The "Hamilton" craze is so real. You probably already knew that; but if for some odd reason you aren’t aware, or haven’t even heard of, the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical that was nominated for an astounding 16 Tony awards, I’m not too sure where you’ve been for the past several months. Their performance of “Alexander Hamilton” at the 2016 Grammy’s was met with a standing ovation, President Obama invited them to perform at the White House, it’s won countless awards, and it even reached number one on the Billboard Music Rap Album chart.
But I get it: who wants to see, or even listen to, a musical about one of our founding fathers? When all of my friends starting listening to the soundtrack on Spotify, I was never interested in pressing play, myself. It seemed rather mundane, if you asked me, but something got into me these last few days, and I figured I’d give it a shot — and I haven’t been able to stop listening to it since. If you’re like me and have no desire to listen to the album cover to cover, here’s 20 hard-hitting, totally relatable, and just downright funny lyrics from Act 1 that will hopefully get you to press play and start listening:
1. “The ten-dollar founding father without a father." (Alexander Hamilton)
2. “I got sort of out of sorts with a buddy of yours. I may have punched him.” (Aaron Burr, Sir)
3. “He looked at me like I was stupid, I’m not stupid.” (Aaron Burr, Sir)
4. “While we’re talking, let me offer you some free advice...talk less…smile more…don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for." (Aaron Burr, Sir)
5. “You wanna get ahead?...Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead." (Aaron Burr, Sir)
6. “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?” (Aaron Burr, Sir)
7. "I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory." (My Shot)
8. "This is not a moment, it's the movement." (My Shot)
9. "Your perfume smells like your daddy's got money." (The Schuyler Sisters)
10. "You want a revolution? I want a revelation!" (The Schuyler Sisters)
11. "And when push comes to shove, will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love." (You'll Be Back)
12. "Cause when push comes to shove, I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love." (You'll Be Back)
13. "Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder." (Right Hand Man)
14. "If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it." (Helpless)
15. "I'm a girl in a world in which my only job is to marry rich." (Satisfied)
16. "I'm keeping the bed warm while her husband is away." (Wait for It)
17. "Love doesn't discriminate between the sinners and the saints." (Wait for It)
18. "If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me." (Yorktown: The World Turned Upside Down)
19. "Are you aware that we're making history?" (Non-Stop)
20. "Corruption's such an old song that we can sing along in harmony." (Non-Stop)
