Song Lyrics

British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor

Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor

When they surround our troops
They surround our troops
When they surround our troops

As a kid in the Caribbean I wished for a war
I knew that I was poor
I knew it was the only way to

Rise up

If they tell my story
I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or

Rise up

We will fight for this land
But there's only one man
Who can give us a command so we can

Rise up

Understand? It's the only way to

Rise up
Rise up

Here he comes

Here comes the general

Ladies and gentlemen

Here comes the general

The moment you've been waiting for

Here comes the general

The pride of Mount Vernon

Here comes the general

George Washington

We are outgunned (what?)

Outmanned (what?)

Outnumbered
Outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

We gotta make an all out stand
Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

Check it
Can I be real a second?
For just a millisecond?
Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?
Now I'm the model of a modern major general
The venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all
Lining up, to put me up on a pedestal
Writin' letters to relatives
Embellishin' my elegance and eloquence
But the elephant is in the room
The truth is in ya face when ya hear the British cannons go

Boom

Any hope of success is fleeting
How can I keep leading when the people I'm
Leading keep retreating?
We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take Brooklyn
Knight takes rook, but look

We are outgunned (what?)

Outmanned (what?)

Outnumbered
Outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

We gotta make an all out stand
Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

Incoming
They're battering down the Battery check the damages

Rah

We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages

Rah

Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us
Hamilton won't abandon ship
Yo, let's steal their cannons

Shh-boom

Goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray and

Boom

Goes the cannon, we're abandonin' Kips Bay and
Boom

There's another ship and

Boom

We just lost the southern tip and

Boom

We gotta run to Harlem quick, we can't afford another slip
Guns and horses giddyup
I decide to divvy up
My forces, they're skittish as the British cut the city up
This close to giving up, facing mad scrutiny
I scream in the face of this mass mutiny
Are these the men with which I am to defend America?
We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distance
I cannot be everywhere at once, people
I'm in dire need of assistance

Your excellency, sir

Who are you?

Aaron Burr, Sir?
Permission to state my case?

As you were

Sir
I was a captain under General Montgomery
Until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec
And well, in summary
I think that I could be of some assistance
I admire how you keep firing on the British
From a distance

Huh

I have some questions, a couple of suggestions on how to fight instead of fleeing west

Yes?

Well

Your excellency, you wanted to see me?

Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?

Yes, sir

We keep meeting

As I was saying, sir, I look forward to seeing your strategy play out

Burr?

Sir?

Close the door on your way out

Have I done something wrong, sir?

On the contrary
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh

Sir?

Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?

Sir

Don't get me wrong, you're a young man, of great renown
I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown
Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you

To be their Secretary? I don't think so

Why're you upset?

I'm not

It's alright, you want to fight, you've got a hunger
I was just like you when I was younger
Head full of fantasies of dyin' like a martyr?

Yes

Dying is easy, young man
Living is harder

Why are you telling me this?

I'm being honest
I'm working with a third of what our Congress has promised
We are a powder keg about to explode
I need someone like you to lighten the load
So?

I am not throwin' away my shot
I am not throwin' away my shot
Ayo, I'm just like my country, I'm young
Scrappy and hungry

I am not throwing away my shot

Son

We are outgunned, outmanned

You need all the help you can get
I have some friends, Laurens, Mulligan
Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?

Outnumbered, outplanned

We'll need some spies on the inside
Some King's men who might let some things slide

I'll write to Congress and tell 'em we need supplies
You rally the guys, master the element of surprise

I'll rise above my station, organize your information
'Til we rise to the occasion of our new nation, sir

Here comes the general

Rise up

Here comes the general

Rise up

Here comes the general

Rise up

Here comes the general

And his right hand man

Boom

Lin-manuel Miranda

The duration of Act I: Right Hand Man is 5:21 minutes and seconds.