Why I love Hamilton
Hamilton should not work. It is a musical, about an American founding father that no one except historians and finance bros really cared about, that is singing the whole way through, with a mixed race cast and hip-hop inspired instrumentation. It is a crazy concept and the fact that it is so popular and well-liked is just a testament to how good the writing, acting and performance truly is. So let me just gush about how much I love the writing and some of my favorite songs.
How do you make a historical event exciting? You have to make narratives, a story from the facts. Luckily, Hamilton story is pretty interesting, with it’s ups and downs. From the civil war, to jumpstarting the treasury, to committing adultery and of course his final duel. That by itself, would be a fun and exciting story. Lin Manuel Miranda looks at that and says, nah, not good enough. He packages this story with such strong emotional beats, using repeated motifs to tug at your heartstrings and of course, the brilliant way he frames the characters.
Aaron Burr, Sir
The most obvious one is Aaron Burr. Hamilton’s “First friend and enemy'“. They are diametrically opposed in ideals, each having their own “catchphrase”. Hamilton’s “Not throwing away my shot.” contrasted to Burr’s “Wait for it.” Both men influence each other as the play goes on, and it leads to the ultimate tragedy. Burr is our first character we, and Hamilton, is introduced to. His mantra “Talk less, smile more.” is one that follows both characters as they face political problems long after the civil war has ended. In fact, it is this mantra that Hamilton uses to secure votes for his financial support. What is interesting is how it seems both men are almost, to an extent, haunted by the specter of the other. At the end of “The Room Where It Happens” Burr hears Hamilton taunting him for not being more involved in politics (This is because the whole song is about how Burr thinks the deal went down, Hamilton does not actually say those words to him.) It is these taunts that drives him to ultimately become more ambitious and in doing so, oppose Hamilton politically and ideologically. Similarly, in “Hurricane” Hamilton hears Burr’s “Wait for it” calling out to him as he decides whether to write the Reynolds Pamphlet, ultimately rejecting Burr’s ideologically and going along with his original plan, which backfires. Both men respect each other so much that when making decisions, they know what the other will say and suggest. It is just a sign of how close they were, maybe not as friends, but as equals.
The analysis that is most common is of course, how the ending duel, both man flips in terms of ideology. In the final song, when their argument comes to a head in a duel, Hamilton throws away his shot, and Burr shoots him in the chest. This is of course, the opposite of what has been happening throughout the rest of the musical, where Hamilton takes his opportunity and Burr ultimately, plays it safe. But they have been warped and changed by time and death. Burr losing his wife (in a cut song that should have stayed in), and Hamilton losing his son. Hamilton has realised that his true legacy is his wife and children, and does not mind dying so as to not ruin their name even more by killing Burr. Burr ultimately is chasing revenge after his political career has been destroyed, he can only see Hamilton as an obstacle that he must tear down. It is such a poetic tragedy that both men, despite learning and growing from each other, it is ultimately the lessons they both learnt from one another that led to their tragic fallout.
I also want to put this analysis somewhere and have no better place to put it, so it is here. The mantra “Not throwing away my shot” said by Hamilton is everywhere in the story. The “shot” ranges from gunshot, opportunity and the more interesting one, alcohol. I think what is particularly interesting is that, his last line in the musical before passing is “Raise a glass to freedom.” It is the line that is repeated in both “Story of tonight”, the times where he doesn’t throw away his shot (of alcohol) and instead drinks it with his friends. I see this last line as him deciding that he will throw away his (gun) shot and instead drink with his friends in heaven one last time. It is in this moment, he has learnt the lesson that George Washington was trying to teach him, how to properly “Say goodbye.”
Best of Wives, Best of Women
The Schuyler sisters (Angelica and Eliza) are another key aspect to Hamilton’s story, being the angel to his shoulder. Angelica reflects someone who he should be: repressing her desires because she knows it will hurt those closest to her. Hamilton does the opposite in “Say No To This”, craving to the physical intimacy provided to him by Maria Reynolds. That is why it is ultimately a slap to Hamilton’s face when Angelica comes back in “Reynolds Pamphlet” and straight up tells him that she cannot relate to his situation, because no matter how much she craved him, she would not do so as it will hurt Eliza, something that Hamilton does not understand.
Side note, just quick analysis on my favorite few lines of Hamilton.
In a letter I received from you two weeks ago
I noticed a comma in the middle of a phrase
It changed the meaning, did you intend this?
One stroke and you've consumed my waking days
It says"My dearest, Angelica"
With a comma after dearest
You've written
"My dearest, Angelica"
So what is the difference with the comma? My dearest Angelica is a form of endearment, as the dearest here is Angelica and he only knows one Angelica, it is basically just a way of addressing her in a respectable way. But with the comma? It is essentially saying she is the dearest to him, even after his own wife. It is just such a fun line to think about, whether Hamilton did intend it and how he intended it.
Eliza is his heart, the side that craves family and warmth. It is something he does not have and it is what he tells her straight up in “Helpless.” But we see him constantly reject that side of himself to pursue something else, his legacy. He fights in Yorktown, he ditches her for politics (multiple times) and even cheats on her. It takes a life changing event, something unimaginable, to finally get him to realise that his heart is the one thing he truly needs in his life. “It’s Quiet Uptown” is just, so magical (particularly listening to it in real life). It encapsulates how it feels to go through something so… hard. Not just the lost of a son, but the reconciliation of a broken relationship. It is this relationship that lets him feel at peace to give up his life and to entrust his legacy to Eliza and Angelica.
Blow Us All Away
Shall end this sub stack with my top 5 Hamilton songs after hearing the musical live, as well as honorable mentions.
5: Non-stop
Non-stop has to be the song that is the hardest to perform for actors and musicians a like. The ending where all the different verses start blending together to form a somehow beautiful combination of sounds is just peak Lin Manuel Miranda style and it is a perfect blending of all the motifs Act 1 sets up and it serves as an introduction to the more politically charged Act 2. It is catchy, it is punchy and is an amazing feat of writing and composition.
4: Burn
Burn is propelled forward by amazing vocal performances by the actresses playing Eliza and feels so raw and real. It swaps the witty word play and hiphop beat for a more traditional strings and keys, pivoting into a break-up song that would make Taylor Swift proud. It is a powerful heart wrenching song where you see Eliza finally snap. She is not angry that Hamilton cheated on her, but more so that he chases the idea of legacy and being remembered so much more than his love for her. It is why the act of burning his love letters is so powerful as it removes herself from his legacy.
3: Satisfied
If Eliza gets a song in the top 5, it is only fair Angelica gets one. It is her only solo and boy does she steal the show. Coming from Helpless into Satisfied is whiplash and it is meant to be. We see the same scene from Angelica perspective and how much she sacrifices for her sister’s happiness, a sacrifice that Hamilton will never understand. It is a song about pinning and yearning that is powerful and real. The way the song dips into so many different genres makes it so exciting and keeps the listener on your toes. The rap is also, so fun. And of course the final toast is just the singer flexing her skills, pushing anger, desire and resignation into such a simple toast.
2: The Room Where It Happens
I was thinking about this versus Wait For It, but the final chorus of Room Where It Happens pushes it over the edge as the pinnacle Burr song. It is his turning point, where he is tired of waiting on the sidelines. It is Burr just pushing himself and taunting himself in his own head with images of Hamilton being successful. It is an example of how Lin keeps each song unique with different framing devices to make sure that 3 hours of songs never gets stale.
Honorable mentions:
It’s Quiet Uptown. This song made me cry when I saw it in real life, and only doesn’t make the list because the recorded version isn’t as strong. The real life performance is easily the best song of the whole performance and is, like I already mentioned, such a good way of conveying grief and forgiveness. The changing pronouns with the repeated verses changing a little each time, together with the sudden slow and somber backing track is just… so good.
Take A Break. This song has a special place in my heart due to personal reasons but I also think it has a lot of charm to it. The parts with Angelica is amazing (as talked about previously) and it is just charming to see the home life they have and what he eventually abandons for work. It is tragedy in the making (which is funny because he references Macbeth) and just so poignant.
1: My Shot
It is the pinnacle of the whole musical with the most important motif. It is criminal if this is not the top song. The whole opening 3 songs of this musical, from Alexander Hamilton to this just sets the tone going forward. Yes, there will be witty wordplay. Yes, there will be hip hop beats and rapping. No, there will be no breaks. Live with it. Lin comes out swinging with crazy lyrics, rhymes and wordplay that flow so smoothly into each other while establishing character, history and timeline. Just, wonderfully written and sets everything up for the musical.
The World Was Wide Enough
Thanks for reading through all that, Hamilton has been something I fell in love with in Secondary 4 when I was not in the best place mentally and it really opened my eyes to my love for theater and movies and music. I didn’t listen to much music before this (which is so crazy to think about now) and because of Hamilton I discovered so much music I love. It is the first vinyl my friends got for me and another friend got me a poster which is now hanging in my room. While my love for it has calmed down, I still believe it is one of the most impactful pieces of media I consumed in my life. I remember sitting in my room doing exam papers and singing along to the soundtrack, screaming “Why do you write like you’re running out of time” while rushing an essay is the best way of doing your homework. There are so many lessons you can take away from the musical depending on which characters you relate to and which arcs really resonate with you. For me, it is simple really: make the most of your time.