[Verse 1] 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 workin' a lot harder By bein' a lot smarter By bein' a self-starter By fourteen they had placed him in charge of the trade and 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 and Our man saw his future drip drippin' 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 When the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man!" Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland Getcha education, don't forget from whence you came And the world is gonna know your name! What's your name, man?
[Hook] Alexander Hamilton, my name is Alexander Hamilton And there's a million things I haven't done But just you wait, just you wait
[Verse 2] When he was 10, 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 Somethin' new inside A voice saying Alex, you gotta fend for yourself He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf There would've been nothin' left to do For someone less astute He would've been dead and destitute Without a cent of restitution Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord Tradin' sugar cane and rum and other things he can't afford Scannin' 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
[Hook] Alexander Hamilton We were waiting in the weeds for you You could never back down You never let them take your time Alexander Hamilton America sings for you Will they know what you overcame Will they know you can know the game The world will never be the same
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? faught 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.