I Am Not Throwing Away My Shot Lyrics is written and sung by Hamilton. The title of the song is My Shot.
I Am Not Throwing Away My Shot Lyrics
[Hamilton:]
I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot!
I’m ‘a get a scholarship to King’s College
I probably shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish
The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish
I gotta holler just to be heard
With every word, I drop knowledge!
I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
Tryin’ to reach my goal. My power of speech: unimpeachable
Only nineteen but my mind is older
These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder
Every burden, every disadvantage
I have learned to manage, I don’t have a gun to brandish
I walk these streets famished
[Laurens:]
Ooh!
[Hamilton:]
The plan is to fan this spark into a flame
But damn, it’s getting dark, so let me spell out the name
I am the
[Hamilton/Lafayette/Mulligan/Laurens:]
A-L-E-X-A-N-D
E-R—we are meant to be…
[Hamilton:]
A colony that runs independently
Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin’ on us endlessly
Essentially, they tax us relentlessly
Then King George turns around, runs a spending spree
He ain’t ever gonna set his descendants free
So there will be a revolution in this century
Enter me!
[Lafayette/Mulligan/Laurens:]
(He says in parentheses)
[Hamilton:]
Don’t be shocked when your history book mentions me
I will lay down my life if it sets us free
Eventually, you’ll see my ascendancy
[Hamilton (Laurens):]
And I am not throwing away
My shot (My shot)
I am not throwing away
My shot (My shot)
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot (And I’m not throwing away my shot)
[Hamilton/Mulligan/Laurens/Lafayette:]
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot
It’s time to take a shot!
[Lafayette:]
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to ‘onarchy?
‘Onarchy? How you say, how you say, oh, ‘Anarchy’!
When I fight, I make the other side panicky
With my
[Hamilton/Laurens/Lafayette/Mulligan:]
Shot!
[Mulligan:]
Yo, I’m a tailor’s apprentice
And I got y’all knuckleheads in loco parentis
I’m joining the rebellion ’cause I know it’s my chance
To socially advance, instead of sewin’ some pants!
I’m gonna take a
[Hamilton/Laurens/Lafayette/Mulligan:]
Shot!
[Laurens:]
And but we’ll never be truly free
Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me
(That’s right!)
You and I. Do or die. Wait ’til I sally in
On a stallion with the first black battalion
Have another
[Hamilton/Laurens/Lafayette/Mulligan:]
Shot!
[Burr:]
Geniuses, lower your voices
You keep out of trouble and you double your choices
I’m with you, but the situation is fraught
You’ve got to be carefully taught:
I’m passionately
Smashin’ every expectation
Every action’s an act of creation!
I’m laughin’ in the face of casualties and sorrow
For the first time, I’m thinkin’ past tomorrow.
[Hamilton and Company:]
And I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, I’m just like my country
I’m young, scrappy and hungry
And I’m not throwing away my shot
[Hamilton/Laurens/Lafayette/Mulligan (Ensemble):]
We’re gonna rise up! (Not throwing away my shot) Time to take a shot!
We’re gonna rise up! (Not throwing away my shot) Time to take a shot!
We’re gonna (Rise up! Rise up!)
It’s time to take a shot! (Rise up! Rise up!)
It’s time to take a shot! (Rise up!)
(Rise up!) (Woooah!)
It’s time to take a shot! (Rise up!)
Take a shot! Shot! Shot!
A-yo it’s time to take a shot!
Time to take a shot!
And I am not throwing away my
[Company:] Not throwing away my shot!