Yorktown (World Turned Upside Down)

Written by Lin-Maneul Miranda

Performed by the cast of Hamilton

The battle of Yorktown, 1781
Monsieur Hamilton
Monsieur Lafayette
In command where you belong

How you say, no sweat
Finally on the field, we've had quite a run
Immigrants, we get the job done

So what happens if we win?
I go back to France
I bring freedom to my people
If I'm given the chance

We'll be with you when you do
Go lead your men
I see you on the other side
'Til we meet again, let's go!

I am not throwin' away my shot!
I am not throwin' away my shot!
Hey yo, I'm just like my country
I'm young scrappy and hungry
And I'm not throwin' away my shot!
I am not throwin' away my shot!
'Til the world turns upside down
'Til the world turns upside down!

I imagine death so much, it feels more like a memory
This is where it gets me, on my feet the enemy ahead of me
If this is the end of me, at least I have a friend with me
Weapon in my hand, a command, and my men with me
Then I remember my Eliza's expecting me
Not only that, my Eliza's expecting
We gotta go, gotta get the job done
Gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son!

Take the bullets out your gun! (What?)
The bullets out your gun! (What?)
We move undercover and we move as one
Through the night, we have one shot to live
Another day
We cannot let a stray gunshot give us away

We will fight up close, seize the moment and stay in it
It's either that or meet the business end of a bayonet
The code word is "Rochambeau", dig me? (Rochambeau!)
You have your orders now, go, man, go!

And so the American experiment begins
With my friends all scattered to the winds
Laurens is in South Carolina, redefining bravery
We'll never be free until we end slavery!
When we finally drive the British away
Lafayette is there waiting in Chesapeake Bay!
How did we know that this plan would work?
We had a spy on the inside, that's right

Hercules Mulligan!
A tailor spyin' on the British government!
I take their measurements, information and then I smuggle it! (Up)
To my brother's revolutionary covenant
I'm runnin' with the Sons of Liberty and I am lovin' it!
See, that's what happens when you up against the ruffians
We in the shit now, somebody gotta shovel it!
Hercules Mulligan, I need no introduction
When you knock me down I get the fuck back up again!

Left! Right! Hold!
Go!
What! What! What!

After a week of fighting, a young man in a red coat stands on a parapet
We lower our guns as he frantically waves a white handkerchief
And just like that, it's over, we tend to our wounded, we count our dead
Black and white soldiers wonder alike if this really means freedom
Not yet

We negotiate the terms of surrender
I see George Washington smile
We escort their men out of Yorktown
They stagger home single file
Tens of thousands of people flood the streets
There are screams and church bells ringing
And as our fallen foes retreat
I hear the drinking song they're singing

The world turned upside down
The world turned upside down
The world turned upside down
The world turned upside down
Down, down, down, down

Freedom for America, freedom for France!
Down, down, down
Gotta start a new nation, gotta meet my son
Down, down, down

We won!
We won!
We won!
We won!
The world turned upside down!