“I wrote my way out”
Alexander Hamilton
Lyrics: We Know
Mister Vice President
Mister Madison
Senator Burr
What is this?
We have the check stubs, from separate accounts
Almost a thousand dollars, paid in different amounts
To a Mister James Reynolds way back in
Seventeen ninety-one
Is that what you have, are you done?
You are uniquely situated by virtue of your position
Though ‘virtue’ is not a word I’d apply to this situation
To seek financial gain, to stray from your sacred mission
And the evidence suggests you’ve engaged in speculation
An immigrant embezzling our government funds
I can almost see the headline, your career is done
I hope you saved some money for your daughter and sons
Ya best g’wan run back where ya come from
Ha you don’t even know what you’re asking me to confess
Confess
You have nothing, I don’t have to tell you anything at all
Unless
Unless
If I can prove that I never broke the law
Do you promise not to tell another soul what you saw?
No one else was in the room where it happened
Is that a yes?
Um, yes
Dear Sir, I hope this letter finds you in good health
And in a prosperous enough position to put wealth
In the pockets of people like me, down on their luck
You see, that was my wife who you decided to
What
She courted me
Escorted me to bed and when she had me in a corner
That’s when Reynolds extorted me
For a sordid fee
I paid him quarterly
I may have mortally wounded my prospects
But my papers are orderly
As you can see I kept a record of every check in my checkered history
Check it again against your list n’ see consistency
I never spent a cent that wasn’t mine
You sent the dogs after my scent, that’s fine
Yes, I have reasons for shame
But I have not committed treason and sullied my good name
As you can see I have done nothing to provoke legal action
Are my answers to your satisfaction?
My God
Gentlemen, let’s go
So?
The people won’t know what we know
Burr
How do I know you won’t use this against me
The next time we go toe to toe?
Alexander, rumors only grow
And we both know what we know
Lyrics: Hurricane
In the eye of a hurricane
There is quiet
For just a moment
A yellow sky
When I was seventeen a hurricane
Destroyed my town
I didn’t drown
I couldn’t seem to die
I wrote my way out
Wrote everything down far as I could see
I wrote my way out
I looked up and the town had its eyes on me
They passed a plate around
Total strangers
Moved to kindness by my story
Raised enough for me to book passage on a
Ship that was New York bound
I wrote my way out of hell
I wrote my way to revolution
I was louder than the crack in the bell
I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell
I wrote about The Constitution and defended it well
And in the face of ignorance and resistance
I wrote financial systems into existence
And when my prayers to God were met with indifference
I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance
In the eye of a hurricane
There is quiet
For just a moment
A yellow sky
I was twelve when my mother died
She was holding me
We were sick and she was holding me
I couldn’t seem to die
Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it (I’ll write my way out)
Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it (write everything down, far as I can see)
Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait (history has its eyes on you)
I’ll write my way out
Overwhelm them with honesty
This is the eye of the hurricane, this is the only
Way I can protect my legacy
Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait
The Reynolds Pamphlet
Listen again: We Know
Listen again: Hurricane
Jefferson, Madison and Burr have found out, that Hamilton pays money to James Reynold.
They confront him and want him to resign.
Hamilton reflects on his life that was shook by a hurricane when he was still young. Now he feels like being in a hurricane again.
He overcame all the challenges in his life by writing.
Task 1
Task 2