It is loud. It is relentless. It is probably stuck in your head right now if you even breathed the word "theatre" in the last decade. Lin-Manuel Miranda didn’t just write a bunch of catchy tunes; he basically rewired how we think about the American founding fathers through a 46-track marathon. Honestly, looking at the Hamilton musical song list is like looking at a blueprint for a revolution that happened both in 1776 and on Broadway in 2015.
You’ve got everything here. Bragging rights. Heartbreak. Cabinet battles that sound more like 90s East Coast rap than a dusty history book. It’s a lot to take in at once.
The opening gambit and the rhythm of revolution
The show kicks off with "Alexander Hamilton." It’s the quintessential "Who am I?" track. It sets the pace. If you can't handle the exposition-heavy, fast-paced delivery of Aaron Burr and the company here, you’re gonna have a rough time with the next two and a half hours. It’s a biography squeezed into roughly four minutes.
Then we hit "Aaron Burr, Sir." This is where the chemistry—or the lack of it—starts. You see the contrast immediately. Hamilton is "loudmouth," Burr is "talk less, smile more." It’s the tension that drives the whole plot. By the time the Hamilton musical song list reaches "My Shot," the energy is peaking. This isn't just a song; it’s a manifesto. You can hear the influences of Mobb Deep and The Notorious B.I.G. leaking through the lyrics. Miranda has been very open about how "My Shot" took him a year to write because every couplet had to be perfect.
It’s dense. It’s frantic. It's brilliant.
The Schuyler Sisters and the change in tone
Then the women show up. "The Schuyler Sisters" shifts the vibe from gritty street politics to something more akin to Destiny's Child. It’s R&B-infused pop that reminds us New York was a character in itself. Angelica, Eliza, and (and Peggy!) bring a different perspective to the revolution. They aren't just looking for a war; they’re looking for a mind at work.
- You Got "Farmer Refuted": This is a weird one. It’s a literal musical argument. Hamilton is rapping over a loyalist’s baroque-style melody. It’s messy on purpose. It shows he’s smarter than everyone else and he knows it.
- "You’ll Be Back": Jonathan Groff made this iconic. King George III singing a Britpop breakup song to the colonies? Genius. It’s a palette cleanser.
- "Right Hand Man": Enter George Washington. The beat drops, the bass gets heavy, and suddenly the stakes feel real.
The first act is a sprint. "Helpless" and "Satisfied" give us the greatest "what if" in musical history. Seeing the same wedding scene from two different perspectives—Eliza’s starry-eyed love and Angelica’s intellectual regret—is a masterclass in storytelling. "Satisfied" is arguably the most difficult song in the entire Hamilton musical song list to perform because of the sheer speed and emotional range required.
Act Two: The messy business of governing
The war is over. Now what? Act Two starts with "What’d I Miss?" and the introduction of Thomas Jefferson. Daveed Diggs plays him like a flamboyant rock star returning from France. The jazz influence here is a sharp turn from the hip-hop of Act One, symbolizing that the "old guard" is coming back to take their seats.
The Cabinet Battles are the highlights here. Instead of dry debates about debt ceilings and national banks, we get rap battles. "Cabinet Battle #1" is basically a fight over the soul of the American economy. It’s funny, sure, but it’s also historically accurate to the ideological divide between the Federalists and the Democratic-Republicans.
The downward spiral
Things get dark fast. "Say No to This" is the beginning of the end. It’s a sultry, uncomfortable track about the first major political sex scandal in U.S. history. You feel the walls closing in on Hamilton.
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Then there is "The Room Where It Happens."
If "My Shot" is the heart of the show, this is the soul. It’s Burr’s turning point. Leslie Odom Jr. took this song and turned it into an anthem for anyone who has ever felt sidelined. The banjo, the jazz-slick choreography—it’s a masterpiece of FOMO. It’s also where the Hamilton musical song list starts to feel more like a tragedy than a triumph.
- "One Last Time": Washington’s exit. It’s soulful and heavy.
- "Hurricane": A quiet, eerie moment of introspection before everything blows up.
- "The Reynolds Pamphlet": A chaotic, techno-infused mess that mirrors Hamilton’s public image being shredded.
- "Burn": Eliza’s response. It’s the only song where the character regains control by removing herself from the narrative. It’s haunting.
The finality of the duel
By the time we reach "It’s Quiet Uptown," the audience is usually a wreck. The music slows down. The frantic rapping is gone, replaced by somber piano and strings. It’s a meditation on grief that feels universal.
The show wraps up with a series of quick-fire tracks: "The Election of 1800," "Your Obedient Servant," and "Best of Wives and Best of Women." Then, the duel. "The World Was Wide Enough" gives Burr the chance to explain his side, and it is devastating. He wins the duel but loses his place in history.
"Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story" is the finale. It’s not about Hamilton. It’s about Eliza. It’s about legacy. It’s the perfect end to a Hamilton musical song list that spans decades of history and dozens of musical genres.
How to actually digest this much music
If you're new to the soundtrack, don't try to memorize it all in one go. It’s too much. Start with the "big" songs to get the vibe, then go back for the lyrical depth.
- Watch the filmed version on Disney+ first: Seeing the choreography helps the songs make sense. The staging of "Satisfied" or "Wait For It" adds layers you can't get from just audio.
- Read the lyrics while listening: Use a site like Genius. There are so many double meanings and historical Easter eggs (like the "Ten Duel Commandments" being a riff on Biggie’s "Ten Crack Commandments") that you’ll miss on a casual listen.
- Focus on the recurring motifs: Listen for the "Just you wait" or the "I am not throwing away my shot" melodies that pop up in different instruments throughout the show. It’s like a musical puzzle.
- Check out the Hamilton Mixtape: Once you know the originals, listen to the covers by artists like Kelly Clarkson, Sia, and Usher. It shows just how versatile these compositions actually are.
The genius of the show isn't just in the individual songs, but in how they all talk to each other. Every melody has a purpose. Every rhythm tells you who has the power in the room. Whether you’re a history nerd or a hip-hop head, there’s something in this tracklist that will eventually refuse to leave your brain.
The best way to experience it is simply to start at track one and let the story happen. Don't overthink the history yet. Just listen to the words. The rest will follow.