Monday 30 July 2018

My Top 10 Hamilton Songs

Will I ever stop talking about Hamilton? Probably not. After kind of falling in love with the soundtrack and and then finally booking tickets to see it, I now I have so many ideas of blog posts to do with the show and I've been so excited to get sharing them. I know musical theatre can be a bit of a niche thing, it's really not something I see people blogging about often, and I've hardly seen any Hamilton related posts but that's kind of why I want to talk about it. It's a passion of mine and if I can't share that here where can I? and I'd love to see more posts from other people in future too. Hopefully if you're a fan of musicals you'll like this post which is my top 10 Hamilton songs. As the whole show is rapping and singing there are several in the soundtrack to pick from so this was definitely a hard decision, but I think I've picked some really great ones from an amazing bunch.
Top 10 Hamilton Songs
1. Wait For It - It's only recently this has climbed to the top for me but now it's there I can't see anything beating it. Sang by one of the leads Aaron Burr it's about his misfortunes compared to Alexander Hamilton's successes and how he is prepared to wait, knowing his time to shine will come eventually. Lin Manuel Miranda said 'I think we've all had moments where we've seen friends and colleagues zoom past us, to success, or to marriage, or to home ownership, while we lingered where we were - broke, single, jobless. And you tell yourself 'wait for it'. I think it's such a stand out moment and an incredibly powerful song. Leslie Odom Jr sings it beautifully on the soundtrack.
2. The Room Where It Happens - This has been near the top for such a long time for me. It's so unlike everything else on the soundtrack and was one that really got me hooked in the first place. Another sang by Aaron Burr and for me it kind of steals the show. The clip below explains a little what the song is about, as I just can't do it justice but if you can find other clips on Youtube, you can see how it plays out on the show and it's just so cool.
3. Yorktown - I love this for so many reasons but one being the line 'Immigrants we get the job done'. I've seen a few clips of this online and the reaction it gets just gives me goosebumps. Aswell as this line, this song is just such a moment in the show and in Hamilton's life with him just having being promoted by George Washington and his wife Eliza being pregnant with their first child. I've heard from a few people that when you see this live it's a real masterpiece so it's really one I'm looking forward to when I see the show.

4. Satisfied - Angelica Schuyler is one of my favourite people in the show, I love her sass and attitude and how outspoken she is compared to her sisters. Her main song in the show is Satisfied which comes just after Eliza and Alexander have got married and it tells her story of her love for him and basically how she wishes it was her he was with. Whenever I listen to the whole soundtrack I always feel for her as she gave up on what she wanted because of her love for her sister and I think the way it was put into song is so clever.

5. Non Stop - This is the song that ends the first act and I think it's such a moment and a perfect way to lead into act 2. I never used to think much of it previously but now it's one I play on repeat. So much happens in this one song, we notice the rivalry between Burr and Hamilton and so many other people are involved too, Angelica, Eliza, Lafayette etc. I honestly don't know where you would even start with writing this as it's just song after song blending and the tension between the characters building and building.
6. One Last Time - This is a song that just leaves me with goosebumps, and I can't even imagine what it must be like to hear it live. This song is about George Washington's decision to not run for re-election as president wanting to introduce America to the practise of a peaceful transition between administrations. It's another song that is put together incredibly well with part of it having an excerpt from the actual historical text of Washington's farewell address. The video below shows original Broadway cast Christopher Jackson and Lin Manuel Miranda who played Washington and Hamilton singing it at the White House when Obama was near the end of his run as president.
7. Dear Theodosia - This is definitely one of the more chilled out songs in the show compared to most as a lot are just rapping and quite full on! This is Burr and Hamilton welcoming their respective children Theodosia and Phillip into the world and I really love how this is sung. I think it shows another side of both men and explains a little why they fight for what they do.

8. Helpless - This is actually where Eliza and Alexander first meet and it all plays out in this one song leading to their marriage. This is another that has grown on me over time, I often can't decide if I prefer this or Satisfied which this leads into. I love how this tells Eliza's side whereas with Satisfied we get Angelica's view.
9. The World Was Wide Enough - This is one of the final songs and it's one of the big moments as it's when Burr and Hamilton finally duel and Hamilton loses his life. There are so many different sections to this song but the bit I like the most is towards the end when Burr realises what he's done and the repercussions of it. Despite Burr being painted as the villain, I've never really viewed him in that way. There's more to it than that and I think this bit shows that side of the story.

10. Cabinet Battle #1 - There are two cabinet battles in the show but the first one has been one I've always enjoyed. Both songs portray the discussions in the cabinet of the administration of George Washington in the style of rap battles between Alexander Hamilton who is the Secretary of the Treasury and Thomas Jefferson who is the US Secretary of State with James Madison occasionally jumping in. I love the rap battles because that's exactly what they are, nothing like you'd usually see in a show and they actually allow for some audience participation which is something else a little different. Whilst a lot of the show is rapping, I think the cabinet battles are just something else and really show off the casts talent.

There were so many other songs I could have included in this list, there are literally no songs on the soundtrack that I skip or that I'm not a fan of but I absolutely love the ones I did choose. I love that the whole show has such a mix of rapping and singing and that it's so unlike any other musicals out there at the moment. It's just incredible.

Are you a Hamilton fan?

Similar posts - 5 West End shows I'd like to see // Broadway to West End transfers I'd love to happen

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