The World Was Wide Enough

One two three four

Five six seven eight nine—

There are ten things you need to know

Number one!

We rowed across the Hudson at dawn

My friend, William P. Van Ness signed on as my—

Number two!

Hamilton arrived with his crew:

Nathaniel Pendleton and a doctor that he knew

Number three!

I watched Hamilton examine the terrain

I wish I could tell you what was happ’ning in his brain

This man has poisoned my political pursuits!

Most disputes die and no one shoots!

Number four!

Hamilton drew first position

Looking, to the world, like a man on a mission

This is a soldier with a marksman’s ability

The doctor turned around so he could have deniability

Five!

Now I didn’t know this at the time

But we were—

Near the same spot (Near the same spot)

Your son died, is that (My son died, is that)

Why—

Six!

He examined his gun with such rigor?

I watched as he methodically fiddled with the trigger

Seven!

Confession time? Here’s what I got:

My fellow soldiers’ll tell you I’m a terrible shot

Number eight!

Your last chance to negotiate

Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight

They won’t teach you this in your classes

But look it up, Hamilton was wearing his glasses

Why? If not to take deadly aim?

It’s him or me, the world will never be the same

I had only one thought before the slaughter:

This man will not make an orphan of my daughter

Number nine!

Look him in the eye, aim no higher

Summon all the courage you require

Then count:

One two three four five six seven eight nine

Number ten paces! Fire!—

I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory

Is this where it gets me, on my feet, sev’ral feet ahead of me?

I see it coming, do I run or fire my gun or let it be?

There is no beat, no melody

Burr, my first friend, my enemy

Maybe the last face I ever see

If I throw away my shot, is this how you’ll remember me?

What if this bullet is my legacy?

Legacy. What is a legacy?

It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see

I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me

America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me

You let me make a difference

A place where even orphan immigrants

Can leave their fingerprints and rise up

I’m running out of time. I’m running, and my time’s up

Wise up. Eyes up

I catch a glimpse of the other side

Laurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other side

My son is on the other side

He’s with my mother on the other side

Washington is watching from the other side

Teach me how to say goodbye

Rise up, rise up, rise up

Eliza

My love, take your time

I’ll see you on the other side

Raise a glass to freedom...

He aims his pistol at the sky—

Wait!

I strike him right between his ribs

I walk towards him, but I am ushered away

They row him back across the Hudson

I get a drink

Aaaah

I hear wailing in the streets

Aaaah

Somebody tells me, “You’d better hide.”

Aaaah

They say Angelica and Eliza-

Were both at his side when he died

Death doesn’t discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes and it takes and it takes

History obliterates

In every picture it paints

It paints me and all my mistakes

When Alexander aimed

At the sky

He may have been the first one to die

But I’m the one who paid for it

I survived, but I paid for it

Now I’m the villain in your history

I was too young and blind to see...

I should’ve known

I should’ve known

The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me

The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me