Right Hand Man Song Lyrics by Christopher Jackson, Leslie Odom Jr., and Lin-Manuel Miranda
British Admiral Howe’s got troops on the waterThirty-two thousand troops in New York harbourThirty-two thousand troops in New York harbour (thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbour)When they surround our troops, they surround our troopsWhen they surround our troops (they surround our troops)
As a kid in the Caribbean, I wished for a warI knew that I was poorI knew it was the only way to rise upIf they tell my storyI am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or rise up
I will fight for this landBut there’s only one man who can give us a command, so we can rise upUnderstand? It’s the only way to rise up, rise upHere he comes
Ladies and gentlemen!(Here comes the General!) The moment you’ve been waiting for!(Here comes the General!) The pride of Mount Vernon!(Here comes the General!) George Washington!
We are outgunned (what?)Outmanned (what?)Outnumbered, outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)We gotta make an all out standAyo, I’m gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)
Check it, can I be real a second?For just a millisecond?Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?Now, I’m the model of a modern major generalThe venerated Virginian veteranWhose men are all lining up, to put me up on a pedestalWritin’ letters to relatives, embellishin’ my elegance and eloquence, butThe elephant is in the roomThe truth is in your face when you hear the British cannons go boom!
Any hope of success is fleetingHow can I keep leading when the people I’m leading keep retreating?We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take BrooklynKnight takes rook, but look
We are outgunned (what?)Outmanned (what?)Outnumbered, outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)We gotta make an all out standAyo, I’m gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)Incoming!
They’re battering down the battery, check the damages (rah!)We gotta stop ’em and rob ’em of their advantages (rah!)Let’s take a stand with the stamina God has granted usHamilton won’t abandon ship, yo, let’s steal their cannons
Shh-boom, goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray, andAnd boom, goes the cannon, we’re abandonin’ Kips BayAnd boom, there’s another shipAnd boom, we just lost the southern tipAnd boom, we gotta run to Harlem quick, we can’t afford another slip
Guns and horses giddyupI decide to divvy up my forcesThey’re skittish as the British cut the city upThis close to givin’ up, facing mad scrutinyI scream in the face of this mass mutiny
Are these the men with which I am to defend America?We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distanceI cannot be everywhere at once, people!I’m in dire need of assistance
Your excellency, sir!Who are you?Aaron Burr, SirPermission to state my case?As you wereSir, I was a captain under General Montgomery until he caught a bullet in the neck in QuebecAnd well, in summary
I think that I could be of some assistanceI admire how you keep firing on the British from a distance (huh)I have some questions, a couple of suggestionsOn how to fight instead of fleeing westYes?Well-
Your excellency, you wanted to see me?Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?Yes, sir, we keep meetingAs I was saying, sir, I look forward to seeing your strategy play outBurr?Sir?Close the door on your way out
Have I done something wrong, sir?On the contraryI called you here because our odds are beyond scaryYour reputation precedes you, but I have to laughSir?Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?Sir!
Don’t get me wrong, you’re a young man of great renownI know you stole British cannons when we were still downtownNathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire youYeah, to be their Secretary? I don’t think so
Now why are you upset? I’m notIt’s alright, you wanna fight, you’ve got a hungerI was just like you when I was youngerHead full of fantasies of dying like a martyr?YesDying is easy, young man, living is harder
Why are you telling me this?I’m being honestI’m working with a third of what our Congress has promisedWe are a powder keg about to explodeI need someone like you to lighten the load, so?
I am not throwing away my shot!I am not throwing away my shot!Ayo, I’m just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry!I am not throwing away my shot!
Son, we are outgunned, outmanned!You need all the help you can getI have some friends, Laurens, MulliganMarquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?Outnumbered, outplanned!We’ll need some spies on the insideSome king’s men who might let some things slide
I’ll write to Congress and tell ’em we need suppliesYou rally the guys, master the element of surprise(Chicka-boom!) I’ll rise above my station, organize your information‘Til we rise to the occasion of our new nation, sir!
Here comes the GeneralRise up! (What?)Here comes the GeneralRise up! (What?)Here comes the GeneralRise up! (What?)Here comes the General(What?) And his right-hand man!Boom!