Alexander Hamilton Lyrics - Hamilton Original Broadway Cast

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 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 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 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 

In New York you can be a new man 

In New York you can be a new man 

In New York you can be a new man 

Just you wait 

Alexander Hamilton 

We are waiting in the wings for you 

You could never back down 

You never learned to take your time 

Oh, Alexander Hamilton 

When America sings for you 

Will they know what you overcame? 

Will they know you rewrote your game? 

The world will never be the same, oh 

The ship is in the harbor now 

See if you can spot him 

Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom 

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