Right Hand Man

British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbour
Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbour (thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbour)
When they surround our troops, they surround our troops
When they surround our troops (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
Writin' letters to relatives, embellishin' my elegance and eloquence, but
The elephant is in the room
The truth is in your 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 (rah!)
We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages (rah!)
Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us
Hamilton won't abandon ship, yo, let's steal their cannons

Shh-boom, goes the cannon, watch the blood and the shit spray, and
And boom, goes the cannon, we're abandonin' 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 givin' 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
Yeah, to be their Secretary? I don't think so

Now why are you upset? I'm not
It's alright, you wanna 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
'Til 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!