I am not throwin' away my shot

I am not throwin' away my shot

Ayo, I'm just like my country

I'm young, scrappy and hungry

And I'm not throwin' away my shot

I'ma get a scholarship to King's College

I probably shouldn't brag, but dang, I amaze and astonish

The problem is I got a lot of brains, but no polish

I gotta holler just to be heard

With every word I drop knowledge

I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal

Tryna reach my goal, my power of speech, unimpeachable

Only 19, but my mind is older

These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder

Every burden, every disadvantage I have learned to manage

I don't have a gun to brandish, I walk these streets famished (whoo)

The plan is to fan this spark into a flame

But damn, it's getting dark, so let me spell out the name

I am the A-L-E-X-A-N-D-E-R

We are meant to be

A colony that runs independently

Meanwhile, Britain keeps shittin' on us endlessly

Essentially, they tax us relentlessly

Then King George turns around, runs a spendin' spree

He ain't ever gonna set his descendants free

So there will be a revolution in this century

Enter me (he says in parentheses)

Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me

I will lay down my life if it sets us free

Eventually, you'll see my ascendancy

And I am not throwin' away my shot (my shot)

I am not throwin' away my shot (shot)

Ayo, 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

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

It's time to take a shot

I dream of life without a monarchy

The unrest in France will lead to on-archy

On-archy? How you say? How you - oh, anarchy!

When I fight, I make the other side panicky with my shot

Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice

And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis

I'm joining the rebellion 'cause I know it's my chance to socially advance

Instead of sewin' some pants (whoo)

I'm gonna take a shot

But we'll never be truly free

Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me (that's right)

You and I, do or die (whoo!)

Wait till I sally in on a stallion with the first black battalion

Have another shot

Geniuses, lower your voices

You keep out of trouble and you double your choices

I'm with you, but the situation is fraught

You've got to be carefully taught

If you talk, you're gonna get shot

But check what we got

Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot

I think your pants look hot, Laurens, I like you a lot

Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot

What are the odds the gods would put us all in one spot?

Poppin' a squat on conventional wisdom, like it or not

A bunch of revolutionary manumission abolitionists

Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is

Oh, am I talkin' too loud?

Sometimes I get overexcited, shoot off at the mouth

I never had a group of friends before

I promise that I'll make y'all proud

Let's get this guy in front of a crowd

I am not throwin' away my shot

I am not throwin' away my shot

Ayo, 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

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

Everybody sing! Whoa, whoa, whoa

Hey, whoa (whoo!), whoa

Said let 'em hear ya! Let's go! (Yeah)

Whoa, whoa, whoa (I said shout it to the rooftops)

Whoa (said to the rooftops)

Whoa (oh, come on), yeah (come on, let's go)

Rise up, when you're living on your knees, you rise up

Tell your brother that he's gotta rise up

Tell your sister that she's gotta rise up

When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Whoa)

When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Whoa)

When are these colonies gonna rise up? (Whoa)

When are these colonies gonna rise up?

Rise up

I imagine death so much, it feels more like a memory

When's it gonna get me? In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?

If I see it comin', do I run, or do I let it be?

Is it like a beat without a melody?

See, I never thought I'd live past 20

Where I come from, some get half as many

Ask anybody why we livin' fast, and we laugh, reach for a flask

We have to make this moment last, that's plenty

Scratch that, this is not a moment, it's the movement

Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went?

Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand

We roll like Moses, claimin' our promised land

And if we win our independence?

Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?

Or will the blood we shed begin

An endless cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?

I know the action in the street is excitin'

But Jesus, between all the bleedin' and fightin'

I've been readin' and writin'

We need to handle our financial situation

Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?

I'm past patiently waitin'

I'm passionately smashin' every expectation

Every action's an act of creation

I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow

For the first time, I'm thinkin' past tomorrow

And I am not throwin' away my shot

I am not throwin' away my shot

Ayo, I'm just like my country

I'm young, scrappy and hungry

And I'm not throwin' away my shot

We're gonna rise up, time to take a shot (I am not throwin' away my shot)

We're gonna rise up, time to take a shot (I am not throwin' away my shot)

We're gonna, rise up, rise up (it's time to take a shot)

Rise up, rise up (it's time to take a shot)

Rise up, whoa (it's time to take a shot)

Rise up, take a shot, shot, shot (whoa)

Ayo, it's time to take a shot, time to take a shot (whoa, whoa)

And I am not throwin' away my, not throwin' away my shot