Top 8 Lines I Most Identified With in “Hamilton”
“Have you heard of this musical where the Founding Fathers—get this—rap??”There’s this little musical you may have heard of that came out several years ago called “Hamilton.” It’s great! The Founding Fathers rap and everything! I’m a Broadway musical geek, so my wife bought me the cast recording shortly after the show started building some heat, and I immediately fell in love with it. I started listening to the first disc late at night and figured I’d just stick around for a few songs to see what the fuss was about. I ended up listening to the whole damn thing—both discs—until past 1 in the morning, and I was a bawling baby at the end. Sometimes you feel lucky to live in the time you live just so you can say, “I was there when that work of genius first arrived.” I eventually saw the show live (with a different cast—boo), and since the musical’s premiere on Disney+, I watch it every Fourth of July, just to spark my hope in our democracy—currently flailing as it is. If you want to know why I was crying like a toddler after first listening to the soundtrack, here are the top eight lyrics I most identified with. I would’ve had a rounded ten, but I’m lazy, people. And speaking of being lazy, here is this week’s hacky listicle:
“In New York, you can be a new man.”This line appears fairly early in the show (though it’s repeated several times throughout the production, most notably on “Helpless”). In fact, it’s in the first song, “Alexander Hamilton.” We learn how tortured his childhood was (born without a father, barely survives a hurricane, his mother dies, he moves in with his cousin who ends up committing suicide, etc.), and so our man “moves on up” to Noo Yawk, the greatest city in the world. (I’m not biased or anything.) Just before we hear “his boat is in the harbor now, see if you can spot him/Another immigrant coming up from the bottom” (great rhyme, btw; that Lin-Manuel Miranda is a wordsmith!), the chorus drones, “In New York, you can be a new man” over and over. I deeply identified with this line. As the show itself will later say: “Rewind!” Let’s go back in my life to find out why. In 2003, my life in Baltimore basically imploded. I lost my job, my girlfriend, my roommate, and my apartment all in less than a year and was forced to move back home to my parents’ house in New York at the ripe age of 26. I was told by friends and family that my life was a do-over (much like Daniel Stern’s character in City Slickers), and what better place to remake myself than in New York? I didn’t believe them at the time. I thought my life was truly over. I was wrong. Twenty-odd years later, and I have a pretty good gig editing at home, a side gig penning award-winning young adult books (you know I had to throw that in there), a house, a wife, two beautiful daughters, and, probably just as important, a healthy dose of self-respect. Thanks, New York!
2. “I am not throwing away my shot.”
This is probably one of the most famous lines from the song, a lyric everyone knows—even people who haven’t seen the show. It says so much, doesn’t it? I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s felt this way at certain times in life. I’ll give you one example. I used to be the Features Editor of my college newspaper (humble brag), and I received an opportunity in the mail to interview the band Blind Melon after lead singer Shannon Hoon died. Even though they were my favorite alternative band at the time, I was (and still sorta am) extremely shy, and I figured: “There’s no way in hell I’m doing that. I wouldn’t know the first thing to ask, besides, ‘How exactly did Shannon die?’” I literally threw the invitation out. I can still see the paper inside the small metal wastebasket in my college dorm room, waiting patiently for me to fish it out. I swallowed hard, reached in, and plucked it out, and a few weeks later, I was on the phone with the band, missing one of my college exams and sweating bullets. I didn’t have the words then of what was going through my mind, but thanks to this show, I do now: “I am not throwing away my shot.” P.S.: The interview went fine.
3. “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?”
When I was a teenager in high school, I didn’t talk much. I was like Christian Slater’s character in Pump Up the Volume: “I didn’t talk to one person today, not counting teachers.” But then I would go home, go upstairs into my bedroom, shut my door, pull out a ream of paper and a pen, and write like a madman. My family would sometimes wonder why I was writing so much. Even I didn’t know. I just had to get it all out of my system. Every feeling I couldn’t express or word I couldn’t utter during the day made its way onto the page. Some of those words became the books I would eventually publish, especially my latest, The Electric God and Other Shorts. (Plug!) I couldn’t stop writing. And I still haven’t.
4. “You will never be satisfied.”/“That would be enough.”
When I started this book-writing side gig, my family would question what the point was. “You have a good, full-time job. You have a house and beautiful family. Why is that not enough?” Honestly, I can’t really answer that question. It almost shames me to admit this, but no, that was not enough. I’ve always thought of myself as a writer first and foremost, even when I wasn’t publishing anything. Even writing several books hasn’t “been enough.” Hopefully, one day, when (if?) my books become commercially successful (instead of just critically successful), that will be enough for me. But probably not.
5. “Love/Death doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints/It takes and it takes and it takes.”
Being a writer, sometimes I read or hear a line that is so poignant and profoundly true, it angers me that I hadn’t thought of it first. This is one of those lines. It’s from my favorite song from the show, “Wait for It.” Aaron Burr contemplates his life and compares it with Hamilton, of whom he’s deeply resentful and jealous. (Yes, I just used the word “whom.” Who says these blogs can’t be classy?) When I first heard him sing, “Love doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints/It takes and it takes and it takes,” I thought to myself, “Holy $#!+, that is SO true!” It doesn’t matter how you lived your life or how moral or just you were; love isn’t fair. It will break your heart one day, whether you deserve it or not. And this sentiment is equally true—if not more so—about death, which is what Burr sings later when discussing his parents’ demise, leaving him an orphan. After all, everyone dies in the end.
6. “If there’s a reason I’m still alive when everyone who loves me has died, I’m willing to wait for it.”
This line is also from “Wait for It.” (I told you it was my favorite song.) Burr wonders why all the people who have loved him, particular his parents, have died while he’s still around. I often thought this when I was younger. For those who don’t know, my brother died when I was 8 (hence the brother subplot in Danger Peak), and my good friend died when I was 15. (I named the character Chris in Danger Peak after him, though he’s mostly based on a different friend I had growing up.) I remember thinking: “Why is everyone around me dying? Am I next? And if not, is there a reason why I’m still alive? Am I supposed to do something with my life?” I suppose for the past few years writing these books, I’ve been trying to answer that question.
7. “What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.”
Once again, just an A+ lyric/rhyme from Miranda. (Someone should keep an eye on this fellah! He’s going places!) Hamilton poses this question at the end of the show just before his death. (Spoiler!) Not only is it a killer line (no pun intended), it perfectly describes why I think many of us do what we do. Why do we make art, have children, record songs, write books, etc.? It’s because we want to create something that’s going to outlive us, to borrow another line Hamilton says earlier in the show. And as I wrote earlier, we’re all going to die in the end anyway.
8. “You knock me down, I get the f%#k back up again.”
I threw this last line in for fun. Uttered boisterously by Hercules Mulligan (who sounds suspiciously like Busta Rhymes), this lyric reminds me of life advice from Rocky: “It doesn’t matter how hard you can hit. It only matters how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.” I think we can all relate to that, if for no other reason than the fact that we’re all human. As Christian Slater said in the aforementioned Pump Up the Volume: “We’re all hurting. That just comes with having eyes and ears.” (Man, I really love that movie.) This line from “Hamilton” is probably the most inspirational for me, especially with the way Hercules says it: “You knock me down, I get the f%#k back up again!” with an emphasis on the “f%#k.” When I first heard it, I was like, “Hells yeah!” It gets the blood pumping, but more than that, it reminds me of how I felt after my world exploded—what I described in my first entry on this list. And we’ve come full circle.
So there you have it. Eight amazing lines from an even more amazing musical. And if by some chance you still haven’t seen/heard the show, I would rectify that as quickly as possible.
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In other MTP news, for the first time, my poetry book, The Darkest Side: A Collection of Twisted Nursery Rhymes, is now available at a bookstore (along with my other books, Danger Peak, Déjà View, and The Electric God and Other Shorts). If you live in the Long Island area, you can pick up a copy at The Islip Arts Council bookstore in Westfield South Shore Mall, 1701 Sunrise Highway, Bay Shore, NY (next to Dick’s Sporting Goods). I’ve already updated the book’s main page with this info. Happy shopping, Lawn Guy Landers!
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In other, other MTP news, Déjà View is finally getting some love on Bookstagram (after the Danger Peak and Electric God lovefests). Here is a sampling of those reviews:
Déjà View is a haunting, nostalgic dive into the uncertain space between childhood and adolescence. Following twelve-year-old Bobby Dalton as he grapples with growing up and ghostly visions of his past, the novel blends ‘80s nostalgia with eerie sci-fi undertones in a story that’s both introspective and unsettling. Michael Thomas Perone, known for Danger Peak, shifts gears slightly here—this story leans more heavily into coming-of-age themes, with a darker, slower build that ultimately rewards patient readers with a surprising and emotional finale. Though written for young adults, the book resonates across generations, capturing the universal tension of letting go of childhood. Bobby’s internal struggles and mysterious “déjà view” moments offer both suspense and emotional depth. With poignant moments, humor, and an unforgettable ending, Déjà View is a reflective, imaginative story that lingers long after the final page. A thoughtful and compelling follow-up to Perone’s debut.
–Tales of a Moody
Michael Thomas Perone’s Déjà View: A Kid Nightmare is a nostalgic and emotionally resonant coming-of-age tale that vividly captures the internal landscape of childhood. Set against the suburban backdrop of 1989, the novel follows sixth-grader Bobby Dalton—a precocious, imaginative boy whose life oscillates between whimsical play and the sobering realities of a fractured home. Bobby’s days are filled with “Imagination Games,” spirited swings with his best friend Joe, and battles between plastic action figures that seem more alive than the adults around him. Through clever, naturalistic dialogue and richly detailed scenes, Perone masterfully evokes the wonder and confusion of preadolescence. The dynamic between Bobby, Joe, and the mischievous Max reveals the fragile balance of childhood camaraderie—equal parts loyalty, rivalry, and comic relief. What elevates the narrative is its undercurrent of emotional tension. Perone subtly confronts serious themes such as racial bias, political apathy, and the weight of adult responsibility through the eyes of a child who doesn’t fully grasp them—but feels their impact deeply. Bobby’s relationship with his overworked single mother adds an additional layer of pathos, grounding his fantasies in a home marked by exhaustion and unspoken grief. Beneath its humor and pop-culture references lies a powerful meditation on resilience. Déjà View reminds readers that imagination is not escapism but a lifeline—especially when reality becomes overwhelming. The novel serves as both a love letter to childhood and a quiet lament for its inevitable erosion. A poignant, tender, and incisively written novel, Déjà View: A Kid Nightmare is a beautifully observed portrait of youth in all its chaotic, contradictory glory.
–Kara Macris
What I liked about (Déjà View) is how true Bobby’s feelings were. He faces bullies, fights with friends, and feels lonely sometimes. It reminded me of my own childhood. I also felt bad for him because his friends didn’t always treat him right. While reading, I wanted to tell him to be stronger and leave the people who don’t care about him. It made me think about the times I also stayed quiet just to keep friends. The spooky parts in the story were fun. It takes some time for the scary things to happen, but when they do, it makes the story more interesting. I liked how the book mixed real-life problems with strange, ghostly things. It’s not a fast story in the beginning, but it gets better as you read more. I enjoyed how it kept me thinking about what would happen next. I would tell others to give this book a try, especially kids in middle school or people who grew up in the ’80s and ’90s. It brings back old memories of childhood, games, and school life. It teaches you that growing up is not easy, but you have to face it. I really liked it because it felt honest, simple, and made me think about my own past.
–Florence Bookreviewer
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Lastly, in yet other MTP news, my book signing last week went fairly well. In fact, it was my most successful signing, though that might not be saying much. I’d also like to give a special shoutout to all the new people who signed up for this here blog. As promised, I won’t spam you or sell your info. You can expect a few of these emails per month. Since I began this blog several years ago, I haven’t lost a single subscriber, so I must be doing something right. Welcome aboard!
MTP
P.S.: Don’t forget the Danger Peak audiobook is now available!
P.P.S.: The new edition of The Electric God and Other Shorts is available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:
The Electric God on AmazonBarnes & Noble
