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 happening 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 son died is that why

Number 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 will tell you I'm a terrible shot

Number eight!

Your last chance to negotiate
You send in your second, 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, places, fire!

I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
Is this where it gets me? On my feet, several 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 soldier's 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

I hear wailing in the streets
Somebody tells me "you'd better hide"
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
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