Why Hamilton is Relevant Today

Part 2

By: Mallory Johnson

While I was watching coverage for the United States Presidential Election, I realized that I needed to update my “Why Hamilton is Relevant” article. I will once again be discussing the relevancy of certain lines within the musical, in regard to situations that have occurred over the past year.

The lyric “And the world’s gonna know your name” reminds me of how the world was watching the United States Presidential election and nearly everyone was discussing Trump and Biden. “We are waiting in the wings for you” reminds me of how we have to wait until January 20th, 2021 for Biden to be sworn in and just hope that everything goes okay until then, with Trump still operating as President. “When America sings for you, will they know what you overcame? Will they know you rewrote the game?” -- Biden is following the ever extreme and controversial Donald Trump, and he has a lot to change. “His enemies destroyed his rep” reminds me how Republicans tried to destroy Biden’s reputation in the hopes that Trump would get a second term (of course this did not work). “Those redcoats don’t want it with me” --throughout Act 1 of Hamilton, the Americans (who are shown to be the “good” guys) are in blue jackets, and the British (who are the “bad” guys) are in red. This is relevant because Biden’s Democratic party is blue and Trump’s Republican party is red. “I probably shouldn’t brag, but dang, I amaze and astonish” reminds me of how Biden won and was very happy about it. “Let’s get this guy in front of a crowd!” reminds me of how Biden made good speeches that made Americans proud. “This is not a moment, it’s the movement” now makes me think of how Biden winning the presidency is just the beginning of the fight for change in America.

“Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand” makes me think of how Biden was honest, while Trump often lies and misrepresents situations and facts. “I know the action in the street is exciting” is reminiscent of after Biden won the election as hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to celebrate. “And when our children tell our story, they’ll tell the story of tonight” -- the story of when Trump was defeated will be told for a long time. “Raise a glass to freedom, something they can never take away, no matter what they tell you” Americans will be free from Trump when Biden gets sworn in (hopefully). The lines “Look around, look around, the revolution’s happening in New York!” and “People shouting in the square” reminds me of all the celebrations after Biden’s win. “Include women in the sequel!”: Kamala Harris is the first woman to be Vice President in United States history. The whole song “Farmer Refuted”, reminds me of the debates between Trump and Biden, and Mike Pence and Kamala Harris. While the song “You’ll Be Back”, reminds me of Trump’s expansive ego. “The moment you’ve been waiting for!” strongly reflects that the election took several days to call, while people stared anxiously at their phones for the results. “Any hope of success is fleeting” -- any hope of a Biden win seemed fleeting. “To the revolution! And the hope that you provide!” -- Biden is providing Americans with more hope. “So, this is what it feels like to match wits with someone at your level!” reminds me of how many Americans were tweeting that they are relieved to now have a much smarter President.

The song title, “Wait for It” reminds me of how we had to wait until Saturday, November 7th for the election to be called. The lyrics “The challenge: demand satisfaction” and “The war’s not done” reflects how Americans were posting on social media about how important it is to hold Presidents accountable. “Hang on, how many men died because Lee was inexperienced and ruinous?” makes me think of how many people died (over 200,000!) because of COVID-19 due to Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic. “If you join us right now, together we can turn the tide” -- Biden is promising to make changes after Trump. The song “History Has Its Eyes on You” reminds me of how historical this election was and will be. “After a week of fighting” this makes me think of how Election Day turned into Election Week and how the campaigns themselves were often treacherous. “Tens of thousands of people flood the streets, there are screams and church bells ringing” reminds me of how Americans went to the streets to celebrate the Biden win. “The world turned upside down, we won, we won!” -- Biden’s win is important for change in America and many Americans could not contain their happiness at his win.

The song “What Comes Next” reminds me of how Trump is unwilling to concede his power. The song “What’d I Miss” reminds me of how I was checking the news all the time for election updates. The line, “Headfirst into a political abyss” is what election week felt like. “You don’t have the votes!” reminds me of how Trump wanted certain states to stop counting votes, even though he was losing – he wanted to suppress voting rights which goes against everything the American constitution is supposed to stand for. “We want our leaders to save the day” reflects how Biden has a big responsibility to help American citizens and the economy recover from COVID-19. “We dream of a brand-new start” -- Americans are ready for change. “Look in his eyes, see how he lies” can be directly related to Trump’s continuous lies throughout his Presidency and that he tried to state he won the election, when he clearly did not. “This is great, he’s out of power, he holds no office”, I am excited for when Trump gets kicked out of the White House. “In the eye of a Hurricane, there is quiet, for just a moment, a yellow sky” reminds me of how happy so many Americans were on the day Biden won, despite the craziness of this year. “Well, he’s never gonna be President now, that’s one less thing to worry about” reminds me of Trump losing. The song “The Election of 1800” (obviously) reminds me of the election and I have seen this song all over TikTok referencing the election.

You can watch Hamilton on Disney+ now.