Alexander Hamilton from Hamilton (written by Lin-Manuel Miranda)
[BURR]
Bm
How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a
F#
Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a
G
Forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence
D
Impoverished, in squalor
Bbdim
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?
[LAURENS]
Bm
The ten-dollar founding father without a father
F#
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
G
By being a lot smarter
By being a self-starter
D Bbdim
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter
[JEFFERSON]
Bm
And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted
F#
Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
G
Inside he was longing for something to be a part of
D Bbdim
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter
[MADISON]
Bm
Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
F#
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
G
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
D F#sus4 F#
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain
[BURR]
Bm
Well the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man"
F#
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
G
"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came
D Bbdim
and the world is gonna know your name. What's your name, man?"
[HAMILTON]
Bm
Alexander Hamilton
F#
My name is Alexander Hamilton
G
And there's a million things I haven't done
D F#
But just you wait, just you wait...
[ELIZA]
Bm
When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
F# G
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]
Bm
Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide
F#
Left him with nothin' but ruined pride, something new inside
G
A voice saying
[WASHINGTON] // [COMPANY]
"You gotta fend for yourself" // "Alex, you gotta fend for yourself"
[WASHINGTON]
D Bbdim
He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf
[BURR]
Bm
There would have been nothing left to do
For someone less astute, he woulda been
F#
Dead or destitute without a sense of restitution
G
Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord
D Bbdim
Tradin' sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford
Bm
Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on
F#
Plannin' for the future see him now as he stands on
G
The bow of a ship headed for a new land
D Bbdim
In New York you can be a new man
[COMPANY]
Bm
In New York you can // (HAMILTON)
Be a new man // Just you wait
G7
In New York you can // (HAMILTON)
Be a new man // Just you wait
Em9
In New York you can
Be a new man
[WOMEN]
F#
In New York--
[MEN]
New York
[HAMILTON]
Just you wait!
[COMPANY]
Bm
Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
G7
We are waiting in the wings for you (waiting in the wings for you)
Em
You could never back down
F#
You never learned to take your time
Bm
Oh, Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton)
G7
When America sings for you
Em
Will they know what you overcame?
D Em
Will they know you rewrote the game?
Bm/F# Em/G D/A F#7/A
The world will never be the same, oh
[BURR]
Bm
The ship is in the harbor now // (COMPANY)
Bm/C#
See if you can spot him // Just you wait
Bm/D
Another immigrant
Em
Comin' up from the bottom // Just you wait
Em/G
His enemies destroyed his rep
Em/C#
America forgot him
[MULLIGAN/MADISON & LAFAYETTE/JEFFERSON]
F#sus4 F#
We fought with him
[LAURENS/PHILLIP]
F#sus4 F#
Me? I died for him
[WASHINGTON]
Bm9/F# F#
Me? I trusted him
[ELIZA & ANGELICA & PEGGY/MARIA]
Em6/F# F#
Me? I loved him
[BURR]
Em/C#
And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him
[COMPANY]
Em/G D
There's a million things I haven't done
Em6/F#
But just you wait!
[BURR]
F#7
What's your name, man?
[COMPANY]
Bm
Alexander Hamilton!
Bm
*as far as I can tell, the bassline in this part moves up Em like this:
E F# G A B C# D E
all the way through "america forgot him"
