History has its eyes on you

          I thoroughly enjoyed this song. The tempo at which this song is slow but it really works for this song because what Washington is telling Hamilton that he needs to be careful in every decision he makes because not only will it affect him, it will also affect the rest of the world. Something else that is in the background of the song is the sound of drum being played, to me it gives more of a military feel because both Hamilton and Washington are in the military and Washington is promoting Hamilton to his command.
          A line that I really like in the song is "History has its eyes on you" because it's very true especially since Hamilton is a famous figure and Washington is a very famous and a well respected president and commander and that all of that pressure will be passed onto Hamilton and Washington is telling Hamilton to basically don't do anything stupid while he is in charge because it will come back and haunt him.
          When I think about this song, I kinda compare Washington to be the father and Hamilton to be the son and the son is ready to head off into the world and become his own person and the dad is telling his son to be careful and to be cautious and think twice about something before he ever acts on anything because Washington has been down this path before and he knows the do's and the don'ts of his position and he is just telling Hamilton the mistakes that he made in the past so as to prevent Hamilton from making the same mistakes in the future.  

The Election of 1800

          This song had me on the edge of my seat the entire way through because throughout the entire song, everyone is asking Hamilton who he is going to vote for, Burr or Jefferson? And in the end, he ends up choosing Jefferson which was shocking to me considering all of the crap that Jefferson has laid on Hamilton. Hamilton's reasoning for voting for Jefferson is, "Jefferson has beliefs. Burr has none." To me, Hamilton has no morals or boundaries and to be president and in charge of a nation that is risky to have no morals or boundaries because it could cause wars with other countries or it could cause conflict within the country itself.
          In the beginning of the song, I felt bad for Hamilton because Hamilton's son just died and everyone doesn't really care that much because they are all worried about the election of 1800 and everyone is pressuring Hamilton to make a choice when it comes to voting. It's like they are not giving him a break or any space, they just keep hammering him with questions and not really stopping to ask him how he's doing or how he's feeling.
          Something that I found was interesting in the song was that Burr and Jefferson were both tied  for the presidency but once Hamilton said that he was voting for Jefferson, Jefferson ended up winning the election in a landslide. It shocked me that Hamilton had such an effect on the people's vote because I thought that they all hated him because he had an affair with Maria and so I thought that no one would care about him or his opinion because they thought that he couldn't be considered to be trustworthy.

The Reynolds Pamphlet

          Honestly, I have zero sympathy for Hamilton in this song because in this song, the truth about his affair with Maria Reynolds is shared to everyone in the city. Now because of this affair, everyone in America hates him and they all say that he is never going to be president. This line is repeated several times, 18 times to be exact, and this is roughly a two minute song, so that's a lot of times which means that this line was important.
          To me, this line shows that the citizens that live in the United States are very hurt by this betrayal and they do not want someone like Hamilton to be in charge of the country. I think that this affair affected the citizens deeply because when you think of a president, the words that come to mind are honest, respectful, kind, accepting, modest, etc. and when you see Hamilton who was supposed to be all of those things broke that when he was dishonest to not only his wife but to his country and I think that the people thought that if he was lying about this then what else is lying about and since he is dishonest, will he do what's right for this country or will he put his own needs above everyone else and screw over the nation.
          Something else that caught my attention was when Angelica came back all the way from London. It's not so much that she came back from London that caught my attention, it was what she said. In the song, Angelica states:
          Put what we had aside

          I'm standing at her side

          You could never be satisfied

          God, I hope you're satisfied
The reason as to why this caught my attention was when she says "we." Because this means that Hamilton and Angelica had a thing for each other which would be even worse than the whole Maria thing, I mean could you imagine Hamilton having an affair on his wife with her sister! Oh my god! The whole word would go ballistic! Also, the way that Angelica says the rest of those lines show that she was mad at Hamilton that he ended up choosing Maria Reynolds instead of her.

Guns and Ships

I really like this song because it is so upbeat and I like the rapping part that they put in this song. It really caught my attention and honestly this is where we see Lafayette's full potential in this war and we see just how much he can help in winning this war. During the parts that Lafayette raps in he talks about making the redcoats redder with bloodstains, dropping them, burning their bodies and then scattering their remains, and lastly he talks about engaging them, escaping them and then enraging them. The last line caught my attention because it suggests that Lafayette is toying with the British to gain information for the Americans.
          The lines that Lafayette say in the song definitely shows a more vicious side to Lafayette because he talks about murdering the British, and burning their bodies and scattering their ashes everywhere.
          Something positive that Lafayette states in the song is:
          I go to France for more funds

          I come back with more

          Guns

          And ships

          And so the balance shifts
This line gives the Americans more hope because this shows that after all these years of losing to a super power like Britain, they finally are fighting on an even playing field with Britain. This line also shows yet another side of Lafayette. This side of Lafayette shows that he is not afraid to fight for what he wants and what he wants is freedom from Britain and he is willing to do anything to gain that freedom.  

Your Obedient Servant

          In this song, Burr is angry at Hamilton for dismissing him so many times and for taking over his position and Burr's anger has been building up to this moment until he just snaps. At the very end of the song he states "Then stand, Alexander Weehawken. Dawn. Guns. Drawn." Burr is hoping to have a duel with Hamilton so that he can get rid of the man that has been ruining his life by undermining him. I honestly admire Burr's ability to hold back his anger for so long while this man who was also an orphan has risen up and taken almost everything good that has happened to Burr. For example, Hamilton became George Washington's right hand man when in reality it should've been Burr. 

          Something that I found that was interesting in this song was that even though the two men were angry at each other, they still put their grievances in the form of a letter. I thought that it was humorous, because these two grown men who despise each other are saying "mean" things to each other in a formal, hand written letter. And at the end of each letter, they sign it with "A dot Ham" or "A dot Burr." The reason as to why I put mean in quotation marks is because what they say to each other is pretty mild to what people would say to each other now whenever they are mad at each other. However, that being said things started to heat up in the end when Burr asked for duel with Hamilton and that does not happen anymore in today's society. 

The world was wide enough

          This song is about Hamilton's and Burr's duel and Hamilton's final moments. The majority of the song is put in Burr's perspective because he was the one that survived and since he survived, he gets to be one of the people to tell the story. through the tone of Burr's voice leading up the final shot, it sounded as though Burr didn't really want to participate in the duel but he was going to so that he could protect his daughter. he states in the song "I had only one thought before the slaughter. This man will not make an orphan of my daughter." So he is in this duel so that he can make it back to his daughter and watch her grow up into a young woman.

          Something else that I found was interesting was when Hamilton started to speak, it almost sounded like Hamilton was in a poetry slam event. The reason that it sounds like a poetry slam is because there are moments where Hamilton is quiet but then he gets loud and gets really into it. for example, Hamilton was quiet when he said Eliza's name, and how she should take her time, and that he will see her on the other side when it's her time. I think that Hamilton was quiet during this part because people tend to associate women with being soft, weak, quiet, etc. and this was a way to show that "feminine" side. 

          Lastly, probably the most interesting thing that occurred in the song is the line "he aims his pistol at the sky-" this line, to me is the most interesting one in this song because at the last second, Hamilton just puts his pistol up the sky and it's like a form of surrender. But Burr wasn't aware of Hamilton's surrender so by the time that he realized, it was to late. I have a theory as to why Hamilton put his pistol up to the sky. In the song "Blow us all away" Phillip gets in a duel with George Eacker, and Hamilton told Phillip to point his pistol up to the sky as a form of surrender but when he did that, George had already fired and it was to late. coincidence? I think not. So maybe Hamilton put his pistol up to the sky because he still feels guilty for what happened to Phillip, that it was his fault that he died, and so if he put his pistol up to the sky, then it would make up for what happened to Phillip. On some level, I think Hamilton knew that he was going to die, because in the poetry slam part, it sounded like he was saying goodbyes to the people that he knew and cared for. 

Burn

In the song "Burn," Eliza tends to use the word you when she is angry at Hamilton for all that he has done. for example, she states:

          You and your words, obsessed with your legacy...

          Your sentences border on senseless 

          And you are paranoid in every paragraph 

          How they perceive you

every time she says "you" she is saying that it is Hamilton's fault for everything that is wrong with their marriage, and how he cares so little about their marriage being ruined because he is more worried about his image and reputation than he is about how his actions will affect his marriage. 

something else that Eliza talks about is what Angelica said when they found out that Hamilton had been having an affair with Maria. She asks do you know what Angelica said and Angelica states this in the song, "You have married an Icarus. He has flown too close to the sun." I was curious when she mentioned this in the song because I had no idea what an Icarus was until I looked it up. Icarus comes from greek methodology. It tells the story about a man named Icarus who was the son of Daedalus who created the labyrinth, and his father gave him wings made out of feathers and wax so that Icarus could escape from the labyrinth, however Icarus flew to close to the sun, and all the wax melted and Icarus fell into the sea and drowned. So when Angelica compares Hamilton to Icarus she means that Hamilton is a very confident and arrogant man, and his arrogance is what made him lose everything that he cares about, which would include his family and his reputation. 

Say no to this

This song was interesting more many reasons. Burr is the one that starts off the song, Hamilton is longing for Angelica??? what??? 

First, even though that this song is about Hamilton and his affair with Maria, Burr is the one that starts off the song. why? well i'm glad you asked, here's my theory. So we all know that Hamilton isn't Burr's number one fan, so he opened up the song attempting to humiliate Hamilton because he's allowing Hamilton to talk about his own affair. how sweet. I especially liked the last line that he say's "I'll let him tell it," because he's allowing Hamilton, the original source tell his story and we all know that the story is better told from the original source, you can never tell it like the first person and that's what Burr is doing here. he is allowing Hamilton to tell his own story so you know it's going to be good because it's coming from him, but no it's not good, why? because it's a story about an affair! that's right!

Second, Hamilton is longing for Angelica? that's so weird. I mean angelica comes before his wife. he even says it in that order! "Longing for Angelica, Missing my wife." umm... shouldn't his first thought be about his wife and not about his wife's sister? that's what I thought as well, but no. Because he states this, that means that Angelica and Hamilton must've had a fling going on. And although the Maria one made more headlines for obvious reasons, I still think that he and Angelica still had a thing for each other but it just never made the news. 

The story of tonight

This song caught my attention because these men, Lafayette, Laurens, Mulligan, and Hamilton all say that they will join the fight, or the war even though they think that they are going to die. To me, I think that this sounded a bit odd because I mean their talking about their lives here! And they are talking about dying in battle and yes, it is for a great cause, for gaining back their independence and freedom from Great Britain but they have a high probability of dying which doesn't sound very appealing to me. But hey, you do you man.

I did like the tone and the melody of the song because it had a soft tone. I honestly just think that this song choice fit very well with the song itself because it's not as hyped up, like if there was a battle, there would rapping and the music would be loud. However, in this song it's almost as if it's leading up to the big battle song. It almost reminds me of the Jaws theme song where it's quiet but then it gets louder in the end, so this song is like a prequel for the next song and it's soft in the beginning but will get louder in the end.

one of my favorite quotes from this song is:
          Raise a glass to freedom

          Something they can never take away

          No matter what they tell you

          Raise a glass to the four of us
I personally love this quote because it's very true, Great Britain can take away their  money, their food, houses, family, and many other things but they can never take away their spirit, their will, their freedom, and their motivation to fight for their freedom.

That would be enough

To me, one of the sweetest songs in the musical is That would be enough, because it's where Eliza tells Hamilton how much she loves him and how she want's him and only him. The melody and the tone of the song also add to how sweet the song is because the song has such a soft melody and there's no rapping or loud music. It's just two people telling each other how much they love each other.

To me this is a story of true love because Hamilton say's in the song "Will you relish being a poor man's wife unable to provide for your life?" When he says this to Eliza, I feel like he's kind of testing her, and trying to see if she was in it for the fame and fortune or really just for him. And Eliza responds with "I relish being your wife." So she loves being his wife and wouldn't want it any other way even if they have no money and she can't have the life that she dreams of having. as long as she has him, then her life is complete.

In the beginning of the song, Hamilton asks Eliza how long she has known. and she responds with "a month or so." and when I heard this for the first time, I was really confused, like how long has she known what? but now I realize that Eliza is talking about being pregnant with their son because later she asks Hamilton if he wants to meet his son. So once Eliza found out she was pregnant, she wanted the general to send Hamilton home so that he could live and watch his son be born and watch him grow up. She didn't want Hamilton to die and miss out on seeing his son. This to me is very sweet because Eliza is putting away her's and Hamilton's interests and putting the baby's interest first by allowing Hamilton to live and see his son and so his son could grow up with a father figure around.

Alexander Hamilton

If i'm being completely honest, I think my favorite song in this musical is the first song, Alexander Hamilton because of the style that the writers decided to use, the word choice, and the use of rhymes as well. I like it because it tells Hamilton's life in the beginning in a fun and charismatic way. A style that I liked in the musical was rap and it's use of rhymes. For example, a line that John Laurens say's in the song is:

          The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father

          Got a lot farther by working a lot harder

          By being a lot smarter

          By being a self-starter

          By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

I really like this line because the rapping in it catches my attention because it has a faster pace and keeps me engaged. Also at the end of each line, each word sounds similar to the next one. father, harder, smarter, starter, and charter. all of these words together would be considered a rhyme. by using these words, it's not only able to get the message out about Hamilton but it also catches the audience's attention and makes the audience want to continue listening to the song. I know for me, when I heard this first set of rhyming words, I kept listening to the rest of the song to see if I could identify some more sets of rhymes and I did, which kept my interest throughout the entire song. 

          

Dear Theodosia

When I heard this song for the first time, I thought it was so sweet and caring and it was such a perfect father daughter and father son song. there are many factors that go into this song that make it such a great song and that many parents can relate to.

one factor that I noticed in the song was the melody and the pace of the song really make it a nice and sweet song because when both Burr and Hamilton sing the song, they are both quiet as if their trying not to wake up the baby. The fact that it's two grown men who are singing this song in a quiet tone shows that not only they are capable of being a fighter and a patriot but they are also capable of compassion, and kindness which is a great touch to this song and partly why it pulls on America's heartstrings.

another factor that goes into this song is the actual message of the song because in the song both Burr and Hamilton say:
          You will come of age with out young nation

          We'll bleed and fight for you, we'll make it right for you

          If we lay a strong enough foundation

          We'll pass it on to you, we'll give the world to you.
So what they are saying to their children is that they would do anything for their children and if that meant giving their lives so that their children can live to see another day, then they will do it. they are also saying that if they create a good government for the United States and it is a stable and fair government then their children will grow up in a free society where they are able to have many opportunities and help to improve the American society.

The Winter's Ball

In the song "The Winter's Ball," the first line in the song is sung by Burr and he says "How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore..." I found it interesting that Burr said this as his first line because Burr also said this exact same line in the first song, "Alexander Hamilton." A reason as to why I think that Burr said this same line both in the beginning song and the ninth song is because so much has happened to Hamilton within these songs. First, Hamilton's mother dies, he has to move in with his cousin but his cousin commits suicide, he moves to New York. In New York he meets a man named Aaron Burr and they become friends. Hamilton wants to fight in the revolution and ends up becoming George Washington's right hand man in the war and then he, Burr, and other men go to the Winter's Ball which is a ball where Hamilton meet's his future wife Eliza. However, in the song "Right Hand Man," the song before this song, Washington states that he is looking for a right hand man to help him win the war and Burr steps up and attempts to make a case as to why he should be Washington's right hand man but then Hamilton walks in and Washington completely ignores Burr and focuses solely on Hamilton and asks Burr to leave and blows him off. He wants Hamilton because Washington has heard good things about Hamilton and thinks that he can help him win the war. this makes Burr very mad so in the next song when they go to the ball, he says that Hamilton is obnoxious, arrogant, and a loudmouth bother plus the first line in the song. Burr says all of these negative things about Hamilton because he is Washington's right hand man and not him, so he is jealous of Hamilton. The first line in the song takes on two different meanings because in the first song, the line talks about how even despite all of these obstacles and hardships that Hamilton faced growing up, he still became a scholar, and a hero. however in the ninth song, this line is taken much more negatively in a sense that Hamilton is a bad person, and that despite all of these terrible things about him and his horrific past, that he still got to be Washington's right hand man instead of Burr.

The Schuyler Sisters

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my blog about Hamilton the musical! Enjoy!

I was listening to the song called "The Schuyler Sisters" and I heard a line in it that was said by Angelica. the line is "I've been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine so men say that I'm intense or I'm insane you want a revolution? I want a revelation so listen to my declaration:" after that, Eliza, Angelica, and Peggy all say "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal." and then following that lyric, Angelica responds with "And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I'm 'a compel him to include women in the sequel!" When I heard the first parts of the lyrics, I was curious about Thomas Paine and who he was and what the book Common Sense was about. When I went online, I found out that the book Common Sense was a voice for the American people. The book also advocated for American independence from Great Britain. But when Angelica was referring to the line that all men are created equal, she was referring to the sentence in the Declaration of Independence which was written by Thomas Jefferson. Because Thomas Jefferson was the one who wrote the Declaration of Independence, it would make sense for Angelica to go to him to change the declaration to favor women as well as men. In these few lyrics, Angelica is stating that Thomas Paine is depicting women as either intense or insane. While, Thomas Jefferson and other men believed that women were unequal to all men. This upsets Angelica and her sisters because they believe that women should be considered as equals to men.