"Right Hand Man" is the 8th song of Act One of Hamilton.
In this song, the company, along with Alexander Hamilton and George Washington, contemplate their difficulties in their war against the British; George Washington accepts Hamilton as his right hand man to lighten his workload.
Lyrics[]
[COMPANY]
British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor
[COMPANY 1] | [COMPANY 2] |
[HAMILTON]
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—
[HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS]
Rise up!
[HAMILTON]
If they tell my story I am
Either gonna die on the battlefield
In glory or
[HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS]
Rise up!
[HAMILTON]
I will fight for this land
But there is only one man
Who can give us a command, so we can
[HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS]
Rise up!
[HAMILTON]
Understand? It's the only way to—
[HAMILTON/BURR/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS]
Rise up! Rise up!
[HAMILTON]
Here he comes
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
Ladies and gentlemen!
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
The moment you've been waiting for!
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
The pride of Mount Vernon!
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
George Washington!
[WASHINGTON] | [ENSEMBLE] |
[WASHINGTON]
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
Linin' up, to put me up on a pedestal
Writin' letters to relatives
Embellishing my elegance and eloquence
But—the elephant is in the room
The truth is in your face when ya hear the British cannons go...
[ENSEMBLE]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
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
[WASHINGTON] | [ENSEMBLE] |
[HAMILTON]
They're battering down the Battery, check the damages
[MULLIGAN]
Rah!
[HAMILTON]
We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages
[MULLIGAN]
Rah!
[HAMILTON]
Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us
Hamilton won't abandon ship
Yo, let's steal their cannons—
[MULLIGAN] | [COMPANY] |
[WASHINGTON]
Goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray, and—
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
Goes the cannon, we're abandonin' Kips Bay, and—
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
There's another ship and—
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
We just lost the southern tip and—
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
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 am in dire need of assistance...
[BURR]
Your excellency, sir
[WASHINGTON]
Who are you?
[BURR]
Aaron Burr, sir?
Permission to state my case
[WASHINGTON]
As you were
[BURR]
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
[WASHINGTON]
Huh
[BURR]
I have some questions, a couple of suggestions
On how to fight instead of fleeing west
[WASHINGTON]
Yes?
[BURR]
Well—
[HAMILTON]
Your excellency, you wanted to see me?
[WASHINGTON]
Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?
[HAMILTON]
Yes, sir
[HAMILTON & BURR]
We keep meeting
[BURR]
As I was saying, sir, I look forward to
Seeing your strategy play out
[WASHINGTON]
Burr?
[BURR]
Sir?
[WASHINGTON]
Close the door on your way out.
[HAMILTON]
Have I done something wrong, sir?
[WASHINGTON]
On the contrary
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh
[HAMILTON]
Sir?
[WASHINGTON]
Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
[HAMILTON]
Sir!
[WASHINGTON]
Don't get me wrong, you're a young man of great renown
I know you stole British cannons while we were still downtown
Nathaniel Green and Henry Knox wanted to hire you...
[HAMILTON]
To be their secretary, I don't think so
[WASHINGTON]
Then why are you upset?
[HAMILTON]
I'm not?
[WASHINGTON]
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 dyin' like a martyr?
[HAMILTON]
Yes
[WASHINGTON]
Dying is easy, young man, living is harder
[HAMILTON]
Why are you telling me this?
[WASHINGTON]
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?
[COMPANY (EXCLUDING HAMILTON)]
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
[HAMILTON]
I am not throwing away my shot!
[WASHINGTON]
Son
[WASHINGTON & COMPANY]
We are outgunned, outmanned!
[HAMILTON]
You need all the help you can get
I have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan
Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?
[WASHINGTON & COMPANY]
Outnumbered, outplanned!
[HAMILTON]
We need some spies on the inside
Some King's men who might let some things slide
[HAMILTON] | [COMPANY] | [ELIZA/PEGGY/ANGELICA] |
[FULL COMPANY]
Here comes the General!
[HAMILTON]
What?
[WASHINGTON]
And his right-hand man!
[FULL COMPANY]
Boom!
Alternate versions[]
Soundboard Recording[]
[HAMILTON]
Now I can write a revolutionary screed until my fingers bleed
But action’s gonna bring us what we need
[ENSEMBLE]
Yes indeed
[HAMILTON]
Tonight we plant a revolutionary seed
And watch it twist and weave and grow
Until we choke out every weed
[ENSEMBLE]
Yes indeed
[HAMILTON]
Let’s grab those cannons with our legendary speed
Keep in step with me, the leader of this gang, are we agreed?
[ENSEMBLE]
Yes indeed
[HAMILTON]
Stick with me
[ENSEMBLE]
Yes indeed
[HAMILTON]
Til we’re free
[ENSEMBLE]
Yes indeed
[HAMILTON]
Say goodbye to the life you used to lead
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
Ladies and gentlemen!
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
The moment you’ve been waiting for!
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
The pride of Mount Vernon!
[ENSEMBLE]
Here comes the General!
[BURR]
George Washington!
[WASHINGTON]
We are outgunned
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[WASHINGTON]
Outmanned
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[WASHINGTON]
Outnumbered, outplanned
[ENSEMBLE]
Buck buck buck buck buck
[WASHINGTON]
We gotta make an all out stand
Hey yo, I’m gonna need a right hand man
[ENSEMBLE]
Buck buck buck buck buck
[WASHINGTON]
Can I be real a second? For just a millisecond?
Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel second?
Now I’m the model of the modern major general
The venerated Virginian veteran whose men are all
Lining up, to put me up on a pedestal
Writin’ letters to relatives
Embellishin’ my elegance and eloquence
But the elephant is in the room
The truth is in ya face when ya hear the British cannons go…
[ENSEMBLE]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
Every 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
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[WASHINGTON]
Outmanned
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[WASHINGTON]
Outnumbered, outplanned
[ENSEMBLE]
Buck buck buck buck buck
[WASHINGTON]
We gotta make an all out stand
Hey yo, I’m gonna need a right hand man
[COMPANY]
British Admiral Howe’s got troops on the water
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor
[ENSEMBLE 1]
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor
When they surround our troops!
They surround our troops!
When they surround our troops!
[ENSEMBLE 2]
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor
They surround our troops!
They surround our troops!
[HAMILTON]
They gonna slaughter us? No
Let's be the regiment that gets it in and spreads them thin
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[HAMILTON]
Those unpredictable fuckers who gave their heads a spin
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[HAMILTON]
Who says I can’t lead?
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[HAMILTON]
Who says I can’t inspire?
[ENSEMBLE]
What
[HAMILTON]
Let’s bring our cannons back, we’re facing heavy cannon fire
The British fleet advances, morale slips
Taking chances, ma-a-a-n I ain’t scared of ships
Spread the word, when the commander says retreat
I’m the last man standing in the street
Blast the heat
[ENSEMBLE]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
Goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray
[ENSEMBLE]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
Goes the cannon, we’re abandoning Kips Bay
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
There’s another ship and…
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
We just lost the southern tip and…
[COMPANY]
Boom!
[WASHINGTON]
We gotta get 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…
[BURR]
Your excellency, sir!
[WASHINGTON]
Who are you?
[BURR]
Aaron Burr, Sir?
Permission to state my case?
[WASHINGTON]
As you were
[BURR]
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
[WASHINGTON]
Huh
[BURR]
I have some questions, a couple of suggestions on how to fight instead of fleeing west
[WASHINGTON]
Yes?
[BURR]
Well—
[HAMILTON]
Your excellency, you wanted to see me?
[WASHINGTON]
Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?
[HAMILTON]
Yes, sir
[HAMILTON AND BURR]
We keep meeting
[BURR]
Well, sir, I guess I look forward to watching your strategy play out
[WASHINGTON]
Burr?
[BURR]
Sir?
[WASHINGTON]
Close the door on your way out
[HAMILTON]
Have I done something wrong, sir?
[WASHINGTON]
On the contrary
I called you here because our odds are beyond scary
Your reputation precedes you, but I have to laugh
[HAMILTON]
Sir?
[WASHINGTON]
Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?
[HAMILTON]
Sir!
[WASHINGTON]
Don’t get me wrong, you’re a young man, of great renown
[HAMILTON]
Yes, we fought together in Trenton, I helped you take the town
[WASHINGTON]
Nathaniel Greene and Henry Knox wanted to hire you
[HAMILTON]
I came to be a soldier, not a secretary
[WASHINGTON]
Why’re you upset?
[HAMILTON]
I’m not—
[WASHINGTON]
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 dyin’ like a martyr?
[HAMILTON]
Yes
[WASHINGTON]
Dying is easy, young man. Living is harder
[HAMILTON]
Why are you telling me this?
[WASHINGTON]
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?
[COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON)]
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
I am not throwin’ away my shot!
Ayo, I’m just like my country, I’m young
Scrappy and hungry!
[HAMILTON]
I am not throwing away my shot!
[WASHINGTON]
Son
[WASHINGTON & COMPANY]
We are outgunned, outmanned!
[HAMILTON]
You need all the help you can get
I have some friends. Laurens, Mulligan
Marquis de Lafayette, okay, what else?
[WASHINGTON & COMPANY]
Outnumbered, outplanned!
[HAMILTON]
We need some spies on the inside
Some King's men who might let some things slide
[FULL COMPANY]
Boom!
[HAMILTON]
They got so many pieces on the chessboard
[FULL COMPANY]
Boom!
[HAMILTON]
They got cannons, we need to use our bayonets more
[FULL COMPANY]
Boom!
[HAMILTON]
And I'll do what I can
[FULL COMPANY]
Boom!
[HAMILTON]
To make you understand
[FULL COMPANY]
Boom!
[HAMILTON]
That one day I'm gonna have my own command
I'll be your right-hand man!
Differences between versions[]
- The intro is different, as is Hamilton's second verse.
- The mention of troops on the water was moved from the middle of the song to the beginning.
Gallery[]
