Alexander Hamilton

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, 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, 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'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

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 can get his hands on

Plannin' for the future, see him now as he stands on

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