Alexander Hamilton
Tuesday, November 27, 2012"The Man" is a slang phrase that may refer to the government or to some other authority in a position of power. In addition to this derogatory connotation, it may also serve as a term of respect and praise.
The phrase "the Man is keeping me down" is commonly used to describe oppression. The phrase "stick it to the Man" encourages resistance to authority, and essentially means "fight back" or "resist", either openly or via sabotage.[1]The earliest recorded use of the term "the Man" in the American sense dates back to a letter written by a young Alexander Hamilton in September 1772, when he was 15. In a letter to his father James Hamilton, published in the Royal Dutch-American Gazette, he described the response of the Danish governor of St. Croix to a hurricane that raked that island on August 31, 1772. "Our General has issued several very salutary and humane regulations and both in his publick and private measures, has shewn himself the Man."[2][dubious ] In the Southern U.S. states, the phrase came to be applied to any man or any group in a position of authority, or to authority in the abstract. From about the 1950s the phrase was also an underworld code word for police, the warden of a prison or other law enforcement or penal authorities.
I was writing a paper that had the term "the man" used in it as a metaphor that I was to analyze. And so, I looked up the history behind it....and that's when he first became one of my heroes.
Then, this week especially with all of the homework I have to get motivated for, I've been on quite the rap kick. My favorite type of kick.
So I didn't think life could get better after listening to Mobb Deep/Emancipators - Shook until I found Alexander Hamilton embodied in a rap song. And then, it did.
God Bless America.
[Verse 1]
How
does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And
a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot
In
the Carribbean, by Providence impoverished, to squalor
Grow
up to be a hero and a scholar?
The
ten-dollar Founding Father without a father
Got
a lot farther
By
workin' a lot harder
By
bein' a lot smarter
By
bein' a self-starter
By
fourteen they had placed him in charge of the trade and charter
And
every day while slaves were being slaughtered
And
carted away across the waves
Our
Hamilton kept his guard up
Inside
he was longing for something to be a part of
The
brother was ready to beg steal borrow or barter
Then
a hurricane came and
Devastation
reigned and
Our
man saw his future drip drippin' down the drain
Put
a pencil to his temple
Connected
it to his brain
And
he wrote his first refrain
A
testament to his pain
When
the word got around, they said, "This kid is insane, man!"
Took
up a collection just to send him to the mainland
Getcha
education, don't forget from whence you came
And
the world is gonna know your name!
What's
your name, man?
Alexander
Hamilton. His name is Alexander Hamilton
And
there's a million things he hasn't done
But
just you wait. Just you wait
[Verse
2]
When
he was 10, his father split
Full
of it, debt-ridden
Two
years later, see Alexander's mother, bed-ridden
Half-dead,
sittin' in their own sick
The
scent thick
And
Alex got better but his mother went quick
Moved
in with a cousin. The cousin committed suicide
Left
him with nothin' but ruined pride
Somethin'
new inside, a voice
Saying
Alex, you gotta fend for yourself
He
started retreatin'
And
readin'
Every
treatise on the shelf
There
would've been nothin' left to do
For
someone less astute
He
would've been dead and destitute
Without
a cent of restitution
Started
workin'
Clerkin'
for his late mother's landlord
Tradin'
sugar cane and rum and other things he can't afford
Scannin'
for every book he can get his hands on
Plannin'
for the future, see him now
As
he stands on the bow of a ship headed for a new land
In
New York you can be a new man
The
ship is in the harbor now
See
if you can spot him
Another
immigrant comin' up from the bottom
His
enemies destroyed his rep, America forgot him
And
me? I'm the damn fool that shot him
Alexander
Hamilton
We
were waiting in the weeds for you
You
could never back down
You
always had to speak your mind
But
Alexander Hamilton, we could never take your deeds from you
In
our cowardice and our shame
We
will try to destroy your name
The
world will never be the same, Alexander!
Yeah,
I'm the damn genius that shot him
[edit]
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