Hamilton (2020)

Okieriete Onaodowan: Hercules Mulligan, James Madison

Photos 

Quotes 

• George Washington : Let me tell you what I wish I'd known/When I was young and dreamed of glory/You have no control/Who lives? Who dies? Who tells your story?

  Aaron Burr : President Jefferson.

  Thomas Jefferson : I'll give him this, his financial system is a work of genius. I couldn't undo it if I tried. And I tried.

  Aaron Burr : President Madison.

  James Madison : He took our country from bankruptcy to prosperity. I hate to admit it, but he doesn't get enough credit for all the credit that he gave us.

• Aaron Burr : Congrats on a race well-run. I did give you a fight.

  Thomas Jefferson : Uh-huh.

  Aaron Burr : I look forward to our partnership.

  Thomas Jefferson : Our partnership?

  Aaron Burr : As your vice president.

  Thomas Jefferson : Ha! Yeah, right.

  [to Madison] 

  Thomas Jefferson : You hear this guy? Man openly campaigns against me, talkin' 'bout "I look forward to our partnership."

  James Madison : It is crazy that the guy who comes in second gets to be vice president.

  Thomas Jefferson : Ooh. You know what? We can change that. You know why?

  James Madison : Why?

  Thomas Jefferson : 'Cause I'm the president. Burr, uh, when you see Hamilton, thank him for the endorsement.

• George Washington : The issue on the table: France is on the verge of war with England. Now, do we commit money and aid to our French allies, or do we stay out of it? Remember, my decision on this matter is not subject to congressional approval. The only one you have to convince is me. Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor, sir.

  Thomas Jefferson : When we were on death's door/When we were needy/We made a promise/We signed a treaty/We needed money and guns/And half a chance/Uh, who provided those funds?

  James Madison : France.

  Thomas Jefferson : In return, they didn't ask for land/Only a promise that we'd lend a hand/And stand with them/If they fought against oppressors/And revolution is messy/But now is the time to stand/Stand with our brothers/As they fight against tyranny/I know that Alexander Hamilton is here/And he would rather not have this debate/I'll remind you that he is not Secretary of State. He knows nothing of loyalty/Smells like new money/Dresses like fake royalty/Desperate to rise above his station/Everything he does betrays the ideals of our nation/Ay, and if you don't know, now you know, Mr. President.

  George Washington : Thank you, Secretary Jefferson. Secretary Hamilton, your response.

  Alexander Hamilton : You must be outta your god damn mind/If you think the president is gonna bring the nation to the brink/Of meddling in the middle of a military mess/A game of chess/Where France is queen and kingless/We signed a treaty with a king/Whose head is now in a basket/Would you like to take it out/And ask it? Oh, should we honor our treaty, King Louis' head?/"Ah, do whatever you want/I'm super dead."

• Aaron Burr : Hamilton's out of control.

  James Madison : This is great. He's out of power, he holds no office, and he just destroyed President John Adams, the only other significant member of his party.

  Thomas Jefferson : Hamilton is a host unto himself. As long as he can hold a pen, he's a threat. Let's let him know what we know.

• 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.

  Marquis de Lafayette : 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.

  Hercules Mulligan : 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.

• Alexander Hamilton : Mr. Vice President. Mr. Madison. Senator Burr. What is this?

  Thomas Jefferson : We have the check stubs from separate accounts.

  James Madison : Almost a thousand dollars paid in different amounts.

  Aaron Burr : To a Mr. James Reynolds way back in 1791.

  Alexander Hamilton : Is that what you have? Are you done?

  James Madison : You are uniquely situated by virtue of your position...

  Thomas Jefferson : Though "virtue" is not a word I'd apply to this situation.

  James Madison : To seek financial gain/To stray from your sacred mission.

  Thomas Jefferson : And the evidence suggests/You've engaged in speculation.

  Aaron Burr : An immigrant embezzling our government funds.

  Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : I can almost see the headline/Your career is done.

  Aaron Burr : I hope you saved some money/For your daughter and sons.

  Aaron Burr , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : You best g'wan run back where you come from.

  Alexander Hamilton : Ha! You don't even know what you're asking me to confess.

  Aaron Burr , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : Confess.

  Alexander Hamilton : You have nothing/ I don't have to tell you anything at all/Unless...

  Aaron Burr , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : Unless...

  Alexander Hamilton : If I can prove/That I never broke the law/Do you promise not to tell/Another soul what you saw?

  Aaron Burr : No one else was in the room where it happened.

  Alexander Hamilton : Is that a yes?

  Aaron Burr , Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : Um, yes.

• Samuel Seabury : Hear ye, hear ye! My name is Samuel Seabury, and I present "Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Continental Congress." Heed not the rabble who scream revolution/They have not your interests at heart.

  Hercules Mulligan : Oh, my god, tear this dude apart.

  Samuel Seabury : Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution/Don't let them lead you astray/This congress does not speak for me.

  Aaron Burr : [stopping Hamilton]  Let him be.

  Samuel Seabury : They're playing a dangerous game/I pray the king shows you his mercy/For shame/For shame.

  Alexander Hamilton : [in counterpoint]  Yo, he'd have you all unravel/At the screams/But the revolution is coming/The have-nots are gonna win this/It's hard to listen to you with a straight face.

  Samuel Seabury : Heed not the rabble who scream revolution/They have not your interests at heart.

  Alexander Hamilton , Samuel Seabury : Chaos and bloodshed...

  Alexander Hamilton : Already haunt us/Honestly, you shouldn't even talk.

  Samuel Seabury : Are not a solution/Don't let them lead you astray.

  Alexander Hamilton : And what about Boston? Look at the cost and all that we've lost/And you talk about Congress.

  Samuel Seabury : This congress does not speak for me.

  Alexander Hamilton : My dog speaks more eloquently than thee.

  Samuel Seabury : They're playing a dangerous game.

  Alexander Hamilton : But strangely, your mange is the same.

  Samuel Seabury : I pray the king shows you his mercy.

  Alexander Hamilton : Is he in Jersey?

  Samuel Seabury : For shame/For shame!/Heed...

  Alexander Hamilton : For the revolution/If you repeat yourself again, I'm gonna...

  Samuel Seabury : Scream.

  Alexander Hamilton : Honestly, look at me/Please don't read.

  Samuel Seabury : Not your interests at...

  Alexander Hamilton : Don't modulate the key/Then not debate with me/Why should a tiny island across the sea regulate the price of tea?

  Aaron Burr : Alexander, please.

  Alexander Hamilton : Burr, I'd rather be divisive than indecisive. Drop the niceties.

• Aaron Burr : The ship is in the harbor now/See if you can spot him/Another immigrant coming up from the bottom/His enemies destroyed his rep/America forgot him.

  Marquis de Lafayette , Hercules Mulligan : We fought with him.

  John Laurens : Me, I died for him.

  George Washington : Me, I trusted him.

  Peggy Schuyler , Angelica Schuyler , Eliza Hamilton : Me, I loved him.

  Aaron Burr : And me/I'm the damn fool that shot him.

• Alexander Hamilton : I'mma get a scholarship/To King's College/I probably shouldn't brag/But dag, I amaze and astonish/The problem is I got a lot of brains/But no polish/I gotta holler just to be heard/With every word I drop knowledge/I'm a diamond in the rough/A shiny piece of coal/Tryin' to reach my goal/My power of speech, unimpeachable/Only 19, but my mind is older/These New York City streets get colder/I shoulder every burden/Every disadvantage/I have learned to manage/I don't have a gun to brandish/I walk these streets famished/The plan is to fan this spark into a flame/But damn, it's getting dark/So let me spell out the name/I am the

  Alexander Hamilton , Marquis de Lafayette , Hercules Mulligan , John Laurens : A-L-E-X-A-N-D/E-R/We are meant to be.

  Alexander Hamilton : A colony that runs independently/Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin' on us endlessly/Essentially, they tax us relentlessly/Then King George turns around/Runs a spending spree/He ain't never gonna/Set his descendants free/So there will be a revolution in this century/Enter me.

  Marquis de Lafayette , Hercules Mulligan , John Laurens : He says in parentheses.

  Alexander Hamilton : And don't be shocked/When your history book mentions me/I will lay down my life/If it sets us free/Eventually you'll see my ascendancy/And I am not throwing away my shot.

• Aaron Burr : [reading James Reynolds' extortion letter]  "Dear sir, I hope this letter finds you in good health, and in a prosperous enough position to put wealth in the pockets of people like me down on their luck. You see, that was my wife who you decided to..."

  Thomas Jefferson : [in surprise and shock]  Whaaaat?

  Alexander Hamilton : She courted me, escorted me to bed/And when she had me in a corner/That's when Reynolds extorted me/For a sordid fee, I paid him quarterly/I may have mortally wounded my prospects/But my papers are orderly/As you can see, I kept a record of every check in my checkered history/Check it against your list and see consistency/I never spent a cent that wasn't mine/You sent the dogs after my scent, that's fine/Yes, I have reasons for shame/But I have not committed treason and sullied my good name/As you can see, I have done nothing to provoke legal action/Are my answers to your satisfaction?

  Thomas Jefferson : My God.

  James Madison : Gentlemen, let's go.

  Alexander Hamilton : So?

  Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : The people won't know what we know.

  Alexander Hamilton : Burr. How do I know you won't use this against me/The next time we go toe to toe?

  Aaron Burr : Alexander, rumors only grow. And we both know what we know.

• Aaron Burr : Meanwhile, Madison is grappling with the fact/That not every issue can be settled by committee/Congress is fighting over where to put the capital/It isn't pretty/Then Jefferson approaches with a dinner and invite/And Madison responds with Virginian insight.

  James Madison : Maybe we can solve one problem with another/And win a victory for the Southerners/In other words...

  Thomas Jefferson : Oh, ho.

  James Madison : A quid pro quo.

  Thomas Jefferson : I suppose.

  James Madison : Wouldn't you like to work a little closer to home?

  Thomas Jefferson : Actually, I would.

  James Madison : Well, I propose the Potomac.

  Thomas Jefferson : And you'll provide him his votes?

  James Madison : Well, we'll see how it goes.

  Thomas Jefferson : Let's go.

  Aaron Burr : No one else was in the room where it happened/The room where it happened/The room where it happened/No one else was in the room where it happened/The room where it happened/The room where it happened/My God!/In God we trust/But we'll really never know what got discussed/Ha!/Click, boom, then it happened/And no one else is in the room where it happened.

• Aaron Burr : Now, how you gonna get your debt plan through?

  Alexander Hamilton : I guess I'm gonna finally have to listen to you.

  Aaron Burr : Really?

  Alexander Hamilton : Talk less/Smile more/Do whatever it takes/To get my plan on the Congress floor.

  Aaron Burr : Now, Madison and Jefferson are merciless.

  Alexander Hamilton : Well, hate the sin, love the sinner.

  James Madison : Hamilton.

  Alexander Hamilton : I'm sorry, Burr, I gotta go.

  Aaron Burr : Oh, but, uh...

  Alexander Hamilton : Decisions are happening over dinner.

• Hercules Mulligan : Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice/And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis/I'm joining the rebellion 'cause I know it's my chance to socially advance/Instead of sewing some pants. I'm gonna take a...

  John Laurens , Alexander Hamilton , Hercules Mulligan : Shot!

  John Laurens : But we'll never be truly free/Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me/You and I, do or die/Wait 'til I sally in on a stallion/With the first black battalion. Have another...

  John Laurens , Alexander Hamilton , Hercules Mulligan : Shot!

  Aaron Burr : Geniuses, lower your voices/You keep out of trouble and you double your choices/I'm with you, but the situation is fraught/You've got to be carefully taught/If you talk, you're gonna get shot.

  Alexander Hamilton : Burr, check what we got/Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot/I think your pants look hot/Laurens, I like you a lot/Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot/What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot/Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not/A bunch of revolutionary Manumission abolitionists/Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is/Oh, am I talking too loud? Sometimes I get overexcited, shoot off at the mouth/I never had a group of friends before/I promise that I'll make y'all proud.

  John Laurens : Let's get this guy in front of a crowd.

• John Laurens : Well, if it ain't the prodigy of Princeton College.

  Hercules Mulligan : Aaron Burr.

  John Laurens : Give us a verse, drop some knowledge.

  Aaron Burr : Good luck with that/You're takin' a stand/You spit, I'mma sit/We'll see where we land.

  John Laurens : Burr, the revolution's imminent/What do you stall for?

  Alexander Hamilton : If you stand for nothing, Burr, what'll you fall for?

• Thomas Jefferson : Yo, every action has its equal, opposite reaction/John Adams shat the bed/I love the guy, but he's in traction/Poor Alexander Hamilton, he is missing in action/So now I'm facing...

  Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : Aaron Burr.

  Thomas Jefferson : With his own faction.

  James Madison : He's very attractive in the north/New Yorkers like his chances.

  Thomas Jefferson : He's not very forthcoming/On any particular stances.

  James Madison : Ask him a question, it glances off/He obfuscates, he dances.

  Thomas Jefferson : And they say I'm a Francophile. At least they know I know where France is.

  James Madison : Thomas, that's the problem, see/They see Burr as a less extreme you.

  Thomas Jefferson : Huh?

  James Madison : You need to change course/A key endorsement might redeem you.

  Thomas Jefferson : Who did you have in mind?

  James Madison : Don't laugh.

  Thomas Jefferson : Who is it?

  James Madison : You used to work on the same staff.

  Thomas Jefferson : Whaaaat?

  James Madison : It might be nice/It might be nice/To get Hamilton on your side.

  Thomas Jefferson , James Madison : It might be nice/It might be nice/To get Hamilton on your side.

• Thomas Jefferson : [slow and bluesy]  France is following us to revolution/There is no more status quo/But the sun comes up/And the world still spins/I helped Lafayette draft a declaration/Then I said "I gotta go"/"Got to be in Monticello."/Now the work at home begins.

  [the music turns upbeat and ragtime-y] 

  Thomas Jefferson : So, what'd I miss?/What'd I miss?/Virginia, my home sweet home/I wanna give you a kiss/I've been in Paris meeting lots of different ladies/I guess I basically missed the late '80s/I traveled the wide, wide world/And came back to this/There's a letter on my desk from the president/Haven't even put my bag down yet/Sally, be a lamb, darlin'/Won'tcha open it?/It says the president's assembling a Cabinet/And that I am to be the Secretary of State/Great/And that I'm already Senate-approved/I just got home and now I'm headed up to New York/Lookin' at the rolling fields/I can't believe that we are free/Ready to face whatever's awaiting me in NYC/But who's waitin' for me/When I step in the place?/My friend James Madison/Red in the face/He grabs my arm/And I respond "What's goin' on?"

  James Madison : Thomas, we are engaged in a battle/For our nation's very soul/Can you get us out of the mess we're in?/Hamilton's new financial plan is nothing less than government control/I've been fighting for the South alone/Where have you been?

  Thomas Jefferson : France.