Lyrics My Shot - Lin-Manuel Miranda , Leslie Odom, Jr. , Daveed Diggs , Original Broadway Cast of Hamilton , Anthony Ramos

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
And I'm not throwing away my shot

I'ma get a scholarship to King's College
I probably shouldn't brag, but dang, I amaze and astonish
The problem is I got a lot of brains, but no polish
I gotta holler just to be heard
With every word I drop knowledge

I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
Tryna reach my goal, my power of speech, unimpeachable
Only 19, but my mind is older
These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder
Every burden, every disadvantage I have learned to manage
I don't have a gun to brandish, I walk these streets famished (whoo)

The plan is to fan this spark into a flame
But damn, it's getting dark, so let me spell out the name
I am the A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R
We are meant to be

A colony that runs independently
Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin' on us endlessly
Essentially, they tax us relentlessly
Then King George turns around, runs a spendin' spree
He ain't ever gonna set his descendants free
So there will be a revolution in this century

Enter me (he says in parentheses)
Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me
I will lay down my life if it sets us free
Eventually, you'll see my ascendancy

And I am not throwing away my shot (my shot)
I am not throwing away my shot (shot)
Ayo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot

I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot

It's time to take a shot
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to on-archy
On-archy? How you say? How you - oh, anarchy!
When I fight, I make the other side panicky with my shot

Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice
And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis
I'm joining the rebellion 'cause I know it's my chance to socially advance
Instead of sewin' some pants (whoo)
I'm gonna take a shot

But we'll never be truly free
Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me (that's right)
You and I, do or die (whoo!)
Wait till I sally in on a stallion with the first black battalion
Have another shot

Geniuses, lower your voices
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices
I'm with you, but the situation is fraught
You've got to be carefully taught
If you talk, you're gonna get shot

But check what we got
Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot
I think your pants look hot, Laurens, I like you a lot
Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot

What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot?
Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not
A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists
Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is

Oh, am I talkin' too loud?
Sometimes I get overexcited, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a group of friends before
I promise that I'll make y'all proud
Let's get this guy in front of a crowd

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
And I'm not throwing away my shot

I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey, yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young, scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwing away my shot

Everybody sing! Whoa, whoa, whoa
Hey, whoa (whoo!), whoa
Said let 'em hear ya! Let's go! (Yeah)
Whoa, whoa, whoa (I said shout it to the rooftops)
Whoa (said to the rooftops)
Whoa (oh, come on), yeah (come on, let's go)

Rise up, when you're living on your knees, you rise up
Tell your brother that he's gotta rise up
Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Whoa)
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Whoa)
When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Whoa)
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Rise up

I imagine death so much, it feels more like a memory
When's it gonna get me? In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?
If I see it comin', do I run, or do I let it be?
Is it like a beat without a melody?
See, I never thought I'd live past 20
Where I come from, some get half as many
Ask anybody why we livin' fast, and we laugh, reach for a flask
We have to make this moment last, that's plenty

Scratch that, this is not a moment, it's the movement
Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went?
Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand
We roll like Moses, claimin' our promised land
And if we win our independence?
Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?
Or will the blood we shed begin
An endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?

I know the action in the street is excitin'
But Jesus, between all the bleedin' and fightin'
I've been readin' and writin'
We need to handle our financial situation
Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?

I'm past patiently waitin'
I'm passionately smashin' every expectation
Every action's an act of creation
I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow
For the first time, I'm thinkin' past tomorrow

And 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
And I'm not throwing away my shot

We're gonna rise up, time to take a shot (I am not throwin' away my shot)
We're gonna rise up, time to take a shot (I am not throwin' away my shot)
We're gonna, rise up, rise up (it's time to take a shot)
Rise up, rise up (it's time to take a shot)
Rise up, whoa (it's time to take a shot)
Rise up, take a shot, shot, shot (whoa)
Ayo, it's time to take a shot, time to take a shot (whoa, whoa)
And I am not throwing away my, not throwin' away my shot