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Hamming it up: Analyzing the Lyrics of "Hamilton"Main MenuWelcomeHistory Is HappeningWelcome One! Welcome All!"Alexander Hamilton"The Start"Aaron Burr, Sir"Let's meet the gang!"My Shot"Don't Throw it Away"The Story of Tonight"The Calm Before the Storm"The Schuyler Sisters"Here come the Ladies!"Farmer Refuted"Tension Builds with England"You'll Be Back"The King has Arrived"Right Hand Man"General George Washington enters"A Winter's Ball"A Night Out on the Town"Helpless"Love has Something To Do With It"Satisfied"Angelica's Mind"The Story of Tonight (reprise)"A Moment Between Friends"Wait For It"Keep Moving Forward"Stay Alive"Loved One's Prayer"Ten Duel Commandments"Gentlemen's Fight"Meet Me Inside"A Change"That Would Be Enough"Reassurance"Guns and Ships"France's Assist"History Has Its Eyes On You"A Warning To Alexander"Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)"Battle Begins and Ends"What Comes Next?"Peace Out from the King"Dear Theodosia"The New Generation"Non-Stop"And We're Back!"What'd I Miss"Welcome Jefferson"Cabinet Battle #1"Hamilton VS Jefferson: Round 1"Take a Break"A Wife's Request To Relax"Say No To This"Another Women"The Room Where It Happens"Conversation Between Delagates"Schuyler Defeated"Tides Start To Turn"Cabinet Battle #2"Hamilton VS Jefferson: Round 2"Washington On Your Side"Toe to Toe"One Last Time"Going Out With A Bang"I Know Him"A Final Message from the King"The Adams Administration"Change in Rulings"We Know"Secrets are Told"Hurricane"A Choice Is Made"The Reynolds Pamphlet"Knowledge For All"Burn"Eliza's Moment Alone"Blow Us All Away"Philip's Challenge"Stay Alive (reprise)"A Family Pulled Apart"It's Quiet Uptown"Taking In The Night"The Election of 1800"The Government Changes"Your Obedient Servant"Alexander and Aaron Talk"Best of Wives and Best of Women"The Girls"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story"The EndWorks CitedThanks for the Help!Natalie Meyersa9d906142e0dc902d8e00a7e48ef9f0bc6c832e2
Lyrics with Character Names: Total Words: 732, Words Counted Once: 304 Most common Words: "Burr" (23 times), "Company" (16 times), "Hamilton" (10 times) Lyrics without Character Names: Total Words: 678, Words Counted Once: 297 Most Common Words: "Number" (7 times), "Side" (7 times), "Hamilton" (6 times)
HISTORICAL SPOILER ALERT AHEAD! This is it, the famous battle between Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton. The song starts with the counting of "numbers" like in "Ten Duel Commandments" (a duel is about to happen). Burr explains to the audience how he and Hamilton met up. "Burr" argues that he was clearly going to die, but with the help of the "company" members that he was not going to let Hamilton "make and orphan of my daughter", so he fires his gun. The music cuts of and as the actors move in slow motion, Hamilton talks about his impending doom by repeating his notable phrase "I imagine death so much, it feels more a memory". He contemplates seeing his mother and his son both "on the other side". He apologizes to Eliza and tells her to take her time. The bullet strikes Hamilton while Hamilton fires his gun to the sky (taking the dignified way[same way he told Philip during his duel] and not killing another man). Burr tells how Hamilton died with Eliza and Angelica at his side. But he is now the villain of every story told. This is his legacy.
"The World was Wide Enough" is a hauntingly beautiful song. So much is told in a small amount of time and it is the climax of the whole musical. The audience has gone through the story full of ups and downs as each character works to create their legacy, but Burr narrates what that really means. Either way the listeners are left in awe of each man in a way getting what they desired and like any great character, we mourn with them when things don't go as planned. Whatever character the listener connected with felt the shift of Alexander's death, and in turn striking the audience to the emotional core. Take it from a wannabe playwright, this is not an easy task because that feeling is indescribable and it is perfectly captured.