“I’m erasing myself from the narrative. Let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted when you broke her heart. You have torn it all apart, I’m watching it burn.”
“Burn” by Hamilton Musical Cast
Album: Hamilton (Original Broadway Cast Recording)
This Time It All Started With…
the world’s obsession with the Hamilton Musical. In 2015, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical about Alexander Hamilton premiered on Broadway and ever since then the theatre world has never been the same.
Now if you have been living under a rock and have no idea what I am talking about, let me help you out. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the lyrics and music for a musical about one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America: Alexander Hamilton. He also starred in the show as Alexander Hamilton.
But it wasn’t just any ordinary musical with the traditional musical theatre numbers. What makes this musical so special is that majority of the music are rapped. The genres Miranda drew inspiration from includes hip-hop, R&B, pop, soul and a bit of the traditional show-tunes vibe. Miranda spent numerous years writing the music.
If you want to find out more about his writing process, I would highly recommend watching “Song Exploder” on Netflix (Volume 1, episode 2).
And not only is the music unique but so is the casting. For the casting of the Founding Fathers and other historical figures that feature in the musical, they casted only non-white actors! Snaps and claps to that!
It’s a very long story and I don’t want to spoil it for you, so I suggest you book three hours out of your day and go listen to the cast album in order. There’s no dialogue in the musical so what you hear on the album is the story!
One of my favourite tracks is “Burn” which is sung by Hamilton’s wife (Phillipa Soo) near the end of the musical.
It’s a powerful song. A song where a heartbroken wife releases all her frustrations and heartache. For me, this is the song all female leads long to perform…or at least I long to perform it.
From the first verse, the audience is painted a picture of Eliza and Alexander’s relationship. How it started with the letters he wrote to Eliza confessing his love and praising her (she also sings about these letters in “Helpless” which is another amazing track!) to how it ended because of the letters his mistress wrote to him (listen to “Say No to This”).
The song starts calmly with this arpeggiated melody on what sounds like a harp (but there’s an electronic twist to it) and like her anger and frustrations, the music intensifies as the song progresses. Credits must go out to Phillipa Soo for portraying all this emotion through her voice!
The best part about this song comes when she explains Hamilton’s obsession with words and how people perceive his writing. You can hear the pain in her voice as it breaks.
“You, You, You”
Just when you thought she’s at her breaking point, the musical slows back down just enough for her to calmly erase herself from the narrative. And then she blows.
“The world has no right to my heart The world has no place in our bed They don't get to know what I said I'm burning the memories Burning the letters that might have redeemed you You forfeit all rights to my heart You forfeit the place in our bed You sleep in your office instead With only the memories of when you were mine I hope that you burn”
The ending to this song is so powerful. It’s the type of song you need to blast on full volume. It’s the type of song you can let out your frustrations on. I definitely have blasted this a few times during 2020…
If you want to listen to this song, click here.
Lyrics
I saved every letter you wrote me From the moment I read them, I knew you were mine You said you were mine I thought you were mine
Do you know what Angelica said When we saw your first letter arrive? She said
"Be careful with that one, love He will do what it takes to survive"
You and your words flooded my senses
Your sentences left me defenseless
You built me palaces out of paragraphs
You built cathedrals
I'm re-reading the letters you wrote me I'm searching and scanning for answers in every line For some kind of sign, and when you were mine The world seemed to burn Burn
You published the letters she wrote you
You told the whole world how you brought this girl into our bed
In clearing your name, you have ruined our lives
Do you know what Angelica said When she read what you'd done? She said "You have married an Icarus He has flown too close to the sun"
You and your words, obsessed with your legacy Your sentences border on senseless And you are paranoid in every paragraph How they perceive you
You, you, you
I'm erasing myself from the narrative
Let future historians wonder how Eliza reacted when you broke her heart
You have torn it all apart, I'm watching it
Burn
Watching it burn The world has no right to my heart The world has no place in our bed They don't get to know what I said I'm burning the memories Burning the letters that might have redeemed you You forfeit all rights to my heart You forfeit the place in our bed You sleep in your office instead With only the memories of when you were mine I hope that you burn
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