My Shot Song Lyrics
I am not throwin’ away my shotI am not throwin’ away my shotHey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shot
I’ma get a scholarship to King’s CollegeI probably shouldn’t brag, but dang, I amaze and astonishThe problem is I got a lot of brains but no polishI gotta holler just to be heardWith every word, I drop knowledgeI’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coalTryna reach my goal my power of speech, unimpeachableOnly nineteen but my mind is olderThese New York City streets get colder, I shoulderEvery burden, every disadvantageI have learned to manage, I don’t have a gun to brandishI walk these streets famishedThe plan is to fan this spark into a flameBut damn, it’s getting dark, so let me spell out my nameI am the A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R we are meant to be
A colony that runs independentlyMeanwhile, Britain keeps shittin’ on us endlesslyEssentially, they tax us relentlesslyThen King George turns around, runs a spendin’ spreeHe ain’t ever gonna set his descendants freeSo there will be a revolution in this centuryEnter me (he says in parentheses)
Don’t be shocked when your history book mentions meI will lay down my life if it sets us freeEventually, you’ll see my ascendancy
And I am not throwin’ away my shot (my shot)I am not throwin’ away my shot (my shot)Hey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shot
I am not throwin’ away my shotI am not throwin’ away my shotHey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shotIt’s time to take a shot
I dream of life without a monarchyThe unrest in France will lead to anarchy?Anarchy how you say, how you, oh, anarchy?When I fight, I make the other side panickyWith my, shot
Yo, I’m a tailor’s apprenticeAnd I got y’all knuckleheads in loco parentis (loco parentis)I’m joining the rebellion ’cause I know it’s my chanceTo socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants (woo)I’m gonna take a shot
And but we’ll never be truly freeUntil those in bondage have the same rights as you and meYou and IDo or dieWait ’til I sally in on a stallionWith the first black battalionHave another shot
Geniuses, lower your voicesYou keep out of trouble and you double your choicesI’m with you, but the situation is fraughtYou’ve got to be carefully taughtIf you talk, you’re gonna get shot
Burr, check what we gotMister Lafayette, hard rock like LancelotI think your pants look hotLaurens, I like you a lotLet’s hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin’ the potWhat are the odds the gods would put us all in one spotPoppin’ a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or notA 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 mouthI never had a group of friends beforeI promise that I’ll make y’all proud
Let’s get this guy in front of a crowd
I am not throwin’ away my shotI am not throwin’ away my shotHey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shot
I am not throwin’ away my shotI am not throwin’ away my shotHey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shot
Everybody singWhoa, whoa, whoaAyy, whoa (woo), whoaShould let ’em hear ya (yeah)
Let’s go
Whoa, whoa, whoaI said shout it to the rooftopsWhoa, whoa, whoaSaid, to the rooftopsWhoa, whoa, whoa
A-come on (yeah)Come on, let’s go
Rise upWhen you’re living on your knees, you rise upTell your brother that he’s gotta rise upTell your sister that she’s gotta rise up
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (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?
Rise upI imagine death so much it feels more like a memoryWhen’s it gonna get me?In my sleep, seven feet ahead of me?If I see it comin’, do I run or do I let it be?Is it like a beat without a melody?See, I never thought I’d live past twentyWhere I come from some get half as manyAsk anybody why we livin’ fast and we laugh, reach for a flaskWe have to make this moment last, that’s plenty
Scratch that this is not a moment, it’s the movementWhere all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went?Foes oppose us, we take an honest standWe roll like Moses, claimin’ our promised landAnd? If we win our independence?Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?Or will the blood we shed begin an endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?I know the action in the street is excitin’But Jesus, between all the bleedin’ ‘n’ fightin’I’ve been readin’ ‘n’ writin’We need to handle our financial situationAre we a nation of states? What’s the state of our nation?I’m past patiently waitin’ I’m passionately mashin’ every expectationEvery action’s an act of creationI’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrowFor the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow
And I am not throwin’ away my shotI am not throwin’ away my shotHey yo, I’m just like my countryI’m young, scrappy and hungryAnd I’m not throwin’ away my shot
We’re gonna rise upI am not throwin’ away my shot (time to take a shot)We’re gonna rise upI am not throwin’ away my shot (time to take a shot)We’re gonna, rise up, rise up
It’s time to take a shotRise up, rise upIt’s time to take a shotRise up, it’s time to take a shotRise up, take a shot, shot, shotAy, yo, it’s time to take a shot, time to take a shotAnd I am not throwin’ away myNot throwin’ away my shot