[Aaron Burr] 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? [John Laurens] 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 14, they placed him in charge of a trading charter [Thomas Jefferson] 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 [James Madison] 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 [Aaron Burr] 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] Alexander Hamilton My name is Alexander Hamilton And there's a million things I haven't done But just you wait, just you wait [Eliza Hamilton] When he was 10, his father split, full of it, debt-ridden Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden Half-dead, sitting in their own sick, the scent thick [Company] And Alex got better, but his mother went quick [George Washington and company] 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 retreating and reading every treatise on the shelf [Aaron Burr and company] There would have been nothing left to do for someone less astute He woulda been dead or destitute, without a cent of restitution Started working, clerking for his late mother's landlord Trading sugar cane, and rum, and all the things he can't afford Scamming for every book he can get his hands on Planning for the future, see him now as he stands on (oh) The bow of a ship headed for a new land In New York, you can be a new man [Alexander Hamilton and company] 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) [Company] 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 [Aaron Burr and company] The ship is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him (Just you wait) another immigrant coming up from the bottom (Just you wait) his enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him [Hercules Mulligan, James Madison, Marquis de Lafayette and Thomas Jefferson] We fought with him [John Laurens and Philip Hamilton] Me? I died for him [George Washington] Me? I trusted him [Eliza Hamilton, Angelica Schuyler and Maria Reynolds] Me? I loved him [Aaron Burr] And me? I'm the damn fool that shot him [Company] There's a million things I haven’t done But just you wait [Aaron Burr] What's your name, man? [Company] Alexander Hamilton