While there are no bad Hamilton songs, there are definitely some that are better than others, and the best Hamilton songs are typically the ones that pack emotional punches for the audience. The smash hit musical Hamilton reached a whole new audience thanks to the release of the recorded performance on Disney+. Created by and starring Lin Manuel Miranda, Hamilton is based on the life of the United States’ first Treasury Secretary, Alexander Hamilton. While he’s not the most obvious subject of a hip-hop musical, Hamilton’s life story captured the imagination of Miranda after he read Ron Chernow’s 2004 biography of the founding father.
Since its premiere in February 2015, Hamilton has become a runaway success and cultural phenomenon, winning 12 Tony Awards in 2016 and opening on London’s West End in 2017, where it won seven Olivier Awards. A special recorded performance was released on Disney+ to widespread acclaim, so more newcomers than ever were able to swerve the Broadway ticket prices and appreciate the acclaimed songs at home. Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton soundtrack propelled it to great heights and is worthy of a deep breakdown.
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46 “Schuyler Defeated” (1:03)
Performed By: Anthony Ramos, Philippa Soo, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Leslie Odom Jr.
Ranked the lowest of the best Hamilton songs by virtue of being short and more of a transition than anything else, “Schuyler Defeated” marks the moment when Alexander Hamilton discovers that his old friend Aaron Burr is tired of waiting. Unfortunately for the Hamilton family, Burr’s first big move is to upset the Senate seat of Eliza’s father, Philip Schuyler. It is here that Burr switches parties and becomes a Democratic-Republican for his personal status and overthrows Philip Schuyler’s seat in the Senate.
They don’t need to know me/They don’t like you.
When the stage show is full of more songs than speaking moments, even the smallest bits of dialogue are songs, but they don’t necessarily pop the way some of the longer performances do. This song plays during an important part in the play as it drives a divide between Hamilton and Burr, since they are now in different political parties. Burr sings, “I changed parties to seize the opportunity I saw. I swear, your pride will be the death of us all,” and “They don’t need to know me/They don’t like you.”
45 “The Story Of Tonight (Reprise)” (1:55)
Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Daveed Diggs, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Leslie Odom Jr.
Sandwiched between “Satisfied” and “Wait For It,” this reprise of “The Story of Tonight” is an important moment that allows the audience to slow down and absorb the impact of Angelica Schuyler’s revelation. This Hamilton song is mainly made up of drunken banter between friends but is nonetheless an enjoyable little segue with a heartfelt moment between Hamilton and Burr that doesn’t exactly occur much throughout the show. Here, Burr admits to an affair with a British officer’s wife and Hamilton tells him to “go get her.”
You are the worst, Burr.
Hamilton and Burr spend so much of the story at one another’s throats that seeing them banter and have fun together is completely different from the rest of the show. The music is also less intense than the rest of the show, and as lovely as it is, not one that sits with fans as long as other Hamilton songs do. However, it does help to set the stage for Burr’s biggest solo song of the play as Hamilton leaves him to consider his life of “waiting for it.”
44 “Aaron Burr, Sir” (2:36)
Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Daveed Diggs, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Leslie Odom Jr.
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Miranda’s love of wordplay is on display early in the second Hamilton song, “Aaron Burr, Sir,” in which the eponymous antagonist’s name is echoed in the line, “You punched the bursar.” Burr responds to Hamilton’s over-eagerness by inviting him to meet the likable John Laurens, the Marquis de Lafayette, and Hercules Mulligan — but Hamilton doesn’t exactly learn the lesson Burr had hoped for, which is to keep his head down and not run his mouth or risk making enemies.
If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?
The song plays an important role as it also sets the time and place of the story (1776 in New York City). it is also one of the original songs from The Hamilton Mixtape that stayed in the Broadway play, while most of the others were cut. This is the first real taste of the rap battles in the musical as well, though the further the story progresses, the more inventive the wordplay gets.
43 “Stay Alive” (2:39)
The Full Cast Of Hamilton
One of the more exposition-heavy Hamilton songs, “Stay Alive” finds Hamilton in a frustrating spot as George Washington refuses to give him a command in the war, instead relegating him largely to letter-writing duties, a job Hamilton despises. A highlight is the chaos when Jon Rua’s Charles Lee “s**ts the bed at the Battle of Monmouth,” and his ensuing volley of insults hurled at Washington.
I’m a general! Whee!
While it’s a nice showcase for the variety of voices in the show, since most of the principal cast members get at least a line or two, there’s also a lot of information in this specific song for the audience to keep track of all at once. When the songs leading up to it are faster-paced, it means the audience is largely getting through this particular track in the play to see what happens next.
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42 “A Winter’s Ball” (1:09)
Leslie Odom Jr.
This is the ninth song in Hamilton, and it takes place while Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton are together and are headed to attend Philip Schuyler’s winter ball. One of the shortest Hamilton songs is also one of the most amusing. The somewhat gross lyrics are lightened by the comedy of Hamilton and his friends swaggering into the ball full of over-confidence about their talent with the ladies, as well as Hamilton’s proud acknowledgment of the fact that he had a feral tomcat named after him.
Hey. Hey. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.
The song itself is a transitional one, in place to get the audience to the next step of the story, so it’s fun, but not a number meant to blow the audience away. Before the Off-Broadway production, this song was called “Ladies Transition” because of its short length. Audiences also love the dance that the guys pull off just before the song ends.
41 “Meet Me Inside” (1:23)
Anthony Ramos, Christopher Jackson, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Leslie Odom Jr.
Hamilton’s resentment at sitting on the writing bench throughout the war boils over in this Hamilton song centering on a tense argument between Hamilton and Washington in the wake of the Charles Lee/John Laurens duel. With its pulsing beat and very measured dialogue, this Hamilton song is an exercise in escalating tempers until finally Hamilton levels a veiled threat at his commander, and it is not the last disagreement that the two of them have in the show.
Call me ‘son’ one more time.
This is the 16th Hamilton song of Act One and sees Charles Lee shot in the side during the duel. Washington is angry at Hamilton and sends him home from the army to his wife. This song had a change in the Soundboard Recording, as the line that Burr sings (“You shot him in the side“) was changed because it was Lee singing (“You shot me in the side“) after Hamilton asks if he yields.
40 “That Would Be Enough” (2:58)
Philippa Soo & Lin Manuel Miranda
This is the 17th song of Act One of Hamilton and sees Eliza explaining her pregnancy to Alexander Hamilton after George Washington sent him back home. Though it might seem like just one of the sweet and romantic Hamilton songs that could have wound up cut, this song brings things down after the heat of “Meet Me Inside.” “That Would Be Enough” actually features just as much tension despite its softer notes.
Let this moment be the first chapter/Where you decide to stay.
The vocals are primarily Eliza’s, giving a sweetness to the tone of the song, even though the tension is thick. In this case, it’s the tension between Alexander’s determination to build a legacy and Eliza wanting him to appreciate his life while he’s still living it. She wants him to stay, but he’s too concerned with the future, which pretty much permeates the entirety of Hamilton.
39 “I Know Him” (1:37)
Jonathan Groff
In King George III’s final interlude, he marvels at the idea of a leader voluntarily stepping down from their position of power. While “I Know Him” is definitely one of the more enjoyable Hamilton songs, what follows is even better — King George watching the ensuing American in-fighting with glee and even making a comeback to gloat once more during “The Reynolds Pamphlet.” The scene-stealing King George III is nothing if not petty.
There’s nobody else in their ‘country’ who looms quite as large.
This is the 10th song from Act Two of Hamilton and is the 33rd overall track in the musical. The entire song is funny as King George III seems shocked that John Adams won the presidential election in the United States, and is even more shocked that George Washington would give up his power. It shows not only George’s misunderstanding of what America is all about but also his arrogance in his position as a leader himself.
38 “Farmer Refuted” (1:52)
Thayne Jasperson & Lin Manuel Miranda
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Poor Samuel Seabury just wants to stand up on his soapbox and make a speech in support of the king but runs into Alexander Hamilton’s inability to let anything go. This is one of the shorter Hamilton songs, but a fun one that’s only enhanced by the physical comedy of Hamilton harassing the Loyalist until Burr steps in to intervene.
But strangely your mange is the same!
It’s fairly early in the show, as the sixth song of Act One, and it shows a great juxtaposition between the classical musical stylings of the Loyalists who are stuck in the past, and the hip-hop of the revolutionaries, as Hamilton’s lines are rapped alongside Seabury’s classic lines. Seeing Alexander mocking Samuel, who is reading from the Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Continental Congress really shows the difference in the two sides when it comes to their passion and belief systems.
37 “The Story Of Tonight” (1:31)
Anthony Ramos, Okieriete Onaodowan, Daveed Diggs, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Leslie Odom Jr.
After the revelry of “My Shot” comes a much-needed wind-down in “The Story of Tonight.” While the preceding on the list of Hamilton songs might make the revolutionaries’ wishes seem trivial – from wanting to make a name for themselves, to simply not wanting to sew pants anymore – “The Story of Tonight” is a reassurance that they really do believe in what they’re fighting for.
Raise a glass to the four of us/Tomorrow there’ll be more of us.
“Tomorrow there’ll be more of us” is also one of the most quoted lines (or partial lines, more accurately) from the show as it’s a call to action and a reminder that even the biggest revolution starts with the smallest group. It is even better since Hamilton, Mulligan, Laurens, and Lafayette are drinking heavily and have no problem saying what they feel as they sing the song about progress and their goals to unite as Revolutionary allies.
36 “Stay Alive (Reprise)” (1:51)
Philippa Soo, Anthony Ramos, & Lin Manuel Miranda
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This is where Act II of Hamilton gets heartbreaking. Alexander and Eliza Hamilton’s frantic rush to their son on his deathbed, after his duel with George Eacker. This is a reprisal of one of the Hamilton songs that marked Alexander’s own brush with death earlier in the show. The most heartbreaking moment comes towards the end, as Eliza practices counting in French with her son until she realizes that she’s the only one still counting. This was a sad moment because Eliza just wanted to comfort her son, knowing that he was dying.
Sept, huit, neuf…
While Soo, Ramos, and Miranda might have most of the lines in the song and the story here, the rest of the cast helps to make the song a little more haunting with their echoes of the titular line, “Stay Alive,” and the steady beat of the drum creates the tension.
35 “Take A Break” (4:46)
Philippa Soo, Anthony Ramos, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Renée Elise Goldsberry
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If Hamilton Act II is the “fall” part of Alexander Hamilton’s rise-and-fall story, then “Take A Break” marks the tipping point right before that fall. With the threat of losing his job hanging over his head in this, one of the best Hamilton songs, Hamilton pulls away from his wife, his son, and his sister-in-law — choosing the pursuit of his legacy even over the people he’s ostensibly pursuing it for, throwing himself into his work above all else.
Angelica, tell my wife John Adams doesn’t have a real job anyway.
It features Ramos as the youngest Hamilton starting his journey into wordplay like his father and Soo beatboxing for him, which makes the song incredibly fun. The song also echoes earlier Hamilton songs as Angelica and Alexander write to one another, reminding the audience of their connection. This is where Alexander loses sight of what is really important in his life and it costs him.
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34 “History Has Its Eyes On You” (1:37)
Christopher Jackson & Lin Manuel Miranda
This one of the Hamilton songs in the calm before the storm of the Hamilton musical’s “Yorktown: and serves as a warning from the older general to his upstart young right-hand man: that despite his wishes, he won’t get to control his own legacy, which is in the hands of people who look back on someone’s life. It’s particularly poignant in light of its return in Hamilton‘s final song, where it’s revealed that Eliza – the very person who told Alexander “we don’t need a legacy” — is the one who tells his story.
You have no control/Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.
It’s also one of the most traditionally Broadway-styled songs on the part of Washington in the entire show as he tries to get through to Hamilton, but of course, Hamilton’s style is already faster and more modern than Hamilton at this point in the show.
33 “Say No To This” (4:02)
Leslie Odom Jr., Lin Manuel Miranda, Jasmine Cephas-Jones, & Sydney Harcourt
This marks the start of the fall of Alexander Hamilton and details how he ends up in an affair with Maria Reynolds. More than any other of the Hamilton songs, “Say No To This” has the distinct ring of an unreliable narrator, starting with Aaron Burr’s framing of “Alexander’s by himself, I’ll let him tell it.” According to the cheating Alexander Hamilton’s lewd version of the story, he was tired and helpless when a beautiful woman took advantage of his philanthropy to lure him to her bed with her feminine wiles.
Uh-oh, you made the wrong sucker a cuckold.
Much like “The Room Where It Happens” and “Burn,” this song acknowledges a gap in historical knowledge — and exercises appropriate skepticism towards Hamilton’s take on what happened and his treatment of said woman in the song. This Hamilton song fuses elements of traditional Broadway with R&B and Pop to provide the audience with a full story.
32 “Election Of 1800” (3:57)
Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Leslie Odom Jr., & Lin Manuel Miranda
The best moments of “Election of 1800” aren’t in this, one of the best Hamilton songs itself, but in Aaron Burr’s ecstatic reactions as he listens to the people declaring him to be “approachable” and musing that they’d like to share a beer with him. For one brief moment in the show, things actually seem to be going Burr’s way.
And they say I’m a Francophile/At least they know I know where France is.
Of course, it doesn’t last long, but he’s so thrilled about it that it’s one of the highlights as he attempts to make his own legacy instead of waiting for it. The song itself combines traditional Broadway chorus stylings with the hip-hop of the leads to make an interesting fusion. While Jefferson and Burr were victorious over John Adams and Charles Pinckney, Hamilton started a campaign for Jefferson, which resulted in Burr losing and challenging Hamilton to a duel in anger.
31 “Best Of Wives And Best Of Women” (0:47)
Philippa Soo & Lin Manuel Miranda
The shortest of the Hamilton songs, at only 47 seconds, is also one of the most touching, as Alexander says his final farewell to his wife (though she doesn’t know it). It’s here that the importance of “Ten Duel Commandments” comes into play, as, thanks to that song, everyone in the audience will know exactly what it is that Alexander is writing before he leaves.
Best of wives and best of women.
What’s really great about the brief snippet of music is that Eliza’s lines all echo earlier lines she had in the play. It might be short, but this is one Hamilton song that knows exactly how to remind the audience of everything that has preceded it. The line, “best of wives and best of women,” was on the dedication page of Ron Chernow’s book, and it was that line that inspired Alexander Hamilton.
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30 “Cabinet Battle #2” (2:22)
Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, Lin Manuel Miranda, & Okieriete Onaodowan
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One of the great strokes of genius in Hamilton is reimagining cabinet meetings on rather dry topics as vicious rap battles between the founding fathers. In this Hamilton song, Jefferson finds himself on the back foot while asking for American intervention in the French Revolution, and Hamilton goes to his usual excesses while arguing against it despite the help of France against the British.
Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’s head?/’Uh, do whatever you want, I’m super dead.’
When listening to the rhyming schemes of their rap battle, it’s easier to notice that Hamilton has the upper hand as his rhymes are more complex than Jefferson’s. This is the event song in Act Two of Hamilton and this was a turning point between Hamilton and Jefferson, who informed Alexander that the only reason he has achieved any success was because he had George Washington on his side. “Well, someone oughta remind you … You’re nothing without Washington behind you.”
29 “The Adams Administration” (0:54)
The Cast Of Hamilton
Things get chaotic in this particular Hamilton song, in which King George III watches (and dances) with glee. Though he’s brought up more than once as a punchline and even gets a track named after him, John Adams never actually appears on stage in Hamilton — which in itself is another kind of dig against him. This, the 11th song of Act Two of Hamilton starts off with Burr explaining that this is how Hamilton’s downfall starts, singing, “How does Hamilton, the short-tempered … Destroy his reputation? Welcome, folks, to The Adams administration!“
As long as he can hold a pen, he’s a threat.
The music here echoes the opening song of the show, demonstrating that this is like an introduction to both John Adams (despite his absence from the stage) and a new chapter in Hamilton’s life. This is where Hamilton starts to lose the power he had while working closely with George Washington because there is a new U.S. President, and Hamilton clashes with him despite them being part of the same political party.
28 “We Know” (2:22)
Daveed Diggs, Lin Manuel Miranda, Okieriete Onaodowan, & Leslie Odom Jr.
Madison, Jefferson, and Burr’s attempted to confront Hamilton in order to discredit him and it works, though not quite in the way they intended. This particular song in Hamilton, the 12th song in Act Two, marks a point where Hamilton has a choice between protecting his personal pride and saving his family from pain, and he chooses the former — not for the last time.
As you can see I kept a record/Of every check in my checkered history.
The lyrics here are less rapid-fire than most, despite the steady beat of the song, until Hamilton confesses that is. It’s then that Miranda speeds up Hamilton’s speech significantly as a sign of Hamilton’s conviction and desperation, just as he does during cabinet battles. This song deals with three of Hamilton’s most dangerous political enemies — Burr, Jefferson, and Madison — and deals with the blackmail payments they saw he made to James Reynolds. However, this scandal had nothing to do with money.
27 “Guns And Ships” (2:07)
Christopher Jackson, Leslie Odom Jr., & Daveed Diggs
Marquis de Lafayette delivers an impassioned argument for Hamilton’s return to the war, with Daveed Diggs deftly juggling a French accent and a mile-a-minute rap – not to mention jumping off the table in the middle of it. He finds a way to cut off British forces and gives Hamilton the chance to command that he has longed for his entire life. It’s Diggs’ last big hurrah as Lafayette before he switches roles in Hamilton’s Act II, and this one of the Hamilton songs features a memorable last solo for the character.
Sir, he knows what to do in a trench/ingenuitive and fluent in French.
It’s one of Diggs’ best Hamilton songs. While his performance as Thomas Jefferson is often remembered more, this song is an impressive showing of his abilities as Diggs raps incredibly rapidly:
Sir, you’re gonna have to use him eventually. What’s he gonna do on the bench? I mean— No one has more resilience
Or matches my practical tactical brilliance—You wanna fight for your land back? Ah! Uh, get ya right hand man back.”