[BURR]
Am
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
E
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a
F
Forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence
C
Impoverished, in squalor
Abdim
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
[LAURENS]
Am
The ten-dollar founding father without a father
E
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
F
By being a lot smarter
By being a self-starter
C Abdim
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
[JEFFERSON]
Am
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted
E
Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
F
Inside he was longing for something to be a part of
C Abdim
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter
[MADISON]
Am
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
E
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
F
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
C Esus4 E
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
[BURR]
Am
Well the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man"
E
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
F
"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came
C Abdim
and the world is gonna know your name. What's your name, man?"
[HAMILTON]
Am
Alexander Hamilton
E
My name is Alexander Hamilton
F
And there's a million things I haven't done
C E
But just you wait, just you wait...
[ELIZA]
Am
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
E F
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden half-dead
Sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick
[COMPANY]
N/A
And Alex got better but his mother went quick
[WASHINGTON]
Am
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
E
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside
F
A voice saying
[WASHINGTON] // [COMPANY]
"You gotta fend for yourself" // "Alex, you gotta fend for yourself"
[WASHINGTON]
C Abdim
He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf
[BURR]
Am
There would have been nothing left to do
For someone less astute, he woulda been
E
Dead or destitute without a sense of restitution
F
Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
C Abdim
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford
Am
Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on
E
Plannin' for the future see him now as he stands on
F
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
C Abdim
In New York you can be a new man
[COMPANY]
Am
In New York you can // (HAMILTON)
Be a new man // Just you wait
F7
In New York you can // (HAMILTON)
Be a new man // Just you wait
Dm9
In New York you can
Be a new man
[WOMEN]
E
In New York--
[MEN]
New York
[HAMILTON]
Just you wait!
[COMPANY]
Am
Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
F7
We are waiting in the wings for you (waiting in the wings for you)
Dm
You could never back down
E
You never learned to take your time
Am
Oh, Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
F7
When America sings for you
Dm
Will they know what you overcame?
C Dm
Will they know you rewrote the game?
Am/E Dm/F C/G E7/G
The world will never be the same, oh
[BURR]
Am
The ship is in the harbor now // (COMPANY)
Am/B
See if you can spot him // Just you wait
Am/C
Another immigrant
Dm
Comin' up from the bottom // Just you wait
Dm/F
His enemies destroyed his rep
Dm/B
America forgot him
[MULLIGAN/MADISON & LAFAYETTE/JEFFERSON]
Esus4 E
We fought with him
[LAURENS/PHILLIP]
Esus4 E
Me? I died for him
[WASHINGTON]
Am9/E E
Me? I trusted him
[ELIZA & ANGELICA & PEGGY/MARIA]
Dm6/E E
Me? I loved him
[BURR]
Dm/B
And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him
[COMPANY]
Dm/F C
There's a million things I haven't done
Dm6/E
But just you wait!
[BURR]
E7
What's your name, man?
[COMPANY]
Am
Alexander Hamilton!
Am