alexander hamilton off broadway
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, our Hamilton 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, 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
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 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 shit, 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 nothing but ruined pride, something new inside
A voice saying
"Alex, you gotta fend for yourself."
He started retreatin’ and readin’ every treatise on the shelf
There would have been nothin’ left to do
For someone less astute
He woulda been dead or destitute
Without a cent of restitution
Started workin’, clerkin’ for his late mother’s landlord
Tradin’ sugar cane and rum and all the things he can’t afford
              Scammin' for every book he could get his                Scammin'                 hands on                  Plannin' for the future see him now as he        Plannin'           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—
In 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
And me?
I’m the damn fool that shot him...
Wait!
Gunshot
Alexander Hamilton!