasion of our new nation
Sir

Here comes the General (rise up) (what?)
Here comes the General (rise up) (what?)
Here comes the General (rise up) (what?)
Here comes the General

(What?) And his right hand man
(Boom)