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 father by workin' a lot harder
By bein' a lot smarter
By bein' 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 foe 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 drippin' dowm 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's gonna know your name what's you 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 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
Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on
Planning 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 just you wait
In New York
Just you wait
Alexander Hamilton 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 American sings for you
Will they know what you overcame
The world will never be the same
Will they know you rewrote the game
The ship is in the harbor now see if you can spot him
Just you wait
Another immigrant comin' up from the bottom
Just you wait
His enemies destroyed his rep America forgot
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