Hamilton: An American Musical - Blog

Introduction

The musical is a typical American type of the entertainment. It combines music, drama, and literature, but it is not European opera or operetta. It is not a surprise that the most famous musicals are based on the typical US plots, for example, West Side Story or Hamilton. The latter became the sensation in 2015; it won all the possible prizes including the Pulitzer Prize for the lyrics. Many lyrics of the songs in this musical may be incorporated in the anthology. The song “Wait for it” is perfect by its form,  It represents the USA to the  elite writers, and also has a great aesthetic value; therefore, it is worth being included in the Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry and the Anthology of Pop Music.

Musical

The plot of Hamilton is based on the biography of Alexander Hamilton, who was an American politician, written by historian Ron Chernow. The contribution of Chernow is that he created the syncretic text, synthetic narrative history, which combines different genres. Lil-Manuel Miranda, the only author of the musical, produced the same synthetic narrative in his musical. Hamilton integrates the historical plot and the modern music, including rap. The talent of Miranda created the unusual mix of modern and classical, common and individual, as well as good music, poetry, costumes, and performance. Hence, this musical may be included in many anthologies, particularly the anthologies of the poetry.

Song

“Wait for it” is the thirteenth song from Act 1. It is sung by Aaron Burr, Hamilton’s political competitor and the killer. The conflict between Burr and Hamilton is one of the most famous conflicts among the American politicians. Two men competed for several years including the elections of the New York Governor in 1804. Hamilton published the pamphlets about Burr, Burr wounded his opponent to the death on a duel, and Hamilton died the following day. Burr’s career was ruined, he never returned to the mainstream politics. The song marks the moment of joy when Burr is happy with his future wife Theodosia. The main idea of the song is that Aaron Burr is trying to determine his mission and his sense of life.

The Norton Anthology

The Norton Anthology of the Modern Poetry is the first anthology to include the song “Wait for it”. The founder of the Norton Publishing Company, William Warder Norton, once claimed that his corporation will publish any book that will bring the knowledge of time to the public. Nowadays the Norton Anthology collects the important, typical and interesting pieces of literature for the certain period and region. “Wait for it” should be incorporated in this anthology because it makes the community aware of America and its people. The song describes the feeling of modern Americans, their values and attitudes. It reveals Burr not as the villain, but rather as a victim of the circumstances. The song is also the piece of interesting and typically American poetry of the 21th century. The Norton Anthology sorts the writings in the chronological order, so “Wait for it” should belong to the section of 2010s.

The Anthology of the Pop Music

In fact, there is no regular published anthology of the Pop Music, like the Norton one. From time to time different authors try to select the best lyrics and to collect them in one anthology. The good example of such an alternative anthology is Poetry of Pop by Adam Bradley. It embraces the collection of rap lyrics, and the editor wants to reveal the aesthetic value of the rap poetry. It is a topical arguable question, if the song lyrics, especially popular songs, should be considered the literature. The Anthology of the Pop Music should include the best lyrics of the popular songs and highlight their poetry, metaphorical language, interconnection with a tune, and its value of people. The lyrics to “Wait for it” is a valuable piece of literature. It combines modern and classic, contemporary and eternal problems. Thus, it is worth being the part of the Anthology, particularly the special section “Lyrics for Musicals”.

Lyrics

In this song Burr, who faced numerous disasters including the deaths of his dearest people, tells about his interest in Hamilton and his fast rise. However, he decides to stay and wait for his own future. He speaks about all good and bad events he has encountered in his life and summarizes that the current situation is not the worth the possible option. He also shows that he believes in the human parity and opposition to discrimination.

With regard to the structure, the song consists of three verses and the choruses. It is a typical song structure. Besides, it has the additional lines between choruses and verses that create musical and poetical counterpoints. The structure of every verse is the following: first two lines have a plain rhyme, then four lines are characterized the interlaced rhymes, and the chorus.

“Theodosia writes me a letter every day (day, day, day)

I'm keepin' her bed warm while her husband is away (way, way, way)

He's on the British side in Georgia (Georgia)

He's trying to keep the colonies in line (In line)

But he can keep all of Georgia

Theodosia she's mine” 

The structure of the chorus is more complex. It consists of 10 lines, some lines are similar in every chorus, while others are changed following the theme of the previous verse. Not all the lines are rhymed, though there are the internal rhymes in some lines (“It takes and it takes and it takes”), and the last lines repeat for four times .

“Love doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes and it takes and it takes

And we keep lovin' anyway

We laugh and we cry

And we break

And we make our mistakes

And if there's a reason I'm by her side

When so many have tried

Then I'm willing to wait for it.

At the end of each line, the back voices also repeat the last word that makes an additional accent on it. Besides, there is a separate verse in the middle of the song, the last one before the coda. The structure of this verse differs from others, as well as the theme. In the song, Burr sings about his life, family, and feelings, but the separate verse is devoted to Hamilton. In this way, Miranda and McCarter highlight Hamilton’s weight in Burr’s life. The song prepares the public to the future conflict between Burr and Hamilton and the tragic final. However, the main value of the song is its ideas. The natural parity of people, the reason of life in the event of a disaster, and the willing to live – all these inspire the public and rise the spirit.

Conclusion

The musical Hamilton is the work of art that will live for many years, like West Side Story and other brilliant Broadway musicals. The song “Wait for it!” expresses several deep ideas and perfect poetics structure. It praises the human parity and the longing for life. Moreover, it marks the important moment in the plot, the short pause before the fast conflict escalation and tragic final. It should be included in the Norton Anthology of the Modern Poetry because it provides the community with the knowledge about the contemporary American people. It shows not only the biography of the politician, but reveals the attitude to him and his contemporaries in the modern society. Therefore, it should be included in the special Anthology of Pop Music because it proves the aesthetic value of the popular culture, and possesses a great philosophy as well as perfect poetic form.

 

 

 

 

References

Chernow, R. (2004). Alexander Hamilton. New York, NY: Penguin Press.

Miranda, L. M., & McCarter, J. (2016). Hamilton: The Revolution. New York, NY: Grand Central Pub.

“Norton history”. (n.d.) W.W. Norton and Company. Retrieved October 23, 2017 from http://books.wwnorton.com/books/aboutcontent.aspx?id=4386

“Wait For It”. (n.d.).  Retrieved October 23, 2017, from https://www.lyrics.com/sublyric/4714

Appendix A

“Wait for it” by Lil-Manuel Miranda from the Musical Hamilton

Theodosia writes me a letter every day (day, day, day)

I'm keepin' her bed warm while her husband is away (way, way, way)

He's on the British side in Georgia (Georgia)

He's trying to keep the colonies in line (In line)

But he can keep all of Georgia

Theodosia she's mine

Love doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes and it takes and it takes

And we keep lovin' anyway

We laugh and we cry

And we break

And we make our mistakes

And if there's a reason I'm by her side

When so many have tried

Then I'm willing to wait for it

My grandfather was a fire and a brimstone preacher

(preacher, preacher, preacher)

But there are things that the homilies and hymns won't teach ya

(Teach ya, teach ya, teach ya)

My mother was a genius

(Genius)

My father commanded respect

(respect)

When they died they left no instruction

Just a legacy to protect

Death doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes and it takes and it takes

And we keep living anyway

We rise and we fall

And we break

And we make our mistakes

And if there's a reason I'm still alive

When everyone who loves me has died

Then I'm willing to wait for it

I'm willing to wait for it

I'm willing to wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

I am the one thing in life I can control

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

I am inimitable

I am an original

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

I am not falling behind or running late

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

I am not standing still

I am lying in wait

Wait

Wait

Wait

Hamilton faces and endless uphill climb

Climb

Climb

Climb

He has something to prove

He has nothing to lose

Lose

Lose

Lose

Lose

Hamilton's pace is relentless

he wastes no time

Time

Time

Time

Time

What is it like in his shoes

Hamilton doesn't hesitate

He exhibits no restraint

He takes and he takes and he takes

And he keeps winning anyway.

He changes the game

He plays and he raises the stakes

And if there's a reason he seems to thrive

When so few survive

Then goddammit I'm willing to wait for it

I'm willing to wait for it

Life doesn't discriminate

Between the sinners and the saints

It takes and it takes and it takes

We rise (And we keep living anyway)

(We rise)

We fall (And we fall)

And if there's a reason I'm still alive

When so few survived

Then I'm willing to

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it

Wait for it