[Intro][theatrical delivery, sounds of a quill writing, crisp diction, marching snare roll] seventeen seventy-six Hark! Thy parchment crack! Hark! Thy people move! [Verse 1:Washington - 1700s Mid-Atlantic accent, gravelly commanding baritone, slow old-world dramatic tenor rap] I George Washington took thy post, came in with the frost on my coat, From the riv-ah to the road, I kept the oath King George on his throne, I talk not wide Just a cahrved-out jaw and a steady-eyed ride Boots on the boahrds, I stood so still Signed that name with a sold-yah’s will One hand on the map, one hand on fate If we bend, we break—if we wait, we wait! They called me calm, but I felt that fiah Ev-ah-ree quiet step a coiled-up wiah Made for the dawn, made for the line Made for the hour when the people align! [Pre-Chorus: All - Aggressive group chant, crisp classical old-world diction, stacked vocals] Hold thy breath! Count thy cost! If we move now, we all get crossed! [Chorus: All - Bombastic operatic classical hip hop chorus, massive crowd chant] Raise it up, 17-76! Raise it up, 17-76! Hands to the work, hearts in the mix! Raise it up, 17-76! [Verse 2:Jefferson -1700s southern-gentry drawl accent, soft spoken smooth high formal tenor rap] Thomas Jeffer-son with a gentry’s quill, sleeves rolled high I watched whole wehrlds in a nar-rah sky Evening, my brothers, our fathers have gone And I swear on their graves, we shan't labor long For the kings and their thrones, and their horsemen and armor We'll take up the sword in the name of our honor But first, on my word, we shall first send our envoy I know a man, though he's rather quite annoyed By this plight of ours and the heights of ours We'll convince him, I'm sure, and he'll join in our cause. [Verse 3][Hamilton - 1700s West-Indies-British fusion accent, Young aristocrat sharp theatrical Old-world tenor, rapid-fire rap] Behold, Young Hamilton from the islands I enter the fray, heav-ee with hun-gah and grit The crown o-vah the ocean sends a writ talk-ing thy shit An ohr-phan of for-chin with plenty to say To the tie-rant who sits on his throne far away We shall tear down his banners, his tax we shan't pay! With a pen like a blade, I shall draft our defense For submission to mon-arcs makes utterly no sense Hear thee rhythm of rev-o-lution, thee rattling chains We shall wash out the crown from our blood and our veins! [Verse 4][Adams - 1700s harsh old Boston accent, clipped colonial spinto bass, aggressive angey urgent rap] I John Ad-ams the staunch with a rous-ing tongue No coun-sel sur-ren-dered when thy chal-lenge was flung! Small in the frame but hard like steel I made my case for thy pub-lic weal I do stand in the chamber, a man full of grit While the cow-ehrds and cautious do argue and sit! They do tremble at redcoats and whisper of peace But my voice is a hammer that shall not cease! We need not their silks, nor their tea, nor their grace We shall spit on their mandates right here in this place Let the king send his navy, his Hessians, his men For the fight has begun and weal never bend! [Verse 5][Madison -1700s West-Virginian accent, breathless-whispered precise formal tenor rap] James Madison, whis-p’ring fed-er-al pacts We need no monarch to dic-tate our acts Pray, look to thy future, look unto the frame Lest we build a new tie-rant with only a name I shall balance the power, the weight of the state With a structure so careful it masters our fate Though my body be frail and my breathing be slight Every word that I write tis a weapon of might No more crowns, no more scepters, the papers are spun For the law shall be king when the battle is won! [Verse 6][Franklin 70s -1700s Philadelphia accent, gutteral witty baritone rap] Benjamin Franklin print-ing with a spark in thy eye I have captured the lightning and played with the sky And I tell thee, my brothers, the end is now nigh. Let us laugh at their threats as the thunder comes down For a kite cannot fly in the shade of a crown! Pass the par-cha-ment, my children, let ink find the page We're a rowdy young nation arriving of age With a grin on my lips and a spark in my eye We shall sign to our freedom or together we shall die! [Bridge: Alternate Voices - high energy] [Washington] When the drums come up, turn not away! [Adams] De-fy the crown, we stand to-day! [Jefferson] ’Tis the sov-er-eign shape that we wake. [Hamilton] For ev-ah-ree bond we mean to break! [Madison] One hard vow, a sa-cred line. [Franklin] Let the light-ning flash and the pages jine! [All - group chant] We swore the oath then, we up-hold it now! [Chorus: All Voices- Bombastic operatic classical hip hop chorus, massive crowd chant] Raise it up, 17-76! Raise it up, 17-76! Hands to the work, hearts in the mix! Raise it up, 17-76! [Outro] [Sounds of quill scratching stops,slow fading snare roll] Hark! That parchment crack! Hark! Let Free-dom Ring! One hard vow. One liv-ing thing.
