"The World Was Wide Enough" is the 22nd song of Act Two of Hamilton, and the 45th song of both acts.
Before the duel, Hamilton lingers on the definition of a "legacy" - and if he was to make one or break one. He then approaches the dueling site to face his opponent, Burr.
According to the code duello, "throwing away your shot", or to aim your shot into the sky, effectively eliminating it, gave you an element of neutrality and ensured that you did not mean to hurt your opponent. Hamilton did not intend to hurt Burr - according to his word - but instead of clearly firing his shot into the sky, he fired it close enough to Burr to let his opponent think he had simply aimed incorrectly; however, it is known that Burr did not know Hamilton intended to throw away his shot.
Burr shot Hamilton in the side of his ribcage, causing internal bleeding, and hours later Hamilton passes away. Burr later learns that Hamilton did not mean to hurt him, and explains that his shot was so close to the target that it could not be judged whether Hamilton indeed had kept to his word and threw away his shot or if he had simply missed his target.
After the duel, Burr laments that even though he won the duel, after all of Hamilton's accomplishments, he was condemned to being forever known as only the man who killed Alexander Hamilton.
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 rowed across the Hudson at dawn
My friend William P. Van Ness signed on as my —
[BURR & 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 happening 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 & PHILIP] | [HAMILTON] |
[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/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 your require
Then count:
[COMPANY]
One two three four five six seven eight nine
Number ten paces! Fire—
[BURR FIRES SHOT, SCENE FREEZES]
[HAMILTON]
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory. Is this where it gets me, on my feet, several 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, may be the last face I ever see? If I throw away my shot, is this how you 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.
[HAMILTON RAISES PISTOL]
[HAMILTON]
Raise a glass to freedom...
[BURR/COMPANY]
He aims his pistol at the sky!
[BURR]
WAIT!
[SCENE BEGINS AGAIN, BURR FIRES SHOT AND HITS HAMILTON]
[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 better hide."
[COMPANY]
Aaaah
Aaaah
Aaaah
[BURR]
They say
[BURR/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.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- This song was originally called "Ten Things, One Thing" and had very different lyrics. It was later rewritten after Miranda acquired inspiration for newer lyrics.
- The song is a combination of multiple past songs such as My Shot, Wait For It and Ten Duel Commandments.
- Although he repeatedly said, "I am not throwing away my shot," throughout the show, in real life, Alexander Hamilton threw away his shot in his duel against Aaron Burr. He fired first, but aimed to miss Burr, therefore sending his shot to the tree behind Burr.