"My Shot" from HAMILTON

"My Shot" from the musical HAMILTON
Performed by Alex Lacamoire, Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, Leslie Odom Jr., Lin-Manuel Miranda, Okieriete Onaodowan, Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton
Written by Lin-Manuel Miranda
www.HamiltonMusical.com

[HAMILTON]
I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot!
I'ma get a scholarship to King's College
I prob'ly 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 nineteen but my mind is older
These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder
Ev'ry burden, ev'ry 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—

[HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS]
A-L-E-X-A-N-D
E-R—we are—meant to be…

[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 ever gonna set his descendants free
So there will be a revolution in this century
Enter me!

[LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS]
(He says in parentheses)

[HAMILTON]
Don't be shocked when your hist'ry book mentions me
I will lay down my life if it sets us free
Eventually, you'll see my ascendancy

[HAMILTON & LAURENS]
And I am not throwing away
My shot (my shot)
I am not throwing away
My shot (my shot)
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
And I'm not throwing away my shot

[HAMILTON/MULLIGAN/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE]
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot
It's time to take a shot!

[LAFAYETTE]
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to 'onarchy?
'Onarchy? How you say, how you say, 'anarchy?'
When I fight, I make the other side panicky
With my—

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Shot!

[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 sewin' some pants!
I'm gonna take a—

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Shot!

[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 till I sally in
On a stallion with the first black battalion
Have another—

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Shot!

[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!

[HAMILTON]
Burr, check what we got
Mister 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 talkin' too loud?
Sometimes I get over excited, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a group of friends before
I promise that I'll make y'all proud

[LAURENS]
Let's get this guy in front of a crowd

[HAMILTON/LAURENS/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/ENSEMBLE]
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot

I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot

[LAURENS & HAMILTON/LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN]
Ev'rybody sing:
Whoa, whoa, whoa (whoa, whoa, whoa)
Hey!
Whoa (Whoa)
Woo!
Whoa! (Whoa)
Said let 'em hear ya! (Yea)
Let's go!

[LAURENS & COMPANY]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
I said shout it to the rooftops!
Whoa!
Said, to the rooftops!
Whoa!
Come on!
Yea
Come on, let's go!

[LAURENS]
Rise up!
When you're living on your knees, you rise up
Tell your brother that he's gotta rise up
Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up

[LAURENS AND ENSEMBLE & COMPANY]
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa
Rise up! (Rise up!)

--
Sing along with the rest of the lyrics: https://genius.com/Original-broadway-...