Hamilton: An American Musical
Lyric guide

Right Hand Man

Read Right Hand Man lyrics by Hamilton: An American Musical on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.

Hamilton: An American Musical visibility17 visits Video on page
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Page type: lyric reference Artist: Hamilton: An American Musical Canonical path: /hamilton/right-hand-man Related lyric paths: 6 Video embedded: yes
Lyrics

Right Hand Man

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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 outgunned (what?)

Outmanned (what?)

Outnumbered, outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

We gotta make an all out stand

Ayo, 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 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 ya 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 outgunned (what?)

Outmanned (what?)

Outnumbered, outplanned (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

We gotta make an all out stand

Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man (buck, buck, buck, buck, buck)

Incoming

They're battering down the Battery, check the damages (hah)

We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages (hah)

Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us

Hamilton won't abandon ship

Yo, let's steal their cannons shoot (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 giddyup

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

Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you

To be their Secretary? I don't think so

Now, why're you upset? (I'm not)

It's alright, 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

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 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 'em we need supplies

You rally the guys

Master the element of surprise

(Chicka-boom)

I'll rise above my station, organize your information

Till 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)

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Who performs "Right Hand Man"?

Hamilton: An American Musical performs "Right Hand Man", and this lyric page sits inside the Hamilton: An American Musical catalog on LyroVerse.

Are there related songs to explore after "Right Hand Man"?

Yes. The related section below points to Ten Duel Commandments and The Story of Tonight (Reprise) with a short reason for opening each page next.

Where can I find more songs by Hamilton: An American Musical?

Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Hamilton: An American Musical's lyric pages.

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