Christopher Jackson feat. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr. & Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton - Right Hand Man Lyrics

British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbor

Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbor
When they surround our troops
They surround our troops
When they surround our troops
As a kid in the Caribbean I wished for a war

I knew that I was poor; I knew it was the only way to
Rise up
If they tell my story,
I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or
Rise up
I will fight for this land, but there's only one man
Who can give us a command, so we can
Rise up

Understand, it's the only way to
Rise up
Rise up
Here he comes
Here comes the general!
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 out-gunned
What!
Out-manned
What!

Out-numbered, out-planned
Boom, boom, boom; boom, boom!
We gotta make an all-out stand
Hey yo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man
Boom, boom, boom; boom, boom!
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 general
The venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all
Lining up to put me up on a pedestal, writing letters to relatives

Embellishing my elegance and eloquence
But the elephant is in the room
The truth is in your face
When you hear the British cannons go
Boom!
Any hope of success is fleeting
How can I keep leading when the people I'm leading keep retreating?

We put a stop to the bleeding as the British take Brooklyn

Knight takes rook, but look
We are out-gunned
What!
Out-manned
What!

Out-numbered, out-planned!
Boom, boom, boom; boom, boom
We gotta make an all-out stand
Hey yo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man
Boom, boom, boom; boom, boom
Incoming!
They're battering down the Battery, check the damages
Brrah!
We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages

Brrah!
Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us
Hamilton won't abandon ship; yo, let's steal their cannons!
Sh-boom!

Boom!

Goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray, and

Boom!
Goes the cannon, we're abandoning Kips Bay, and

Boom!

There's another ship, and
Boom!
We just lost the southern tip, and
Boom!

We gotta run to Harlem quick; we can't afford another slip

Guns and horses giddy up
I decide to divvy up my forces

They're skittish as the British cut the city up

This close to giving up, facing mad scrutiny

I 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 distance

I cannot be everywhere at once, people!

I'm in dire need of assistance
Your Excellency, sir

Who are you?

Aaron Burr, sir

Permission to state my case?

As you were.

Sir, I was a captain under General Montgomery
Until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec, and well, in summary:
I think that I could be of some assistance.

I admire how you keep firing on the British from a distance

Huh.

I have some questions, a couple of suggestions

On how to fight instead of fleeing west
Yes?
Well —

Your Excellency? You wanted to see me?

Hamilton, come in. Have you met Burr?

Yes, sir!

We keep meeting...
As I was saying, sir
I look forward to seeing your strategy play out —

Burr?

Sir?

Close the door on your way out.

Have I done something wrong, sir?
On the contrary
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh —
Sir?

Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
Sir!
Don't get me wrong; you're a young man of great renown
I know you stole British cannons when we were still downtown

Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox wanted to hire you —

Yeah, to be their secretary! I don't think so.
Now why are you upset?
I'm not?
It's all right you want to fight: you've got a hunger
I was just like you when I was younger
Head full of fantasies of dying like a martyr
Yes.
Dying is easy, young man; living is harder
Why are you telling me this?
I'm being honest
I'm working with a third of what our Congress has promised
We are a powder keg about to explode
I need someone like you to lighten the load
So?
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
I am not throwing away my shot
Son, we are out-gunned, out-manned!
You need all the help you can get, I have some friends:
Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette! Okay, what else?
Outnumbered, outplanned!
We'll need some spies on the inside
Some king's men who might let some things slide
Boom!
I'll write to Congress and tell them we need supplies
You rally the guys, master the element of surprise
Chick-a-boom!
I'll rise above my station, organize your information
'Til we rise to the occasion of our new nation, sir!
Here comes the general!
Rise up!
What!
Here comes the general!
Rise up!
What!
Here comes the general!
Rise up!
What!
Here comes the general!
What!
And his right-hand man!
Boom!