Hamilton - Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down) Lyrics
The battle of Yorktown. 1781
Monsieur Hamilton
Monsieur Lafayette
In command where you belong
How you say, no sweat
We're finally on the field
We've had quite a run
Immigrants
We get the job done
So what happens if we win?
I go back to France
I bring freedom to my people if I'm given the chance
We'll be with you when you do
Go lead your men
See you on the other side
'Til we meet again, let's go!
I am not throwin' away my shot!
I am not throwin' away my shot!
Hey yo, I'm just like my country, I'm young
Scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwin' away my shot!
I am not throwin' away my shot!
'Til the world turns upside down
'Til the world turns upside down!
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
This is where it gets me: on my feet
The enemy ahead of me
If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me
Weapon in my hand, a command
And my men with me
Then I remember my Eliza's expecting me
Not only that, my Eliza's expecting
We gotta go, gotta get the job done
Gotta start a new nation
Gotta meet my son!
Take the bullets out your gun!
What?
The bullets out your gun!
What?
We move under cover and we move as one
Through the night, we have one shot to live another day
We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away
We will fight up close
Seize the moment and stay in it
It's either that or meet the business end of a bayonet
The code word is 'Rochambeau, ' dig me?
Rochambeau!
You have your orders now, go, man, go!
And so the American experiment begins
With my friends all scattered to the winds
Laurens is in South Carolina
Redefining brav'ry
We'll never be free until we end slavery!
When we finally drive the British away
Lafayette is there waiting
In Chesapeake Bay!
How did we know that this plan would work?
We had a spy on the inside. That's right
Hercules Mulligan!
A tailor spyin' on the British government!
I take their measurements, information
And then I smuggle it
To my brother's revolutionary covenant
I'm runnin' with the Sons of Liberty and I am lovin' it!
See, that's what happens
When you up against the ruffians
We in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it!
Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction
When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!
Left! Right! Hold!
Go!
What! What! What!
After a week of fighting
A young man in a red coat
Stands on a parapet
We lower our guns
As he frantically waves a white handkerchief
And just like that, it's over
We tend to our wounded, we count our dead
Black and white soldiers wonder alike
If this really means freedom
Not. Yet
We negotiate the terms of surrender
I see George Washington smile
We escort their men out of Yorktown
They stagger home single file
Tens of thousands of people flood the streets
There are screams and church bells ringing
And as our fallen foes retreat
I hear the drinking song they're singing
The world turned upside down
The world turned upside down
The world turned upside down
The world turned upside down
Down
Down, down, down