Cm Cm7
British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water
Cm6 Abmaj7
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbour…
Cm Cm7
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbour…
Cm6 Abmaj7
When they surround our troops! They surround our troops! (They surround our troops!)
Cm
As a kid in the Caribbean I wished for a war
Cm/D
I knew that I was poor, I knew it was the only way to
Cm/Eb
(Rise up), if they tell my story
Cm/F
I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or
Cm
(Rise up), I will fight for this land but there's
Cm/D
Only one man Who can give us a command, so we can
Cm/Eb Cm/F
(Rise up), understand, it's the only way to (rise up, rise up)
N.C.
Here he comes!
Cm
(Here comes the general!)
Ab
Ladies and gentlemen!
F/A
(Here comes the general!)
Ab
The moment you've been waiting for!
Cm
(Here comes the general!)
Ab
The Pride of Mount Vernon!
F/A
(Here comes the general!)
Ab
George Washington!
Cm
We are out-gunned! (what!)
Ab
Out-manned! (what!)
F/A
Out-numbered,
Ab
out-planned!
Cm
We gotta make an all-out
Ab
stand Hey yo
F/A
I'm gonna need a right-hand
Ab
man
Here comes the general!
N.C.
Can I be real a second? For just a millisecond?
Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?
Now I'm the model of a modern major general
The venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all
Cm Ab
Lining up to put me up on a pedestal, writing letters to
F/A Ab
Relatives embellishing my elegance and eloquence
Cm Ab
But the elephant is in the room, the truth is in your
F/A Ab
Face When you hear the British cannons go (BOOM!)
Cm Ab
Any hope of success is fleeting How can I keep
F9/A Ab
Leading when the people I'm leading keep retreating?
Cm Ab
We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take
F/A Ab
Brooklyn Knight takes rook, but look
Cm
We are out-gunned! (what!)
Ab
Out-manned! (what!)
F/A
Out-numbered,
Ab
out-planned!
Cm
We gotta make an all-out
Ab
stand Hey yo
F/A
I'm gonna need a right-hand
Ab
man
N.C.
Incoming!
Cm
They're battering down the Battery, check the damages (brrah!)
Cm/D
We gotta stop ‘em and rob ‘em of their advantages (brrah!)
Cm/Eb
Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us
Cm/F
Hamilton won't abandon ship, yo, let's steal their cannons!
Cm Cm/D
(BOOM) goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray, and
Cm/Eb Cm/F
(BOOM) goes the cannon, we're abandoning Kips Bay, and
Cm
(BOOM) there's another ship, and
Cm/D
(BOOM) we just lost the southern tip and
Cm/Eb
(BOOM) we've gotta run to Harlem quick, we can't afford another slip
Cm
Guns and horses giddy up,
Cm/D
I decide to divvy up
Cm/Eb
My forces, they're skittish as the
Cm/F
British cut the city up
Cm
This close to giving up,
Cm/D
Facing mad scrutiny
Cm/Eb Cm/F
I scream in the face of this mass mutiny:
Cm9
"Are these the men with which I am to defend America?"
Cm9/D
We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distance
Cm/Eb
I cannot be everywhere at once, people
Cm/F
I'm in dire need of assistance
Cm
Your Excellency, sir Who are you? Aaron Burr, sir
Gm
Permission to state my case? As you were...Sir,
Ab
I was a captain under General Montgomery Until he caught a
Ab6/F Bb
Bullet in the neck in Quebec, and well, in summary
Cm
I think that I could be of some assistance
Gm
I admire how you keep firing on the British from a distance
Ab
I have some questions, a couple of suggestions
Ab6/F Bb
On how to fight instead of fleeing west Yes?
Cm
Your Excellency? You wanted to see me?
Gm
Hamilton, come in. Have you met Burr? Yes, sir We keep meeting...
Ab
As I was saying, sir I look forward to seeing your strategy
Ab6/F Bb
play out—Burr? Sir? Close the door on your way out
Cm
Have I done something wrong, sir? On the contrary
Gm
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary
Ab
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh
Ab6/F Bb
Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
Cm
Don't get me wrong, you're a young man of great renown
Gm
I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown
Ab
Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox wanted to hire you—
Ab6/F
To be their secretary! I don't think so
Bb
Now why are you
Cm
Upset? I'm not It's alright you want to fight, you've got a
Gm
Hunger I was just like you when I was younger
Ab
Head full of fantasies of dying like a martyr
Ab6/F Bb
Dying is easy, young man; living is harder
Cm
Why are you telling me this? I'm being honest
Gm
I'm working with a third of what our Congress has promised
Ab
We are a powder keg about to explode
Ab6/F Bb
I need someone like you to lighten the load
Cm/G Ab
I am not throwing away my shot
F/A Ab
I am not throwing away my shot
Cm/G Ab
Hey yo I'm just like my country I'm young, scrappy and hungry
F/A
I am not throwing away my shot
Cm/G Ab
Son, we are outgunned! Outmanned! You need all the help you can get,
F/A Ab
I have some friends, Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette! Okay, what else?
Cm/G Ab
Outnumbered, out planned! We'll need some spies on the
F/A Ab
Inside Some king's men who might let some things slide
Cm/G Ab
I'll write to Congress and tell them we need supplies
F/A Ab
You rally the guys, master the element of surprise
Cm/G Ab
I'll rise above my station, organize your information
F/A Ab
‘Til we rise to the occasion of our new nation, sir!
Cm/G Ab
Here comes the general! Rise up! (What!)
F/A Ab
Here comes the general! Rise up! (What!)
Cm/G Ab
Here comes the general! Rise up! (What!)
F/A Ab
Here comes the general! What!
N.C.
And his right-hand man!
Cm
BOOM!
