A Grammy, 16 Tony awards nominations and 11 wins, including Best Musical, the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and an in-home release streaming on Disney+, it is no doubt that Hamilton – The Broadway Musical has stolen our hearts!
I’ve seen Hamilton live several times since its release in 2015 and it is one of my favorite productions. I just saw it at the AT&T Performing Art Center’s Winspear Opera House as courtesy of Broadway Dallas.
Making History
I learned about “the ten-dollar founding father without a father” as I prepared for my naturalization test in order to become a citizen of the United States, which happened after much sweat, tears, and literal blood in 2009.
Lin Manuel Miranda was inspired to write the musical after reading Hamilton’s life story and while the musical is not completely accurate, with creative takes on history, one cannot deny that it has made history relevant and interesting to a new generation.
Set in the late 1700s, but timeless and relevant to all, now. Hamilton resonates with everyone, everywhere because we can cry, laugh, learn, and feel deeply during the experience.
Diverse Representation on Stage
As an immigrant and an AfroLatina from the Dominican Republic, it is a source of pride to see one of our own, Lin-Manuel Miranda, shining bright for his brilliance, and to see the casting of people of color to portray notable historical figures, including the founding fathers of the United States.
The original cast of Hamilton includes Leslie Odom Jr., Daveed Diggs, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom, Jr., Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, and Phillipa Soo.
In addition to the hip hop, R&B, and soul beats that have everyone jamming to the rhythm in the disruptive Hamilton musical numbers, the lyrics are extremely profound.
That’s why I compiled and I’m sharing some of my favorite Hamilton quotes, so you can experience the magic and reflect on what they mean to you.
The 100 Most Memorable Hamilton Quotes
This is a clean list of the best Hamilton quotes from the best Hamilton songs and dialog from your favorite characters from the musical, of course!
1. “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” ~ Eliza Hamilton
2. “I’m not throwing away my shot.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
3. “And when you’re gone, who remembers your name? Who keeps your flame? Who tells your story?” ~ Aaron Burr
4. “Dying is easy, young man, living is harder.” ~ George Washington
5. “Pride is not the word I’m looking for; there is so much more inside me now.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
6. “I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
7. “The moments when you’re in so deep it feels easier to just swim down.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
8. “Don’t modulate the key then not debate with me!” ~ Alexander Hamilton
9. “Why do you always say what you believe? Every proclamation guarantees free ammunition for your enemies!” ~ Aaron Burr
10. “I can’t apologize because it’s true.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
11. “You’re on your own, awesome…Wow.” ~ King George III
12. “I’m more than willing to die.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
13. “Talk less. Smile more.” ~ Aaron Burr
14. “You’re like me. I’m never satisfied.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
15. “You forfeit all rights to my heart…I hope that you burn.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
16. “Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room? Soon that attitude may be your doom!” ~ Aaron Burr
17. “My love, take your time. I’ll see you on the other side.”~ Alexander Hamilton
18. “I look forward to our partnership.” ~ Aaron Burr
19. “And when my prayers to God were met with indifference, I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
20. “He says, in parentheses.” ~ Marquis de Lafayette, Hercules Mulligan, John Laurens
21. “Immigrants… We get the job done.” ~ Alexander Hamilton and Marquis de Lafayette
22. “For once in your life, take a stand with pride. I don’t understand how you stand to the side.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
23. “I’m chasing what I want. And you know what? I learned that from you.” ~ Aaron Burr
24. “Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain, and he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain.” ~ James Madison
25. “I wrote my way out of hell.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
26. “As long as he can hold a pen, he’s a threat.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
27. “I swear, your pride will be the death of us all!” ~ Aaron Burr
28. “Don’t do a thing. History will prove him wrong.” ~ George Washington
29. “I am the one thing in life I can control. I am inimitable. I am an original. I’m not falling behind or running late. I’m not standing still, I am lying in wait.” ~ Aaron Burr
30. “‘Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.’ We fought for these ideals; we shouldn’t settle for less.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
31. “You want a revolution? I want a revelation!” ~ Angelica Schuyler
32. “I wanna be in the room where it happens. I’ve got to be in the room where it happens.” ~ Aaron Burr
33. “And when I meet Thomas Jefferson, I’m a compel him to include women in the sequel!” ~ Angelica Schuyler
34. “That’s when I began to pray: Lord, show me how to say no to this. I don’t know how to say no to this.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
35. “‘Be careful with that one, love. He will do what it takes to survive.'” ~ Angelica Schuyler
36. “We dream of a brand new start—But we dream in the dark for the most part.” ~ Aaron Burr and Company
37. “If we try to fight in every revolution in the world, we never stop. Where do we draw the line?” ~ Alexander Hamilton
38. “Then you walked in and my heart went, ‘Boom!’ ~ Eliza Hamilton
39. “I’ve always considered you a friend.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
40. “All alone, across the sea. When your people say they hate you, don’t come crawling back to me… You’re on your own…” ~ King George III
41. “Don’t be shocked when your hist’ry book mentions me.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
42. “But I’m not afraid. I know who I married.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
43. “Gentlemen of the jury, I’m curious, bear with me. Are you aware that we’re making history?” ~ Alexander Hamilton
44. “I know that greatness lies in you. But remember from here on in, history has its eyes on you.” ~ George Washington
45. “What comes next? You’ve been freed. Do you know how hard it is to lead? You’re on your own. Awesome. Wow. Do you have a clue what happens now?” ~ King George III
46. “Raise a glass to freedom. Something they can never take away, no matter what they tell you.” ~ John Laurens
47.”The world will never be the same.” ~ George Washington
48. “We don’t need a legacy. We don’t need money. If I could grant you peace of mind, If you could let me inside your heart… Oh, let me be a part of the narrative in the story they will write someday. Let this moment be the first chapter: Where you decide to stay and I could be enough and we could be enough that would be enough.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
49. “I am not a maiden in need of defending; I am grown.”~ George Washington
50. “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?” ~ Alexander Hamilton
51. “I may not live to see our glory! But I’ll gladly join the fight! And when our children tell our story… They’ll tell the story of tonight.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
52. “I will never be satisfied.” ~ Angelica Schuyler
53. “Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints.” ~ Aaron Burr
54. “I’m about to change your life.” ~ Angelica Schuyler
55. “My name’s been through a lot. I can take it.” ~ George Washington
56. “I need no introduction.” ~ Hercules Mulligan
57. “Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now!” ~ Eliza Hamilton
58. “When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game. But you don’t get a win unless you play in the game.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
59. “Outrun. Outlast. Hit ’em quick, get out fast.” ~ George Washington
60. “What do you stall for?” ~ John Laurens
61. “I’d rather be divisive than indecisive.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
62. “But we’ll never be truly free until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me, you and I.” ~ John Laurens
63. “I will not let my shot go to waste.” – Alexander Hamilton
64. “Don’t let them know what you’re against or what you’re for.” ~ Aaron Burr
65. “This is not a moment, it’s the movement.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
66. “Fools who run their mouth off wind up dead.” ~ Aaron Burr
67. “Me? I loved him. Me? I loved him. Me? I loved him.”~ The Schuyler Sisters
68. “There’s a million things I haven’t done… But just you wait, just you wait.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
69. “I’m erasing myself from the narrative.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
70. “I probably shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
71. “History obliterates in every picture it paints. It paints me in all my mistakes.” ~ Aaron Burr
72. “I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love.” – King George III
73. “Look at where you are. Look at where you started. The fact that you’re alive is a miracle. Just stay alive, that would be enough.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
74. “Rise up!” ~ Alexander Hamilton
75. “I’m just saying if you really loved me you would share him.” ~ Angelica Schuyler
76. “What’d I miss?” ~ Thomas Jefferson
77. “Forgiveness. Can you imagine?” ~ Company
78. “Best of wives and best of women.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
79. “If there’s a fire you’re trying to douse, you can’t put it out from inside the house!” ~ Thomas Jefferson
80. “I put myself back in the narrative. I stop wasting time on tears.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
81. “Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
82. “We push away what we can never understand. We push away the unimaginable.” ~ Angelica Schuyler
83. “Every action’s an act of creation!” ~ Alexander Hamilton
84. “Excuse me, miss. It might sound funny, but your perfume smells like your daddy’s got money.” ~ Aaron Burr
85. “The plan is to fan this spark into a flame.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
86. “Let me tell you what I wish I’d known when I was young and dreamed of glory: You have no control: Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.” ~ George Washington
87. “We’ll give the world to you and you’ll blow us all away.” ~ Aaron Burr
88. “I probably shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
89. “You and your words flooded my senses. Your sentences left me defenseless. You built me palaces out of paragraphs. You built cathedrals.” ~ Eliza Hamilton
90. “As you can see I kept a record of every check in my checkered history. Check it again against your list and see consistency. I never spent a cent that wasn’t mine you sent the dogs after my scent that’s fine!” ~ Alexander Hamilton
91. “Now I’m the villain in your history. I was too young and blind to see… I should’ve known.” ~ Aaron Burr
92. “I’m just like my country. I’m young, scrappy, and hungry.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
93. “You can write rhymes, but you can’t write mine.” ~ Philip Hamilton
94. “The ten-dollar founding father without a father got a lot farther by working a lot harder, by being a lot smarter, by being a self-starter.” ~ John Laurens
95. “God help me and forgive me. I wanna build something that’s gonna outlive me.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
96. “I’m a trust fund, baby, you can trust me!” ~ Aaron Burr
97. “Oh, you get love for it. You get hate for it. You get nothing if you wait for it, wait for it, wait!” ~ Alexander Hamilton
98. “I’ll be Socrates, throwing verbal rocks at these mediocrities.” ~ Alexander Hamilton
99. “I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love.” ~ King George III
100. “Teach me how to say goodbye” ~ Alexander Hamilton
And an honorable mention to this hilarious Hamilton quote that will get stuck in your head the rest of the week:
Da da da dat da, dat da da da da ya da Da da dat dat da ya da!
Reflecting on Hamilton Quotes
These great Hamilton quotes encapsulate wise words of determination, resilience, and the pursuit of a better future.
As I reflect on my life, in between moments of “wait for it” and “just you wait,” it’s been an inspiration for me to continue to write like I’m running out of time and to make sure “the right story” is told about who I am. I know we are not our own “favorite subject” when it comes to writing, but putting ourselves in the narrative like Eliza did is good for our mental health.
See Hamilton LIVE
If you love these Hamilton quotes, it’s time to see Hamilton! And if you thought that you’d watch Hamilton on Disney Plus and “that would be enough,” I say that was just your first time. Don’t throw away your shot to see it live! I loved enjoying Hamilton once again and this won’t be my last time.
This production featured an extremely talented cast and I really enjoyed “this version.” The vocals were exquisite, the choreography flawless, and each cast member made the character their own. It was truly remarkable and worth the hype – and the investment.
If you’re in the DFW area, come experience this beautiful story of love, loss, lust, forgiveness, fame, and success. It’s part of the Germania Insurance Broadway Series, and runs from May 8th to June 9th, 2024. Bring someone you love – you will both love it!
What are your favorite Hamilton quotes? Share with us why in the comments below!
Nikki cruise
Saturday 11th of May 2024
As I read through these so many different memories and thoughts came up. I found myself answering questions, identifying, laughing and feeling sad.