So despite Hamilton's best efforts to be remembered for certain things, history may see it a different way. The worth of a human being is decided after their death by people and events they have no agency over. The final song speaks of his legacy that is in the end out of his control. Yet in his final moment, he decides to throw away his 'shot' by aiming at the sky instead of at his duel opponent Aaron Burr. ĭuring the entire musical, Hamilton sings about not wanting to throw away his shot and his wish to be placed firmly in the history books. The review also mentions that at the time of Hamilton's extramarital-affair scandal, his political rival Thomas Jefferson was having a relationship with his slave which would have been a bigger scandal at the time, had it been known. Every other Founding Father gets to grow old'. The Atlantic 's review of the musical notes that Hamiton isn't remembered as fondly as other Founding Fathers Angelica sings “Every other Founding Father story gets told.

Vibe explains that 'Eliza Hamilton steers the song as she reflects on her life, her marriage to Hamilton and their legacy, which includes the opening of New York City’s first private orphanage'. 'It's only a matter of time.' The rest of the cast splits between singing the word 'Time' and the song's title, 'Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?' Finally, she expresses her longing to see Alexander again in the afterlife.

Throughout her part of the song, the word 'Time' is repeated and emphasized as a motif, representing how Hamilton always felt he was running out of time and contrasts that with the large amount of time Eliza had to tell his story and preserve his legacy. She sings of her proudest accomplishment, founding an orphanage, and how the orphans there remind her of her orphaned husband. Hamilton's wife Eliza, played by Phillipa Soo in the original Broadway cast, then comes forward and takes the largest part of the song, revealing that she lived for 50 years after her husband's death, and all the efforts she made to tell her husband's story, as well as the stories of his fellow American Revolutionary War veterans, and of George Washington. Burr raises the question of who tells one's story after one is dead and gone. Both Presidents express grudging respect for Hamilton and the financial system he created.Īngelica points out to the audience that Hamilton was the only one of the Founding Fathers who didn't live long enough to have his story told. SynopsisĪfter the death of Alexander Hamilton, the already deceased George Washington comes forward and repeats a line from his earlier song, 'History Has Its Eyes on You': 'Let me tell you what I wish I'd known/When I was young and dreamed of glory/You have no control', then the rest of the cast joins in with this song's title: 'Who lives, who dies, who tells your story.'Īaron Burr individually reintroduces Thomas Jefferson and James Madison as 'President Jefferson' and 'President Madison' (though Madison didn't become President until four years after Hamilton's death). The musical premiered on Broadway in 2015 and tells the story of the life of Alexander Hamilton. 'Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story' is the finale of the stage musical Hamilton, with the music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda. ' Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story' Song by Cast of Hamilton from the album Hamilton 'Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story'

Who lives who dies who tells your story