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 is poisoned by 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 your (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, 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 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 (Aah, aah, aah) I hear wailing in the streets (aah, aah, aah) Somebody tells me, "You'd better hide" (aah, aah, aah) 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