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 workin' a lot harder
By bein' a lot smarter
By bein' 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, drippin' 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's 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, somethin' new inside
A voice saying
Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf
There would've been nothin' 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 (oooh)
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)
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
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
What's your name, man?
Alexander Hamilton!