My Shot

• • • • 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'mma 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'a 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

The plan is to fan

this spark into a flame

But damn, it's gettin' dark

so let me spell

out my name

I am the A L E X A N D

E R, we are meant to be

a colony that

runs independently

Meanwhile, Britain keeps

s--ttin' on us endlessly

Essentially, they tax

us relentlessly

Then King George

turns around, runs a

spendin' spree

He ain't ever gonna

set his descendants free

So there will be

a revolution in this century

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

And 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

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

It's time to take a shot

I dream of life

without a monarchy

The unrest in France

will lead to 'onarchy

'Onarchy, how you say

how you, oh, anarchy

When I fight, I make

the other side panicky

with my shot

Yo, I'm a tailor's

apprentice and I got

y'all knuckleheads

in loco parentis

I'm joinin' the rebellion

'cause I know

it's my chance

to socially advance

instead of sewin'

some pants

I'm gonna take a shot

But we'll never

be truly free

until those in bondage

have the same rights

as you and me

You and I, do or die

Wait 'til I sally in

on a stallion with the

first black battalion

Have another shot

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

If you talk

you're gonna get shot

Burr, check what we got

Mister Lafayette

hard rock like Lancelot

I think your pants look hot

Laurens, I like you a lot

Let's hatch a plot

blacker than the kettle

callin' the pot

What are the odds

the gods would put us

all in one spot

Poppin' a squat

on conventional wisdom

like it or not

A bunch of revolutionary

manumission abolitionists

Give me a position

show me where

the ammunition is

Oh, am I talkin' too loud

Sometimes I get

over excited, shoot off

at the mouth

I never had a group

of friends before

I promise that

I'll make y'all proud

Let's get this guy

in front of a crowd

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

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

Whoa, whoa, whoa

Whoa, whoa, yeah

Whoa, whoa, whoa

Whoa, whoa, yeah

Rise up, when you're

livin' on your knees

you rise up

Tell your brother that

he's gotta rise up

Tell your sister that

she's gotta rise up

When are these colonies

gonna rise up

When are these colonies

gonna rise up

When are these colonies

gonna rise up

When are these colonies

gonna rise up, rise up

I imagine death so much

it feels more

like a memory

When's it gonna get me

In my sleep

Seven feet ahead of me

If I see it comin'

do I run or do I let it be

Is it like a beat

without a melody

See, I never thought

I'd live past twenty

Where I come from

some get half as many

Ask anybody why we

livin' fast and we laugh

reach for a flask

We have to make

this moment last

That's plenty

Scratch that

This is not a moment

it's the movement

Where all the hungriest

brothers with

somethin' to prove went

Foes oppose us

we take an honest stand

We roll like Moses

claimin' our promised land

And if we win

our independence

is that a guarantee

of freedom for

our descendants

Or will the blood

we shed begin

an endless

cycle of vengeance

and death with

no defendants

I know the action

in the street is excitin'

but Jesus, between all

the bleedin' and fightin'

I've been readin'

and writin'

We need to handle

our financial situation

Are we a nation of states

What's the state

of our nation

I'm past patiently waitin'

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

And 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

We're gonna rise up

Time to take a shot

We're gonna rise up

Time to take a shot

We're gonna

It's time to take a shot

It's time to take a shot

It's time to take a shot

Take a shot, shot, shot

Hey yo, it's time

to take a shot

Time to take a shot

and I am not

throwin' away my

Not throwin'

away my shot