Category: Attitude

Why Is It So Hard?

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, culture, faith, family, Happy, Insight, leadership, lifestyle, marriage, mental health, parenting, social change, social justiceLeave a comment

These things we are called to in life, these difficulties thrust before us, why does it have to be so hard?

It’s just life. It is what it is. One of those four great truths Buddha identified: “Life is difficult.”

In Matthew 10:16, Jesus makes a similar observation as he spells out how his friends should act: as a sheep among wolves, shrewd yet simple. And all will speak against you, and worry not about what to say, the Spirit will guide you.

But that doesn’t make it easier, I don’t think; it makes it more manageable, gives us a path forward, but not easier.

I’ve failed plenty of times to take this proper attitude, I’ve given in to the darkness, been overwhelmed, crushed.

And then? Then I try again. That’s it. Just try again.

It’s hard. That’s just how it is. Life is hard. And that’s ok. And you’re ok. Onward.

Bedtime at Fernwood

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, faith, family, Happy, Insight, lifestyle, mental health, parentingLeave a comment

Quite a ruckus most nights getting ALL to bed. There are the usual night-time chores — putting on pajamas, brushing teeth, getting water bottles filled with ice and water, arranging stuffed animals and blankets — it can sometimes take quite a while.

But when we’re done, and the lights go off, relaxation falls over everyone like a blanket. Then, it’s time for a nighttime song… in the darkness, in the quiet, as the bustle ends, in a darkened room lit only by the soft white glow of the nightlight near the floor, “Mother mother ocean…“

And soon there after, there is quiet and harmony and peace, and slumber comes. Amen, soon there after, slumber comes. Amen.

Say Their Names, Honor Their Fight For Equal Rights

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, culture, family, human rights, Insight, leadership, lifestyle, marriage, mental health, parenting, politics, social change, social justiceLeave a comment

In this great American experiment, we must rely on the fundamental ideals the founders laid out in the beginning.  After that initial revolution that birthed the United States of America, some eighty years later, we fought a civil war to solidify the course of our country.   

We are at a similar, if not as outwardly violent, cross-roads once again.  All  colors.  All religions, all creeds.  LGBTQ or straight, ALL who strive and desire to live in peace with one another.  

EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL.  *ALL* people deserve, ney, HAVE these inalienable rights.  

Let us not rest until this ideal is in fact, reality.  Let us make it a reality.  Let us say their names over and over until all peoples have justice and equal treatment across these fair and wide lands.

Take a listen to this profile of one woman’s life, striving to find her way, her own way, in this America. 

Storme DeLarverie ~

one.npr.org/i/884080764:884168701

Hamilton: Redemption, and Honor, Failed. In the End, Who Tells Your Story?

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, culture, faith, family, Happy, Insight, leadership, lifestyle, marriage, mental health, politics, social change, social justiceLeave a comment

Best of Wives and Best of Women

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[ELIZA]
Alexander, come back to sleep

[HAMILTON]
I have an early meeting out of town

[ELIZA]
It’s still dark outside

[HAMILTON]
I know. I just need to write something down

[ELIZA]
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?

[HAMILTON]
Shhh

[ELIZA]
Come back to bed. That would be enough

[HAMILTON]
I’ll be back before you know I’m gone

[ELIZA]
Come back to sleep

[HAMILTON]
This meeting’s at dawn

[ELIZA]
Well, I’m going back to sleep

[HAMILTON]
Hey. Best of wives and best of women

The World Was Wide Enough

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[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 rowed across the Hudson at dawn
My friend, William P. Van Ness signed on as my-

[BURR AND 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
This man has poisoned my political 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 AND PHILIP]
Near the same spot
Your son died, is that
Why- [HAMILTON]
Near 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?
It’s him or me, the world will never be the same
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 eye, aim no higher
Summon all the courage you require
Then count:

[COMPANY]
One two three four five six seven eight nine
Number ten paces! Fire!-

[HAMILTON]
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
Is this where it gets me, on my feet, sev’ral feet ahead of me?
I see it coming, do I run or fire my gun or let it be?
There is no beat, no melody
Burr, my first friend, my enemy
Maybe the last face I ever see
If I throw away my shot, is this how you’ll remember me?
What if this bullet is my legacy?

Legacy. What is a legacy?
It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see
I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me
America, you great unfinished symphony, you sent for me
You let me make a difference
A place where even orphan immigrants
Can leave their fingerprints and rise up
I’m running out of time. I’m running, and my time’s up
Wise up. Eyes up
I catch a glimpse of the other side
Laurens leads a soldiers’ chorus on the other side
My son is on the other side
He’s with my mother on the other side
Washington is watching from the other side

Teach me how to say goodbye

Rise up, rise up, rise up
Eliza

My love, take your time
I’ll see you on the other side
Raise a glass to freedom…

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

[BURR]
Wait!

[BURR]
I strike him right between his ribs
I walk towards him, but I am ushered away
They row him back across the Hudson
I get a drink

[COMPANY]
Aaaah
Aaaah
Aaaah

[BURR]
I hear wailing in the streets

[COMPANY]
Aaaah
Aaaah
Aaaah

[BURR]
Somebody tells me, “You’d better hide.”

[COMPANY]
Aaaah
Aaaah
Aaaah

[BURR]
They say

[BURR AND ANGELICA]
Angelica and Eliza-

[BURR]
Were both at his side when he died
Death doesn’t discriminate
Between the sinners and the saints
It takes and it takes and it takes
History obliterates
In every picture it paints
It paints me and all my mistakes
When Alexander aimed
At the sky
He may have been the first one to die
But I’m the one who paid for it

I survived, but I paid for it

Now I’m the villain in your history
I was too young and blind to see…
I should’ve known
I should’ve known
The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me
The world was wide enough for both Hamilton and me

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[WASHINGTON]
Let me tell you what I wish I’d known
When I was young and dreamed of glory
You have no control:

[WASHINGTON AND COMPANY]
Who lives
Who dies
Who tells your story?

[WASHINGTON]
President Jefferson:


I’ll give him this: his financial system is a
Work of genius. I couldn’t undo it if I tried
And I tried

[WASHINGTON AND COMPANY]
Who lives
Who dies
Who tells your story?

[WASHINGTON]
President Madison:


He took our country from bankruptcy to prosperity
I hate to admit it, but he doesn’t get enough credit
For all the credit he gave us

[WASHINGTON AND COMPANY]
Who lives
Who dies
Who tells your story?

[ANGELICA]
Every other founding fathers story gets told
Every other founding father gets to grow old

[BURR]
But when you’re gone, who remembers your name?
Who keeps your flame?
[BURR AND MEN]
Who tells your story?

Who tells your story?
[ANGELICA AND WOMEN]
Who tells your story?


[WOMEN]
Eliza

[ELIZA]
I put myself back in the narrative

[WOMEN]
Eliza

[ELIZA]
I stop wasting time on tears
I live another fifty years
but It’s not enough

[COMPANY]
Eliza

[ELIZA]
I interview every soldier who fought by your side

[MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENCE]
She tells our story

[ELIZA]
I try to make sense of your thousands of pages of writings
You really do write like you’re running out of-

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time

[ELIZA]
I rely on-

[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
Angelica

[ELIZA]
While she’s alive-

[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
We tell your story

[ELIZA]
She is buried in Trinity Church

[ELIZA AND ANGELICA]
Near you

[ELIZA]
When I needed her most, she was right on-

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time

[ELIZA]
And I’m still not through
I ask myself, “What would you do if you had more-“

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time

[ELIZA]
The Lord, in his kindness
He gives me what you always wanted
He gives me more-

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time

[ELIZA]
I raise funds in D.C. for the Washington Monument

[WASHINGTON]
She tells my story

[ELIZA]
I speak out against slavery
You could have done so much more if you only had-

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time

[ELIZA]
And when my time is up, have I done enough?
[ELIZA]
Will they tell my story? [COMPANY]
Will they tell your story?

[ELIZA]
Oh. Can I show you what I’m proudest of?

[COMPANY]
The orphanage

[ELIZA]
I established the first private orphanage in New York City

[COMPANY]
The orphanage

[ELIZA]
I help to raise hundreds of children
I get to see them growing up

[COMPANY]
The orphanage

[ELIZA]
In their eyes I see you, Alexander
I see you every-

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time
[ELIZA]
And when my time is up
Have I done enough?
Will they tell my story?

[COMPANY]
Will they tell your story?

[ELIZA]
Oh, I can’t wait to see you again
It’s only a matter of-

[ELIZA AND COMPANY]
Time
[COMPANY]
Will they tell your story?
(COMPANY/ELIZA MUTTERING)
Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?

Will they tell your story?

Who lives, who dies-
[COMPANY]
Time…

Time…

[FULL COMPANY]
Who tells your story?

Hamilton: A New Nation’s Growing Pains

On By jeff ludlumIn Attitude, business, culture, economy, human rights, Insight, leadership, lifestyle, politics, social change, social justiceLeave a comment

Cabinet Battle #1

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[WASHINGTON]
Ladies and gentlemen, you coulda been anywhere in the world tonight, but you’re here with us in New York City. Are you ready for a cabinet meeting???

The issue on the table: Secretary Hamilton’s plan to assume state debt and establish a national bank. Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor

[JEFFERSON]
‘Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’
We fought for these ideals; we shouldn’t settle for less
These are wise words, enterprising men quote ‘em
Don’t act surprised, you guys, cuz I wrote ‘em

[JEFFERSON/MADISON]
Oww

[JEFFERSON]
But Hamilton forgets
His plan would have the government assume state’s debts
Now, place your bets as to who that benefits:
The very seat of government where Hamilton sits

[HAMILTON]
Not true!

JEFFERSON
Ooh, if the shoe fits, wear it
If New York’s in debt-
Why should Virginia bear it? Uh! Our debts are paid, I’m afraid
Don’t tax the South cuz we got it made in the shade
In Virginia, we plant seeds in the ground
We create. You just wanna move our money around
This financial plan is an outrageous demand
And it’s too many damn pages for any man to understand
Stand with me in the land of the free
And pray to God we never see Hamilton’s candidacy
Look, when Britain taxed our tea, we got frisky
Imagine what gon’ happen when you try to tax our whisky

[WASHINGTON]
Thank you, Secretary Jefferson. Secretary Hamilton, your response

[HAMILTON]
Thomas. That was a real nice declaration
Welcome to the present, we’re running a real nation
Would you like to join us, or stay mellow
Doin’ whatever the hell it is you do in Monticello?
If we assume the debts, the union gets
A new line of credit, a financial diuretic
How do you not get it? If we’re aggressive and competitive
The union gets a boost. You’d rather give it a sedative?
A civics lesson from a slaver. Hey neighbor
Your debts are paid cuz you don’t pay for labor
“We plant seeds in the South. We create.”
Yeah, keep ranting
We know who’s really doing the planting
And another thing, Mr. Age of Enlightenment
Don’t lecture me about the war, you didn’t fight in it
You think I’m frightened of you, man?
We almost died in a trench
While you were off getting high with the French
Thomas Jefferson, always hesitant with the President
Reticent-there isn’t a plan he doesn’t jettison
Madison, you’re mad as a hatter, son, take your medicine
Damn, you’re in worse shape than the national debt is in
Sittin’ there useless as two shits
Hey, turn around, bend over, I’ll show you
Where my shoe fits

[WASHINGTON]
Excuse me? Jefferson, Madison, take a walk! Hamilton, take a walk! We’ll reconvene after a brief recess. Hamilton!

[HAMILTON]
Sir!

[WASHINGTON]
A word

[MADISON]
You don’t have the votes

[JEFFERSON/MADISON]
You don’t have the votes

[JEFFERSON]
Aha-ha-ha ha!

[JEFFERSON/MADISON]
You’re gonna need congressional approval and you don’t have the votes

[JEFFERSON]
Such a blunder sometimes it makes me wonder why I even bring the thunder

[MADISON]
Why he even brings the thunder…

[WASHINGTON]
You wanna pull yourself together?

[HAMILTON]
I’m sorry, these Virginians are birds of a feather

[WASHINGTON]
Young man, I’m from Virginia, so watch your mouth

[HAMILTON]
So we let Congress get held hostage by the South?

[WASHINGTON]
You need the votes

[HAMILTON]
No, we need bold strokes. We need this plan

[WASHINGTON]
No, you need to convince more folks

[HAMILTON]
James Madison won’t talk to me, that’s a nonstarter

[WASHINGTON]
Winning was easy, young man. Governing’s harder

[HAMILTON]
They’re being intransigent

[WASHINGTON]
You have to find a compromise

[HAMILTON]
But they don’t have a plan, they just hate mine!

[WASHINGTON]
Convince them otherwise

[HAMILTON]
What happens if I don’t get congressional approval?

[WASHINGTON]
I imagine they’ll call for your removal

[HAMILTON]
Sir-

[WASHINGTON]
Figure it out, Alexander. That’s an order from your commander

Room Where It Happens

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[BURR]
Ah, Mister Secretary

[HAMILTON]
Mister Burr, sir

[BURR]
Didja hear the news about good old General Mercer?

[HAMILTON]
No

[BURR]
You know Clermont Street?

[HAMILTON]
Yeah

[BURR]
They renamed it after him. The Mercer legacy is secure

[HAMILTON]
Sure

[BURR]
And all he had to do was die

[HAMILTON]
That’s a lot less work

[BURR]
We oughta give it a try

[HAMILTON]
Ha

[BURR]
Now how’re you gonna get your debt plan through?

[HAMILTON]
I guess I’m gonna fin’ly have to listen to you

[BURR]
Really?

[HAMILTON]
“Talk less. Smile more.”

[BURR]
Ha

[HAMILTON]
Do whatever it takes to get my plan on the Congress floor

[BURR]
Now, Madison and Jefferson are merciless.

[HAMILTON]
Well, hate the sin, love the sinner

[MADISON]
Hamilton!

[HAMILTON]
I’m sorry Burr, I’ve gotta go

[BURR]
But-

[HAMILTON]
Decisions are happening over dinner

[BURR]
Two Virginians and an immigrant walk into a room

[BURR AND ENSEMBLE]
Diametric’ly opposed, foes

[BURR]
They emerge with a compromise, having opened doors that were

[BURR AND ENSEMBLE]
Previously closed

[ENSEMBLE]
Bros

BURR
The immigrant emerges with unprecedented financial power
A system he can shape however he wants
The Virginians emerge with the nation’s capital
And here’s the pièce de résistance:
[BURR]
No one else was in
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one else was in
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one really knows how the game is played
The art of the trade
How the sausage gets made
We just assume that it happens
But no one else is in
The room where it happens.

[ENSEMBLE]
The room where it happened

The room where it happened

How the sausage gets made
Assume that it happens

The room where it happens.

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Thomas claims-

[JEFFERSON]
Alexander was on Washington’s doorstep one day
In distress ‘n disarray

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Thomas claims-

[JEFFERSON]
Alexander said-

[HAMILTON]
I’ve nowhere else to turn!

[JEFFERSON]
And basic’ly begged me to join the fray

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Thomas claims-

[JEFFERSON]
I approached Madison and said-
“I know you hate ‘im, but let’s hear what he has to say.”

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Thomas claims-

[JEFFERSON]
Well, I arranged the meeting
I arranged the menu, the venue, the seating

[BURR]
But!
No one else was in-

[BURR AND COMPANY]
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
The room where it happened

[BURR]
No one else was in-

[BURR AND COMPANY]
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
[BURR]
No one really knows how the
Parties get to yesssss
The pieces that are sacrificed in
Ev’ry game of chesssss
We just assume that it happens
But no one else is in
The room where it happens.
[COMPANY]
Parties get to yesssss

Ev’ry game of chesssss
Assume that it happens

The room where it happens.

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Meanwhile-

[BURR]
Madison is grappling with the fact that not ev’ry issue can be settled by committee

[COMPANY]
Meanwhile-

[BURR]
Congress is fighting over where to put the capital-

Company screams in chaos

[BURR]
It isn’t pretty
Then Jefferson approaches with a dinner and invite
And Madison responds with Virginian insight:

[MADISON]
Maybe we can solve one problem with another and win a victory for the Southerners, in other words-

[JEFFERSON]
Oh-ho!

[MADISON]
A quid pro quo

[JEFFERSON]
I suppose

[MADISON]
Wouldn’t you like to work a little closer to home?

[JEFFERSON]
Actually, I would

[MADISON]
Well, I propose the Potomac

[JEFFERSON]
And you’ll provide him his votes?

[MADISON]
Well, we’ll see how it goes

[JEFFERSON]
Let’s go

[BURR]
No!

[COMPANY]
-one else was in
The room where it happened

[BURR AND COMPANY]
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
No one else was in
The room where it happened
The room where it happened
The room where it happened

[BURR]
My God!

[BURR AND COMPANY]
In God we trust
But we’ll never really know what got discussed
Click-boom then it happened

[BURR]
And no one else was in the room where it happened

[COMPANY]
Alexander Hamilton!

[BURR]
What did they say to you to get you to sell New York City down the river?

[COMPANY]
Alexander Hamilton!

[BURR]
Did Washington know about the dinner?
Was there Presidential pressure to deliver?

[COMPANY]
Alexander Hamilton!

[BURR]
Or did you know, even then, it doesn’t matter
Where you put the U.S. Capital?

[HAMILTON]
Cuz we’ll have the banks
We’re in the same spot

[BURR]
You got more than you gave

[HAMILTON]
And I wanted what I got
When you got skin in the game, you stay in the game
But you don’t get a win unless you play in the game
Oh, you get love for it. You get hate for it
You get nothing if you…

[HAMILTON AND COMPANY]
Wait for it, wait for it, wait!

[HAMILTON]
God help and forgive me
I wanna build
Something that’s gonna
Outlive me
[HAMILTON/JEFFERSON/
MADISON/WASHINGTON]
What do you want, Burr?
What do you want, Burr?

If you stand for nothing
Burr, then what do you fall for?
[COMPANY]
What do you want, Burr?
What do you want, Burr?

What do you want, Burr?
What do you want?

[BURR]
I
Wanna be in
The room where it happens
The room where it happens
I
Wanna be in
The room where it happens
The room where it happens
[BURR]
I

Wanna be
In the room where it happens

I

I wanna be in the room…
Oh
Oh

I wanna be
I wanna be

I’ve got to be
I’ve got to be
In that room
In that big ol’ room [COMPANY]
I wanna be in
The room where it happens
The room where it happens
The room where it happens

I wanna be in the room
Where it happens
The room where it happens
The room where it happens
I wanna be in
The room where it happens
The room where it happens
The room where it happens

I wanna be in
The room where it happens
The room where it happens
The room where it happens.

[COMPANY]
The art of the compromise-

[BURR]
Hold your nose and close your eyes

[COMPANY]
We want our leaders to save the day-

[BURR]
But we don’t get a say in what they trade away

[COMPANY]
We dream of a brand new start-

[BURR]
But we dream in the dark for the most part

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Dark as a tomb where it happens
[BURR]
I’ve got to be in
The room…

I’ve got to be…

I’ve got to be…

Oh, I’ve got to be in
The room where it happens…
I’ve got to be, I’ve gotta be, I’ve gotta be…
In the room!

Click-boom!
[COMPANY]
The room where it happens

The room where it happens

The room where it happens

The room where it happens
The room where it happens

I wanna be in the room
Where it happens!
Click-boom!

Cabinet Battle #2

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[WASHINGTON]
The issue on the table: France is on the verge of war with England, and do we provide aid and our troops to our French allies or do we stay out of it? Remember, my decision on this matter is not subject to congressional approval. The only person you have to convince is me. Secretary Jefferson, you have the floor, sir

[JEFFERSON]
When we were on death’s door, when we were needy
We made a promise, we signed a treaty
We needed money and guns and half a chance
Who provided those funds?

[MADISON]
France

[JEFFERSON]
In return, they didn’t ask for land
Only a promise that we’d lend a hand
And stand with them if they fought against oppressors
And revolution is messy but now is the time to stand
Stand with our brothers as they fight against tyranny
I know that Alexander Hamilton is here and he
Would rather not have this debate
I’ll remind you that he is not Secretary of State
He knows nothing of loyalty
Smells like new money, dresses like fake royalty
Desperate to rise above his station
Everything he does betrays the ideals of our nation

[ENSEMBLE]
Ooh!!

[JEFFERSON]
Hey, and if ya don’t know, now ya know, Mr. President

[WASHINGTON]
Thank you, Secretary Jefferson. Secretary Hamilton, your response

[HAMILTON]
You must be out of your Goddamn mind if you think
The President is gonna bring the nation to the brink
Of meddling in the middle of a military mess
A game of chess, where France is Queen and Kingless
We signed a treaty with a King whose head is now in a basket
Would you like to take it out and ask it?
“Should we honor our treaty, King Louis’ head?”
“Uh… do whatever you want, I’m super dead.”

[WASHINGTON]
Enough. Hamilton is right

[JEFFERSON]
Mr. President-

[WASHINGTON]
We’re too fragile to start another fight

[JEFFERSON]
But sir, do we not fight for freedom?

[WASHINGTON]
Sure, when the French figure out who’s gonna lead ‘em

[JEFFERSON]
The people are leading-

[WASHINGTON]
The people are rioting
There’s a difference. Frankly, it’s a little disquieting you would let your ideals blind you to reality
Hamilton

[HAMILTON]
Sir

[WASHINGTON]
Draft a statement of neutrality

[JEFFERSON]
Did you forget Lafayette?

[HAMILTON]
What?

[JEFFERSON]
Have you an ounce of regret?
You accumulate debt, you accumulate power
Yet in their hour of need, you forget

[HAMILTON]
Lafayette’s a smart man, he’ll be fine
And before he was your friend, he was mine
If we try to fight in every revolution in the world, we never stop
Where do we draw the line?

[JEFFERSON]
So quick-witted

[HAMILTON]
Alas, I admit it

[JEFFERSON]
I bet you were quite a lawyer

[HAMILTON]
My defendants got acquitted

[JEFFERSON]
Huh. Well, someone oughta remind you

[HAMILTON]
What?

[JEFFERSON]
You’re nothing without Washington behind you

[WASHINGTON]
Hamilton!

[JEFFERSON]
Daddy’s calling!

Washington On Your Side

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[BURR]
It must be nice, it must be nice to have
Washington on your side
It must be nice, it must be nice to have
Washington on your side

[JEFFERSON]
Ev’ry action has its equal, opposite reactions
Thanks to Hamilton, our cab’net’s fractured into factions
Try not to crack under the stress, we’re breaking down like fractions
We smack each other in the press, and we don’t print retractions
I get no satisfaction witnessing his fits of passion
The way he primps and preens and dresses like the pits of fashion
Our poorest citizens, our farmers, live ration to ration
As Wall Street robs ‘em blind in search of chips to cash in
This prick is askin’ for someone to bring him to task
Somebody gimme some dirt on this vacuous mass so we can at last unmask him
I’ll pull the trigger on him, someone load the gun and cock it
While we were all watching, he got Washington in his pocket

[JEFFERSON AND BURR]
It must be nice, it must be nice to have
Washington on your side
It must be nice, it must be nice to have
Washington on your side

Look back at the Bill of Rights

[MADISON]
Which I wrote

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
The ink hasn’t dried
It must be nice, it must be nice to have
Washington on your side

[MADISON]
So he’s doubled the size of the government
Wasn’t the trouble with much our previous government size?

[BURR]
Look in his eyes!

[JEFFERSON]
See how he lies

[MADISON]
Follow the scent of his enterprise

[JEFFERSON]
Centralizing national credit
And making American credit competitive

[MADISON]
If we don’t stop it we aid and abet it

[JEFFERSON]
I have to resign

[MADISON]
Somebody has to stand up for the South!

[BURR]
Somebody has to stand up to his mouth!

[JEFFERSON]
If there’s a fire you’re trying to douse

[MADISON AND JEFFERSON]
You can’t put it out from inside the house

[JEFFERSON]
I’m in the cabinet. I am complicit in
Watching him grabbin’ at power and kiss it
If Washington isn’t gon’ listen
To disciplined dissidents, this is the difference:
This kid is out!

[MADISON/BURR/JEFFERSON]
Oh!
This immigrant isn’t somebody we chose
Oh!
This immigrant’s keeping us all on our toes
Oh!
Let’s show these Federalists who they’re up against!
Oh!

[JEFFERSON/MADISON]
Southern motherfuckin’-

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
Democratic-Republicans!

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR/ENSEMBLE]
Oh!

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
Let’s follow the money and see where it goes

[ENSEMBLE]
Oh!

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
Because every second the Treasury grows

[ENSEMBLE]
Oh!

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
If we follow the money and see where it leads
Get in the weeds, look for the seeds of
Hamilton’s misdeeds

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
It must be nice. It must be nice

[MADISON]
Follow the money and see where it goes

JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR
It must be nice. It must be nice

[JEFFERSON]
The emperor has no clothes

[JEFFERSON/MADISON/BURR]
We won’t be invisible. We won’t be denied
Still
It must be nice, it must be nice to have
Washington on your side

Hamilton: Two Songs, Different Perspectives, One Truth

On By jeff ludlumIn art, Attitude, culture, faith, family, Insight, marriage, mental health, parenting, politicsLeave a comment

[Reposted from last week, these two songs in the context of the whole Hamilton sequence, and because they are so pivotal to his story.]

Hamilton’s intellect and courage and vision and words, all were not enough to save his marriage after his adultery.

Though still married in title, only a shell remained. The trust and confidence and certainty of love had disappeared. In the wake of the hurricane, only ruin. And then the ruin, it was burned.

“Hurricane”

[Hamilton:]

In the eye of a hurricane

There is quiet

For just a moment

A yellow sky

When I was seventeen a hurricane

Destroyed my town

I didn’t drown

I couldn’t seem to die

I wrote my way out

Wrote everything down far as I could see

I wrote my way out

I looked up and the town had its eyes on me

They passed a plate around

Total strangers

Moved to kindness by my story

Raised enough for me to book passage on a

Ship that was New York bound…

I wrote my way out of hell

I wrote my way to revolution

I was louder than the crack in the bell

I wrote Eliza love letters until she fell

I wrote about The Constitution and defended it well

And in the face of ignorance and resistance

I wrote financial systems into existence

And when my prayers to God were met with indifference

I picked up a pen, I wrote my own deliverance

In the eye of a hurricane

There is quiet

For just a moment

A yellow sky

I was twelve when my mother died

She was holding me

We were sick and she was holding me

I couldn’t seem to die

[Burr:]

Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…

[Hamilton:]

I’ll write my way out…

[Burr and Ensemble:]

Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it…

[Hamilton:]

Write ev’rything down, far as I can see…

[Burr and Ensemble (Washington/Eliza/Angelica/Maria):]

Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait… (History has its eyes on you)

[Hamilton:]

I’ll write my way out…

Overwhelm them with honesty

This is the eye of the hurricane, this is the only

Way I can protect my legacy…

[Company (Except Hamilton):]

Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it, wait…

[Hamilton:]

The Reynolds Pamphlet

“Burn”

[Eliza:]

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’ve 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

Hamilton: A Side Note

On By jeff ludlumIn art, Attitude, culture, human rights, Insight, leadership, lifestyle, mental health, politics, social change, social justiceLeave a comment

A side note to provide a bit of added explanation – in case needed – as to why all the Hamilton lyrics post.

Love the musical. A

Saw it in San Francisco a couple years ago with my wife; she was so excited she saw it a second time the next weekend.

The music has played in our house since then. Our kids know some of the songs. I find myself listening over and over again. The songs are like a salve for my soul.

It seemed appropriate to capture some of the lyrics that are most meaningful to me in this blog, to further enshrine them.

And when better to do so than on 4th July weekend, as we celebrate 244 years of America; as our nation sits in a pandemic; as our immunities, our society take fresh aim at changing fundamental inequities within, injustice, police violence, systemic racism.

The great American Experiment continues. And “Hamilton” is high on the playlist.

Hamilton: A New Nation Struggles, It’s Founders Battle and Shape

On By jeff ludlumIn art, Attitude, culture, economy, examples, human rights, Insight, leadership, politics, social change, social justiceLeave a comment

Non-Stop

(Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton Cast)

[BURR]
After the war I went back to New York

[HAMILTON]
A-After the war I went back to New York

[BURR]
I finished up my studies and I practiced law

[HAMILTON]
I practiced law, Burr worked next door
[BURR]
Even though we started at the very same time
Alexander Hamilton began to climb
How to account for his rise to the top?
Maaaaan, the man is
Non-stop!

[ENSEMBLE]
Non-stop!

[HAMILTON]
Gentlemen of the jury, I’m curious, bear with me
Are you aware that we’re making hist’ry?
This is the first murder trial of our brand-new nation
[HAMILTON]
The liberty behind
Deliberation-

[ENSEMBLE]
Non-stop!

[HAMILTON]
I intend to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt
With my assistant counsel-

[BURR]
Co-counsel
Hamilton, sit down
Our client Levi Weeks is innocent. Call your first witness
That’s all you had to say!

[HAMILTON]
Okay!
One more thing-

[BURR]
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room?
Soon that attitude may be your doom!

[ENSEMBLE]
Awwww!
[BURR]
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?
Write day and night like you’re running out of time?
Ev’ry day you fight, like you’re running out of time

Keep on fighting. In the meantime- [ENSEMBLE]
Why do you write like you’re running out of time?

Ev’ry day you fight, like you’re running out of time

Non-stop!

[HAMILTON]
Corruption’s such an old song that we can sing along in harmony
And nowhere is it stronger than in Albany
This colony’s economy’s increasingly stalling and
[HAMILTON]
Honestly, that’s why public service
Seems to be calling me.

[BURR AND ENSEMBLE]
He’s just
Non-stop!

[HAMILTON]
I practiced the law, I practic’ly perfected it
I’ve seen injustice in the world and I’ve corrected it
Now for a strong central democracy
If not, then I’ll be Socrates
[HAMILTON]
Throwing verbal rocks
At these mediocrities.

[ENSEMBLE]
Awww!

[BURR]
Hamilton, at the Constitutional Convention:

[HAMILTON]
I was chosen for the Constitutional Convention

[BURR]
There as a New York junior delegate:
[HAMILTON]
Now what I’m going to say may sound indelicate…

[BURR]
Goes and proposes his own form of government!

His own plan for a new form of government!

[COMPANY]
Awwww!

What?

What?

[BURR]
Talks for six hours! The convention is listless!

[ENSEMBLE MAN]
Bright young man…

[ANOTHER ENSEMBLE MAN]
Yo, who the f is this?
[BURR]
Why do you always say what you believe?
Why do you always say what you believe?
Ev’ry proclamation guarantees free ammunition for your enemies!

[BURR AND MEN]
Why do you write like it’s
Going out of style?
Write day and night like it’s
Going out of style?

[COMPANY]
Why do you always say what you believe?

Awww!

[ALL WOMEN]
Going out of style, hey!

Going out of style, hey!

[BURR AND COMPANY]
Ev’ry day you fight like it’s
Going out of style
Do what you do

[BURR]
Alexander?

[HAMILTON]
Aaron Burr, sir

[BURR]
It’s the middle of the night

[HAMILTON]
Can we confer, sir?

[BURR]
Is this a legal matter?

HAMILTON
Yes, and it’s important to me

[BURR]
What do you need?

[HAMILTON]
Burr, you’re a better lawyer than me

[BURR]
Okay

[HAMILTON]
I know I talk too much, I’m abrasive
You’re incredible in court. You’re succinct, persuasive
My client needs a strong defense. You’re the solution

[BURR]
Who’s your client?

[HAMILTON]
The new U.S. Constitution?

[BURR]
No

[HAMILTON]
Hear me out

[BURR]
No way!

[HAMILTON]
A series of essays, anonymously published
Defending the document to the public

[BURR]
No one will read it

[HAMILTON]
I disagree

[BURR]
And if it fails?

[HAMILTON]
Burr, that’s why we need it

[BURR]
The constitution’s a mess

[HAMILTON]
So it needs amendments

[BURR]
It’s full of contradictions

[HAMILTON]
So is independence
We have to start somewhere

[BURR]
No. No way

[HAMILTON]
You’re making a mistake

[BURR]
Good night

[HAMILTON]
Hey
What are you waiting for?
What do you stall for?

[BURR]
What?

[HAMILTON]
We won the war
What was it all for?
Do you support this constitution?

[BURR]
Of course

[HAMILTON]
Then defend it

[BURR]
And what if you’re backing the wrong horse?

[HAMILTON]
Burr, we studied and we fought and we killed
For the notion of a nation we now get to build
For once in your life, take a stand with pride
I don’t understand how you stand to the side
[BURR]
I’ll keep all my plans
Close to my chest

I’ll wait here and see
Which way the wind
Will blow
I’m taking my time
Watching the
Afterbirth of a nation
Watching the tension grow.

[ENSEMBLE]
Wait for it, wait for
It, wait…

Which way the wind
Will blow
I’m taking my time
Watching the
Afterbirth of a nation
Watching the tension grow.

[ANGELICA]
I am sailing off to London. I’m accompanied by someone
Who always pays
I have found a wealthy husband who will keep
Me in comfort for all my days
He is not a lot of fun, but there’s no one who
Can match you for turn of phrase
My Alexander

[HAMILTON]
Angelica

[ANGELICA]
Don’t forget to write

[ELIZA]
Look at where you are
Look at where you started
The fact that you’re alive is a miracle
Just stay alive, that would be enough
And if your wife could share a fraction of your time
If I could grant you peace of mind
Would that be enough?

[BURR]
Alexander joins forces with James Madison and John Jay to write a series of essays defending the new United States Constitution, entitled The Federalist Papers. The plan was to write a total of twenty-five essays, the work divided evenly among the three men. In the end, they wrote eighty-five essays, in the span of six months. John Jay got sick after writing five. James Madison wrote twenty-nine. Hamilton wrote the other fifty-one!
[BURR]
How do you write like you’re
Running out of time?
Write day and night like you’re
Running out of time?

[BURR AND MEN]
Ev’ry day you fight
Like you’re
Running out of time
Like you’re
Running out of time
Are you
Running out of time?
[ALL WOMEN]
Running out of time?

Running out of time?

Running out of time

Running out of time

Awwww!

[FULL COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON)]
How do you write like tomorrow won’t arrive?
How do you write like you need it to survive?
How do you write ev’ry second you’re alive?
Ev’ry second you’re alive? Ev’ry second you’re alive?

[WASHINGTON]
They are asking me to lead
I am doing the best I can
To get the people that I need
I’m asking you to be my right hand man

[HAMILTON]
Treasury or State?

[WASHINGTON]
I know it’s a lot to ask

[HAMILTON]
Treasury or State?

[WASHINGTON]
To leave behind the world you know…

[HAMILTON]
Sir, do you want me to run the Treasury or State department?

[WASHINGTON]
Treasury

[HAMILTON]
Let’s go

[ELIZA]
Alexander…

[HAMILTON]
I have to leave

[ELIZA]
Alexander-

[HAMILTON]
Look around, look around at how lucky we are to be alive right now

[ELIZA]
Helpless…

[HAMILTON]
They are asking me to lead

[ELIZA]
Look around, isn’t this enough?
[ANGELICA]
He will never be satisfied
He will never be satisfied

Satisfied
Satisfied…

He will never be satisfied

Satisfied

Satisfied…

Why do you fight like
History has its eyes on you…

[HAMILTON]
I am not throwin’ away my shot!

I am not throwin’ away my shot!
I am
Alexander Hamilton!

I am not throwin’ away my shot!