I am not throwing away my shot!
I am not throwing away my shot!
Hey yo, Im just like my country
Im young, scrappy and hungry
And Im not throwing away my shot!
Ima get a scholarship to Kings College
I probly shouldnt brag, but dag, 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!
Im a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
Tryin to reach my goal. My power of speech: unimpeachable
Only nineteen but my mind is older
These New York City streets get colder, I shoulder
Evry burden, evry disadvantage
I have learned to manage, I dont have a gun to brandish
I walk these streets famished
The plan is to fan this spark into a flame
But damn, its 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 spending spree
He aint ever gonna set his descendants free
So there will be a revolution in this century
Enter me!
Dont be shocked when your histry book mentions me
I will lay down my life if it sets us free
Eventually, youll see my ascendancy
And I am not throwing away
My shot 
I am not throwing away
My shot 
Hey yo, Im just like my country
Im young, scrappy and hungry
And Im not throwing away my shot
And Im not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, Im just like my country
Im young, scrappy and hungry
And Im not throwing away my shot
Its time to take a shot!
I dream of life without a monarchy
The unrest in France will lead to onarchy?
Onarchy? How you say, how you say, anarchy?
When I fight, I make the other side panicky
With my—
Shot!
Yo, Im a tailors apprentice
And I got yall knuckleheads in loco parentis
Im joining the rebellion cause I know its my chance
To socially advance, instead of sewin some pants!
Im gonna take a—
Shot!
But well never be truly free
Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me
You and I. Do or die. 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
Im with you, but the situation is fraught
Youve got to be carefully taught:
If you talk, youre gonna get shot!
Burr, check what we got
Mister Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot
I think your pants look hot
Laurens, I like you a lot
Lets 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 over excited, shoot off at the mouth
I never had a group of friends before
I promise that Ill make yall proud
Lets get this guy in front of a crowd
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, Im just like my country
Im young, scrappy and hungry
And Im not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, Im just like my country
Im young, scrappy and hungry
And Im not throwing away my shot
Evrybody sing:
Whoa, whoa, whoa 
Hey!
Whoa 
Woo!
Whoa! 
Said let em hear ya! 
Lets go!
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
I said shout it to the rooftops!
Whoa!
Said, to the rooftops!
Whoa!
Come on!
Yea
Come on, lets go!
Rise up!
When youre living on your knees, you rise up
Tell your brother that hes gotta rise up
Tell your sister that shes gotta rise up
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa
When are these colonies gonna rise up?
Whoa
Rise up! 
I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory
Whens 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 Id live past twenty
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, thats plenty
Scratch that
This is not a moment, its 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 n fightin
Ive been readin n writin
We need to handle our financial situation
Are we a nation of states? Whats the state of our nation?
Im past patiently waitin
Im passionately smashin every expectation
Every actions an act of creation!
Im laughin in the face of casualties and sorrow
For the first time, Im thinkin past tomorrow
And I am not throwing away my shot
I am not throwing away my shot
Hey yo, Im just like my country
Im young, scrappy and hungry
And Im not throwing away my shot
Were gonna rise up! Time to take a shot!
Not throwing away my shot
Were gonna rise up! Time to take a shot!
Not throwing away my shot
Were gonna
Were gonna
Time to take a shot! 
Time to take a shot! 
Time to take a shot! 
Take a shot! Ri— ri— ri—
Shot!
Shot!
A-yo its
Time to take a shot! 
Time to take a shot! 
And I am— 
Not throwin away my—
Not throwin away my shot!