Cover art for Ten Things One Thing (2014 Workshop) by Lin-Manuel Miranda

Ten Things One Thing (2014 Workshop)

Feb. 17, 20151 viewer83.1K views

Ten Things One Thing (2014 Workshop) Lyrics

[MALE COMPANY]
One two three four

[FULL COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON AND BURR)]
Five six seven eight nine-

[BURR]
There are ten things you need to know

[COMPANY]
Number one!

[BURR]
We rode across the Hudson at dawn
My friend, William P. Van Ness signed on as my-

[COMPANY]
Number two!

[BURR]
Hamilton arrived with his crew
Nathaniel Pendleton and a doctor that he knew

[COMPANY]
Number three!
[BURR]
I watched Hamilton examine the terrain
I wish I could tell you what was happ'ning in his brain
Just apologize, we have worthier pursuits!

[COMPANY]
Most disputes die and no one shoots!
Number four!

[BURR]
Hamilton drew first position
Looking, to the world, like a man on a mission
This is a soldier with a marksman's ability
The doctor turned around so he could have deniability

[COMPANY]
Five!

[BURR]
Now, I didn't know this at the time
But we were-
[BURR]
In the same spot
Your son died, is that why
[HAMILTON]
In the same spot
My son died, is that why

[COMPANY]
Six!
[BURR]
He examined his gun with such rigor?
I watched as he methodically fiddled with the trigger

[COMPANY]
Seven!

[BURR]
Confession time? Here's what I got:
My fellow soldiers'll tell you I'm a terrible shot

[COMPANY]
Number eight!

[BURR/HAMILTON/ENSEMBLE MEN]
Your last chance to negotiate
Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight

[BURR]
They won't teach you this in your classes
But look it up, Hamilton was wearing his glasses
Why? If not to take deadly aim?
That's when I realized this was not a game
I had only one thought before the slaughter:
This man will not make an orphan of my daughter
[COMPANY]
Number nine!

[BURR]
Look him in the eyes, aim no higher
Summon all the courage you require
Then count:

[COMPANY]
One two three four five six seven eight nine

[BURR AND COMPANY]
He aims his pistol at the sky-

[BURR]
Wait!

[COMPANY]
Nine eight seven six five

[MALE COMPANY]
Four three two-


[HAMILTON]
One last thought

[COMPANY]
Number one!

[HAMILTON]
Before we got in the boat to cross the Hudson
I stopped to write a note
Actually I wrote-

[HAMILTON AND COMPANY]
Two!


[HAMILTON]
Just in case I didn't make it through
I want the world to know what I intended to do


[COMPANY]
Number three!

[HAMILTON]
If I shoot first, and throw it away
He has to yield, we both get to live another day
I know this puts me in a difficult spot
But I've got to throw away my shot

[COMPANY]
Number four!

[HAMILTON]
I get lucky, I draw first position
I stand facing east as I load my ammunition
The sun is in my eyes, I am almost giddy
As I watch it slowly rise over my New York City

[COMPANY]
Five!

[HAMILTON]
I start to shake when I realize
That we are-

[HAMILTON]
In the same spot
My son died, is that why
[BURR]
In the same spot
Your son died, is that why

[COMPANY]
Six!

[HAMILTON]
I examine the gun that we shared?
Philip never hurt a soul, he must've been so scared

[COMPANY]
Seven!

[HAMILTON]
My Eliza is still asleep
I left her a letter, I could've written it better

[COMPANY]
Number eight!

[BURR/HAMILTON/ENSEMBLE MEN]
Your last chance to negotiate
Send in your seconds, see if they can set the record straight

[HAMILTON]
I put on my glasses, so I can see if Burr is softening
I see him glaring back at me
He's always hated dueling, hated confrontation
I never had his instinct for self-preservation
I feel a sense of calm fill me
It's not in his political interest to kill me

[COMPANY]
Nine!

[HAMILTON]
My last thought is of Eliza
Maybe I can get back home before she opens her eyes
They put us through our paces, we count to ten
God, I can't wait to see her again

[COMPANY]
One two three four five six seven eight nine

[BURR AND COMPANY]
He aims his pistol at the sky-

[BURR]
Wait!

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About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

‘Ten Things One Thing’ is an earlier version of The World Was Wide Enough featuring a ‘rewind’ similar to that from Satisfied, which serves to show what both Burr and Hamilton were thinking in the countdown to the duel, instead of Hamilton’s soliloquy taking place as Burr’s bullet is travelling.

This song is one of the last changes made to Hamilton, according to the Lin-Manuel’s interview in the New Yorker:

The solution came to Miranda at almost the last moment, early in the morning on New Year’s Day. He was lying in bed, with his infant son sleeping on his chest, and Nadal sleeping next to him. It was the quietest Miranda could remember his life being for a long time. Quiet, he thought. That was the one card he hadn’t yet played in “Hamilton.” What if he didn’t write any music at all? He took his dog out for a walk, leaving his headphones at home this time, occasionally stopping to scribble in a notebook. He stayed up working until five the next morning, hearing Hamilton’s final moments at last.

  1. 50.
    Ten Things One Thing (2014 Workshop)
Credits
Release Date
February 17, 2015
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